That's right, my little town of Dundas, Ontario, Canada is in the path of totality for the solar eclipse on Monday. For 2 minutes my world will get darker, colder and from what I understand - completely spectacular.
I wasn't really all that interested in the eclipse that would be passing right over my house until a few weeks ago. A rainbow? Sure. I'd run out with my camera for that. A rainbow is sparkly & fun like a box of Lucky Charms in the sky.
An eclipse on the other hand has a certain doomsday, nuclear reactor charm to it. The idea of a photograph of a black circle with a bright ring around it bored me.
Eventually I realized I didn't HAVE to take a photograph of just the eclipse during the eclipse. I could take a photograph of people looking at the eclipse in their eclipse glasses. Or a shot of the eclipse with my house in the foreground. Or a poodle.
Things that are more interesting than just the single circle of the sun and moon.
With my newfound imagination I decided I would photograph the eclipse, I would just do more of a wide shot of my neighbourhood. And maybe a sequence of all the phases. And maybe a zoomed shot. And every other type of solar shot I could find on the Internet.
At the time I figured I'd just haul my camera and tripod outside the afternoon of April 8th, point it at the sun and hope for the best.
Wouldn't that be great? It sure wood. But that's not how eclipse photography works.
Getting a shot, any shot of a solar eclipse takes preparation. It's here and gone in about 120 seconds which doesn't leave a lot of time for pressing buttons and shrieking.
Since I am more of a whirl the buttons around until I like what I see kind of photographer, it's best if I go into these 120 seconds with a plan, especially since the most famous thing about those 2 minutes - is that they're going to be in the dark.
I can barely see my camera dials in perfect lighting conditions let alone in darkness while I'm hopped up on astronomy.
Getting a really good shot takes a lot of preparation and equipment and it's STRESSFUL. In fact it became so stressful for me that I have dialed back my aspirations from taking every shot of the eclipse imaginable to only one. One decent photograph.
Above is a great video from photographer Alyn Wallace showing what lengths he and others go to to get solar eclipse photos and video.
I will try to just get 1 nice shot of the eclipse. On the weekend I'll take my stuff outside and practice taking photographs of the sun in the direction I'll be shooting into with different lenses to see which one I like the best.
I'm not teaching you how to photograph the eclipse because a) what the hell do I know about photographing an eclipse?? and b) if you're serious about photographing the eclipse you've already Googled everything you need to know.
How I'm preparing
- Making a solar filter to place over my camera lens. This consists of forming a cardboard tube that I can slip over my camera lens with a piece of solar film I bought attached to the end of it. There are tons of Youtube videos on how to make a tent for your camera lens or phone. You can even just place an extra pair of solar glasses over your phone lens.
- Figuring out where exactly the sun is going to be from my viewing location so I know what direction I'll be shooting from.
- Practicing. A couple of days before the eclipse I'll go outside at the same time the eclipse is occurring and take some practice shots. I'll write down any exposures and settings I want to remember.
- Set up bracketing. Bracketing is something you can do with your fancier cameras. It is a setting that will force your camera to take a series of photos one right after the other at various exposures. It will do it automatically once you set the bracketing up on your camera.
- Automate and preset anything that I can so when the day comes I won't be stressed and can actually experience and enjoy the eclipse.
Unless it's cloudy.
P.S. Don't worry. One photo. Maybe even with my iPhone when it comes down to it. I won't sacrifice the experience of a total eclipse for a photograph. 👍🏻
That is totality cool.
I got to experience a total eclipse in 2017. We traveled to my sisters house 4 hours away. I wasn't sure what all the hype was about. Boy, am I glad I went. totality is mind boggling amazing and I understand what all the fuss was about. Trust me, if you let the experience envelope you, you will be awed and amazed. Enjoy!!
Thank you so much for sharing that video. I'm now more excited about Monday. I keep wondering what people thought and experienced 1,000's years ago before the science could explain what was happening.
