Re: Pictures of the Solar Eclipse over Yosemite Valley..Please!!!!

I tried everything I could to be in the Sierra on Sunday afternoon for the Solar Eclipse, but it's not going to happen. I would like to extend a passionate plea for those with photographic skills....what kinds of pictures are you planning? Are there special requirements for taking pictures of an eclipse?

It sure seems like an exciting opportunity. I would love to see some results.

Thank You!

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"It is all very beautiful and magical here - a quality which cannot be described. You have to live it and breath it., let the sun bake it into you" - Ansel Adams

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Jayabrams
I tried everything I could to be in the Sierra on Sunday afternoon for the Solar Eclipse, but it's not going to happen. I would like to extend a passionate plea for those with photographic skills....what kinds of pictures are you planning? Are there special requirements for taking pictures of an eclipse?

It sure seems like an exciting opportunity. I would love to see some results.

Thank You!

Unless I'm very much mistaken, the Valley won't be a very good place to see the eclipse, based on astronomical data.

It's likely we're going to be at some old ruins just NE of Flagstaff, which is along the arc path.

I saw that the valley is off the main path, but I assumed that the partial eclipse would still be pretty cool!

I'm excited for you! I remember a total eclipse from when I was young. It should be spectacular!

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"It is all very beautiful and magical here - a quality which cannot be described. You have to live it and breath it., let the sun bake it into you" - Ansel Adams

It is too bad that Yosemite is not in the path of the total eclipse and will only have a partial.

Go to: http://earthsky.org/space/watch-may-2012-solar-eclipse-at-a-national-park for information on what parks that will are in the total path and what parks ( both in the partial and total path) that will have programs that day. This site also has information on how to safely view the eclipse by eye or using a telescope or camera.

When the last eclipse could be seen in our area, we could see multiple images of the eclipse on the ground below one of our trees.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2012 09:22AM by parklover.

One needs to be north of the Sutter Buttes and Marysville/Yuba City and then it will just be a 94% occlusion so no total exclipse with a corona. Supposedly too bright to eye look at directly or to point a digital camera directly at without chancing burning out sensors pixels. Will peak at 6:30pm PDT so just 20 degrees altitude in the sky. We are planning to drive up to Lake Oroville reservoir and watch from SR162 along the east shore. Not planning on taking any direct pics unless some clouds dim the light down. Have a suspicion the supposed direct viewing warnings may be exaggerated especially since the sun altitude is low meaning it will cut through more atmosphere. Will see.

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http://www.davidsenesac.com



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2012 10:46AM by DavidSenesac.

If it is going to be peaking at 6:30 pm, I don't see why it would be so bright as to burn out sensor pixels. I have shot into the FULL sun at that time of day without any damage to my camera.

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hotrod4x5
If it is going to be peaking at 6:30 pm, I don't see why it would be so bright as to burn out sensor pixels. I have shot into the FULL sun at that time of day without any damage to my camera.

Indeed like I noted, I too am suspicious, but then every site speaking with authority on the issue recommends STRONG filters and not looking directly at it with eyes. I'd bet it is more a least common denominator issue that is dumbed down to an extremes lest fools and ignorant get into trouble. Because fear that some clueless person regardless of how they might narrowly relate what is ok, might take any thumbs up as a signal to looks directly at the sun or use their camera well before it is only 94%. No doubt many will only be aware an eclipse is going to occur on the day of the eclipse due to buzz that day from others. So they will trot out with their friends clueless about what is happening, as to how much the moon might hide the sun, or what manner of viewing is ok. And then there are myriad little kids that need guidance from adults.

Last thing someone making recommendations is going to want to hear is that just because they said it was ok ONLY if one was located in a place with over 90% occlusion, that some kids damaged their eyes because someone else said it would be ok who didn't remember the qualifications. Or someone burns out their $2000 DSLR because they didn't remember they could only point their camera directly at the sun if stopped down below F11.

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http://www.davidsenesac.com

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DavidSenesac

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hotrod4x5
If it is going to be peaking at 6:30 pm, I don't see why it would be so bright as to burn out sensor pixels. I have shot into the FULL sun at that time of day without any damage to my camera.

Indeed like I noted, I too am suspicious, but then every site speaking with authority on the issue recommends STRONG filters and not looking directly at it with eyes. I'd bet it is more a least common denominator issue that is dumbed down to an extremes lest fools and ignorant get into trouble. Because fear that some clueless person regardless of how they might narrowly relate what is ok, might take any thumbs up as a signal to looks directly at the sun or use their camera well before it is only 94%. No doubt many will only be aware an eclipse is going to occur on the day of the eclipse due to buzz that day from others. So they will trot out with their friends clueless about what is happening, as to how much the moon might hide the sun, or what manner of viewing is ok. And then there are myriad little kids that need guidance from adults.

Last thing someone making recommendations is going to want to hear is that just because they said it was ok ONLY if one was located in a place with over 90% occlusion, that some kids damaged their eyes because someone else said it would be ok who didn't remember the qualifications. Or someone burns out their $2000 DSLR because they didn't remember they could only point their camera directly at the sun if stopped down below F11.

Don't look at it with the naked eye no matter how many clouds or fog you may be looking through. I looked at an eclipse when I was 10 yrs old through fog. Because it was so foggy it was easy to keep an eye on it without any discomfort...but, since then I have had a permanent blind spot right in the middle of my right eye!

Wow!

This Sunday, and it looks like it'll be a good view from the top of Mt Lassen.

Guess I know where I'll be this weekend.

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Dang! Looks like it's still winter up there with lots of snow and closed roads waiting to be plowed!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2012 01:40AM by qumqats.

