Topic: Eclipse 20th March 2015

[LT]

Much of Europe and Northern Africa will be seeing a partial solar eclipse on Fri 20th March. Some of Northern Europe will be seeing a total eclipse. UK gets 80% eclipse apparently.

Anyone planning some mad,  on-the-edge photography of it?  Any tips from seasoned astro-boffins on how to approach such a tricky task?  I have 2 x minus 10 ND filters I could stack.  Would that be enough to get a safe and properly exposed shot?  If not,  what filter strength would work?  I have sone grads I could stack on top of the big stoppers.

[zapsnaps]

Hi Leon

I have a 58mm solar eclipse filter (used once!) which you are welcome to have. Please send me your address via PM if it would be of interest.

Cheers
David

[jojonas~]

now there's a filter you don't use every day!

[LT]

That's a very kind offer David. Thank you. PM sent

[jojonas~]

joking aside, thanks for taking this up Leon. I've put together an excel sheet now with screenshots from suncalc and comparisons of fov in degrees between differing focal lengths.

I might want to try something like this:

Solar Eclipse 2012, Lake Tahoe by Jehu10842, on Flickr

but it's too soon to source a 4x5 though. maybe pinhole

I reckon I'd be sorry if I missed out on this! here's hoping for good weather

[Francois]

Most filters, unless specified for solar pictures, are not safe. A good filter for taking sun photos must have some metal particles in it to block out the light. Also, never watch a partial eclipse with bare eyes. We tend to put the eclipse in the center of our viewing field and the rays will burn in a part of the eyes at that exact spot. I remember a guy who did so when I was in primary school and after watching the eclipse he had a spot burned in his eye preventing him from seeing the first letter of everything he read.

One of the safest ways to observe and photograph it is using the indirect method where you make a box with a pinhole that projects on a white screen and then photograph that screen. If you don't have access to a filter, that's the way to do it on the cheap.

[charles binns]

I'm planning of getting a good peak through my grandfather's WW1 German Army Field Glasses (taken from a  German officer at the end of the war).  The quality of the Zeiss lenses is incredible.

[SLVR]

we had a partial solar eclipse here last year. I meant to get out but it just looks like nothing. It just looks like sunny.

[Francois]

That's true when you don't have adequate filtration.
Using a dark arc welding mask also works.

Thing is the brightness far exceeds our eye's sensibility range and the sun is really far away, so we barely see it unless we use special tools.

I did tag along with a bunch of astronomy guys when we last had an eclipse an this is what you get using a 500mm lens...
This is full frame on a free roll of Ektachrome I got from Kodak when they were still giving samplers away...

[Kayos]

I will have a go with my welding mask, it has variable shade so should be able to get some sort of shot

[LT]

joking aside, thanks for taking this up Leon. I've put together an excel sheet now with screenshots from suncalc and comparisons of fov in degrees between differing focal lengths.

I might want to try something like this:

Solar Eclipse 2012, Lake Tahoe by Jehu10842, on Flickr

but it's too soon to source a 4x5 though. maybe pinhole

I reckon I'd be sorry if I missed out on this! here's hoping for good weather

That looks amazing Jo Jonas. I'd be interested in doing something like it myself. Probably digital though (day I say!)

[LT]

we had a partial solar eclipse here last year. I meant to get out but it just looks like nothing. It just looks like sunny.

We had one in 2000 (I think)...  I was fantastic. The sky went really strange for a while.it was definitely noticeable even though it was quite cloudy.

[jojonas~]

That looks amazing Jo Jonas. I'd be interested in doing something like it myself. Probably digital though (day I say!)

nay. ofcourse I had to look up some examples on film (research!) it was shot with a 4x5 chamonix on kodak vs100 (according to the tags on flickr for the shot)

[zapsnaps]

I last used my filter for the 2000 UK eclipse. Interestingly, the sun was out of focus at infinity. Just nudging the lens slightly closer resulted in a sharper image. Perhaps the sun isn't that far away after all.

[jojonas~]

I last used my filter for the 2000 UK eclipse. Interestingly, the sun was out of focus at infinity. Just nudging the lens slightly closer resulted in a sharper image. Perhaps the sun isn't that far away after all.

yes! I've noticed this with some of my lenses too.

to infinity... and beyond!

[Francois]

Not surprising since all our lenses are calibrated for infinity on earth, not so far away.

[SLVR]

That looks amazing Jo Jonas. I'd be interested in doing something like it myself. Probably digital though (day I say!)

[Sandeha Lynch]

1999, it was 100% over Cornwall and a tad less in south Wales.  But it was cloudy as fcuk and I just got a glimpse of the partial through the clouds.  I must scan them some time.