I loved that video too! ~ karen
Miramichi, New Brunswick is also in the path of totality! Our little city has lots planned for a huge gathering at our airport & is expecting over 6000 tourists to join us. My neighbours and I have decided to haul out the lawn chairs, listen to an eclipse playlist on spotify, and have a cocktail! When it's over, we'll simply walk back into our homes instead of fighting an insane amount of traffic. Like most of the wonderful things I have seen & done I'm choosing to experience it without looking through the lens of a camera.
How awesome is it that I am also in totality! Ohio must be, like, due south of you or something.
I'll leave the actual photography work to you. Enjoy!
I came THIS close to flying up to your area to watch the eclipse! I flew to Oregon in 2017, ended up on an Indian Reservation, and it was perfect. I'm hoping to see a total eclipse twice in a lifetime by driving up to Missouri for this one.
I love your idea of doing a test run with the photography. Pure genius. Good luck with yours.
Thank goodness
Just experience it. And you might not have to battle 1000’s
It’s my birthday on Monday. Many months ago my husband told me he was arranging for a special celestial event on April 8th. I think it’s the best gift ever 😎!!
Make sure you keep Philip indoors during the eclipse. Apparently animals get confused by the sudden darkness and will look up and could potentially damage their eyes. Unless he's been outfitted with eclipse goggles. :)
I enjoyed the video of the fellas photographing the eclipse. Such youthful enthusiasm is a tonic.
I keep wondering how Snacks and all the other wild creatures experience such an event. Are they weirded out? Or, do they take it in their stride?
I’m also in the path of totality in central Texas. We also saw the partial eclipse last year, we happen to be in the crosshairs of both. The interesting thing that I found out from the partial, are the shadows from the leaves on the trees display the eclipse much better than just trying to observe the sun through the glasses. The wind was blowing the trees and I was observing from a second story deck, the effect was quite dramatic. So don’t forget to look down at the shadows during the eclipse!
I want to clarify the photo, the shadows are most visible on concrete, as you can see in the photo there’s a concrete walkway next to the ground. Not sure if you can see that effect on the grass or dirt.
We were sitting under a patio umbrella and watched the entire thing happen in the light shinning through grommet holes on the concrete.
I was going to say much the same thing about the shadows. We live in Oregon and when we had ‘our’ eclipse, to me the shadows were as interesting as the main event.
I'm an amateur photographer and was in totality back in 2017. I had a couple of things I tried but I didn't want to spend the whole 2 minutes fiddling with my camera either.
I will say, the incredible feeling of seeing totality highly exceeded anything I was expecting. It's quite possibly the most beautiful thing I've seen and experienced on this planet. I'm wishing you sunny skies so you are able to enjoy the magic!!
Don't forget to look down during the eclipse. Stand near a leafy tree that shows dappled sunlight preferably with the driveway concrete underneath. Then when it happens - look down and see the eclipse in each little sunny spot under the tree. It is like looking at a big clutch of fish eggs and seeing the tiny fishlets inside. MAGIC! Don't forget! It's memorable.
Sadly, here in southern Ontario we don’t have leaves out yet on the trees. It’s too early in the spring. But daffodils and crocuses and tulips are up yay!
Me, I am a total sucker for anything astronomy related. I once made myself up a bed outside to watch a meteor shower. In December. Trouble is, we live where there is not a single place not bothered by light pollution. So I froze my buttocks off for nothing.
The eclipse in 2017 was total less than 2 hours away from us. And the weather turned out to be cloudless and spectacular. Yet my husband wasn't willing to hop in the car, drive those 2 hours to share the event with family we like being with. I should have known then that something wasn't right with him. Turns out dementia was already creeping into our lives and apathy is a huge symptom of his type of dementia.
This time it would be a 6 hr drive to a place where we have no loved ones to share the event. And so far the weather man is predicting only partially sunny. So we will stay put and watch what we can from home. I still have my awesome eclipse glasses that allowed me to comfortably view the last time...and I will share it with my husband if he seems to be the least bit interested.
I wish Chicago was in the path, but such is life. Enjoy the wonder of it all while safely protecting your retinas.
