Partial Lessons Learned

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I wanted to try taking photos of the partial eclipse this morning, partly because an eclipse is cool and partly because Ahuva and I have a date in 2024 for the total event happening right above me.

I learned a lot – mostly from failure. Some research helped as well. I need to practice on sunny days but I have a few years for that. 🙂

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I knew I needed a solar filter, both to capture what was happening and to avoid burning out the insides of my camera. There is one dark filter in my bag. It only fits my 50 mm lens so that’s the one I used.

Unfortunately it wasn’t dark enough. The first image is pre-filter and pre-sun. The second photo is of the first glimpse of the sun being targeted by the moon’s shadow. The clouds helped reveal the start of the eclipse.

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Once the sun got above the clouds it was too bright for my filter and the effects of the moon are almost imperceptible. Still, as I said, I learned a lot. I need a better filter and one which fits on a longer lens.

I got up at 4 to make sure I was on a suitable rock at the correct time. Now that these lessons have been learned I’m going to have a nap. 🙂

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