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DavidSenesac

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hotrod4x5
If it is going to be peaking at 6:30 pm, I don't see why it would be so bright as to burn out sensor pixels. I have shot into the FULL sun at that time of day without any damage to my camera.

Indeed like I noted, I too am suspicious, but then every site speaking with authority on the issue recommends STRONG filters and not looking directly at it with eyes. I'd bet it is more a least common denominator issue that is dumbed down to an extremes lest fools and ignorant get into trouble. Because fear that some clueless person regardless of how they might narrowly relate what is ok, might take any thumbs up as a signal to looks directly at the sun or use their camera well before it is only 94%. No doubt many will only be aware an eclipse is going to occur on the day of the eclipse due to buzz that day from others. So they will trot out with their friends clueless about what is happening, as to how much the moon might hide the sun, or what manner of viewing is ok. And then there are myriad little kids that need guidance from adults.

Last thing someone making recommendations is going to want to hear is that just because they said it was ok ONLY if one was located in a place with over 90% occlusion, that some kids damaged their eyes because someone else said it would be ok who didn't remember the qualifications. Or someone burns out their $2000 DSLR because they didn't remember they could only point their camera directly at the sun if stopped down below F11.

Staring at an eclipse is probably no more dangerous than staring at a full sun. That however still happens to be rather dangerous.

I remember staring at a partial eclipse once. I went and got special eclipse filter glasses, and it pretty much looked like a light spot against almost pure black. It was pretty much the equivalent of a welder's glass.

For more information on how to view the eclipse safely.

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/safety2.html

Center of the eclipse passes through Reno, too. I was in San Diego when the annular eclipse occurred in 1992 also at sunset, it was something I'll never forget. I didn't use any special filtering for the photos (which I can't find and it's driving me nuts!) but it was partly cloudy and near sunset so merely stopping down lens was enough. The sun may be low enough in the sky this time to not need filtering, we'll see...but I have a homemade Baader film filter just in case. if you can get along the path of the eclipse this Sunday I highly recommend it even though it's not a total eclipse. Also don't forget Venus crosses the disk of the sun on June 5 starting around 3 p.m. on the West Coast.

I second this; would love to see some great eclipse shots.

Thanks for the pictures, esp. the GIF. I used them for a little fun science lesson. Kids always think its cooler when the pictures are real.

We are going to Pyramid Lake in Nevada. Will post Pics if I get anything good and if I can figure out how to post on this site.

Went to the waterfront in Emeryville to view the eclipse. We had some welders glasses and had made a projection (pinhole) box to share with others. It was a fun evening, and the sunset was beautiful.

I will admit, if I had it to do over again I would choose a different spot. The reflection off the water made the sunlight more intense and I think it was more spectacular watching the light change. We spent most of the time with the sun at our backs watching the effects on the hillsides. In hindsight, a hilltop with a wide view of terrain would have been way better. Top of Mt Diablo would have been perfect.

All my photos were crappy. Here's hoping someone with better equipment and the right know-how got some good shots.

Thanks!

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"It is all very beautiful and magical here - a quality which cannot be described. You have to live it and breath it., let the sun bake it into you" - Ansel Adams

We went on top of one of the hills in the Santa Monica Mountains to view the eclipse and used our spotting scope and projected the image onto a white piece of paper.

Those photos are cool. What filter did you use over your 200 mm lens? I shot it with my 70-200 and 8 stops of ND filter plus a POL filter.

We went to Lahontan State Park in Nevada and took lots of pictures. I'm going to make an animate GIF of the eclipse but in the meantime here's a sneak preview. Used a Canon 450D and a 200mm zoom lens with a filter. The first 10 images are 8 minutes apart and the last 5 are closer spaced. This image is reduced to 50%. We were just a little south of the centerline as shown in the last frame, not quite a perfect circle.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/2012 12:20PM by Calaveras.

WOW Thanks for posting. We only got to 85% at our location.

Yay! Thank you for Sharing!!!!!

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"It is all very beautiful and magical here - a quality which cannot be described. You have to live it and breath it., let the sun bake it into you" - Ansel Adams

Here's the animated GIF of the eclipse. Images are 4 minutes apart and about 30 seconds apart during the annular phase.

Super cool!

Very nice animation.

I took a picture of the shadow made by a tree during peak occlusion (in bay area). You can see the crescent shape of the eclipse duplicated many times in the shadow. The gaps in the canopy of the tree must have been acting like many pinhole cameras.

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carl_spackler
I took a picture of the shadow made by a tree during peak occlusion (in bay area). You can see the crescent shape of the eclipse duplicated many times in the shadow. The gaps in the canopy of the tree must have been acting like many pinhole cameras.

I have a similar picture, also in the Bay Area. One of the cooler phenomenons.

Very cool!

Those are great images Calaveras. What beach do you go to at Lahontan?

The far eastern side south of the dam.

I slept through it. I suppose a lot of Old Dudes did, after all dinner is a 4PM.

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Old Dude

Here is my poor attempt. We went up to Frenchman Lake near the centerline of the eclipse. Just held my eclipse glasses over the lens.

Love it, you captured at the perfect moment.

Myself, hung out with my son and some friends. Had a filter so we could view it safely. It looked like a crescent moon, but upside down. Not terribly exciting, but at least we had seen it. Got bored and gave up just before it reached this stage. Ah well, next time ... which I believe is in approximately 70 years.

There's a 2 minute total eclipse that runs coast to coast on August 21, 2017. There's a reasonable chance of clear skies for it in Oregon in August. Then for those of you who are young enough, there's a 5+ minute total eclipse on August 12, 2045 that also runs coast to coast. Both of these are in the morning for the west coast which means less chance of clouds that are common in the afternoons in summer.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2012 11:01AM by Calaveras.