3:43 minutes over my little stretch of Angola beach here across the lake from you. I’ll be leaving Penny at home in her kennel and walking down with a chair, blanket, special glasses and all the enthusiasm of a 6 year old hoping to experience it in solitude but knowing that is probably most unlikely. I remember viewing my first eclipse with my older sister who was a teacher. She had two pieces of paper and a pin and that’s how we “safely” viewed it back in the olden days kids, before the fancy glasses (that I am totally grateful for)!
Everyone reminding you to just experience the eclipse and let others do the photographing are right. It's a strange, eerie, wonderful thing and it's gone too soon. All your neighbors (and people you don't even know) will all be outdoors at the same time, and the communal experience is terrific, too. Philip might act a little differently than his normal behavior. You can imagine how ancient societies must have attached all kinds of magic and mystery and fear to what was happening.
One thing you probably know, but in case you don't: during an eclipse find a tree or shrub that casts shadows (dappled shade is the best) on a fence or wall or the ground and look at the shadows -- there will be hundreds of little eclipses! A couple of quick snapshots with your phone will preserve that beautiful little tableau without taking you away from enjoying the whole experience. Take the shots before or after the totality because there's something so cool about all those little crescents on whatever surface you're capturing. Enjoy!
Alas the phenomenon that you describe only happens if you are at totality and even then, it doesn't always happen. In 2017, my brother in law, his partner and their hiking group went up a mountain near Chattanooga Tn and he got great pics of the phenomenon. Yet others in their group almost missed it because they were 10 minutes further down the mountain and it wasn't happening where they were. A quick phone call and they came running up to see it for themselves...
And we could have driven 2.5 hrs over and gone on that hike with them. But my husband wasn't interested and I went along with his decision and I have been sorry ever since.
Now we are about a 6 hr drive from totality and don't know a single person in that area. And my husband is not the least bit interested in the eclipse at all....it makes me sad to know this will be the last total eclipse in my lifetime and I won't get to see it in it's full glory
I was surprised at the shadows from an eclipse. They are all staggered, I don’t know how that happens but it’s cool.
We had the opportunity to see the last totality in Sheridan Oregon. We had to move my daughter to San Diego CA two days following. Asked her if she wanted to make the trip. "Sure" she said. So we make the drive up from Sacramento CA to Sheridan a couple days ahead of the eclipse. Fantastic hosts, we camped out at a friend of a friend's. Setup to watch the eclipse...kinda anti-climatic, the setup that was. But as we watched the shadows encompass our world and the temperature dropped and all of nature grew quiet, we knew we were on to something. Totality happened. My daughter looked at us and said "Okay, that was worth it!" So, yes, experience it. Let someone else get the perfect shot. That shot is nothing compared to the experience.
I’ve seen an eclipse, and I think seeing the shadow race across the landscape towards you is one of the most awe inspiring visions one can experience. Enjoy this!
I didn't even know that was a thing! ~ karen
Can I make a suggestion as someone who has experienced totality the last time? Don’t try to photograph it, experience it. Let other people with fancy motorized tripods that sync with the earth’s rotation get the perfect photograph. Trust me, they’ll be all over the internet after and you can copy one, but don’t miss your shot to experience it.
Trust me.
I mean it.
Seriously.
Read up on what colors to wear, all the things that will manifest, watch for them, and let it all happen to you. I’m sooo jealous! Because if there was any way I could travel to totality, I’d do it again in a heart beat. Don’t miss it trying to take a picture!
Because as someone else said, 99% eclipse is like a cool sunset, but totality is like someone broke the sky.
Bucket list experience!
Hi Maria! Don't worry ... I forgot to add into the post the fact that I won't sacrifice my experience for a photo. Even if I just get a quick photo of it with my iPhone in the end. I want to sit in the middle of the road and enjoy it. ~ karen!
Oh good! Yeah you can take some snaps in the lead up or after. Read up on all the light wave things to look for and colors to wear. You’ll see why ancient people thought it was the gods!
Enjoy!