36 replies to this topic

[GamesForOne]

So after months of practice, finding a perfect spot, taking a camper and getting up at 5 AM to Polar align and everything working perfect I did the ultimate stupid thing in the excitement of the whole situation. FORGOT TO TAKE THE FILTOR OFF for totality. ...

You are not alone. I did the same thing in 2017. I sat there stumped at my camera screen wondering why it was pitch black during totality while those precious seconds ticked away. I finally just decided to forget it and look up!

 

I had my big 45 deg binos setup high in the air so people could stand up and look through. The filters were high in the air. I had no ladder to get high enough to take them off. By the time I lowered it, took them off, and found the totally eclipsed Sun again it would be over.

 

So... I just looked up.

 

This time I bought some Canon IS binos to use for totality, but then the weather discouraged me from traveling to this eclipse. I had planned on Versailles State Park in Indiana -- I never heard if it was clear.

 

I wrote the guy that authored the eclipse timer app I used in 2017 and asked him to put in "remove filters" announcements as totality approached. He did so.

 

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Michael Mc

[No1umfan]

Hi everyone.  The Solar Eclipse Timer app did great on eclipse day.  To answer some questions brought up here.  It has always been my specific recommendation to dedicate a device to do your timing.  Why would you want to risk messing up a three-hour pre-loaded timing sequence with announcements scheduled to the second by multitasking with that device.  The uninterrupted timing of the eclipse is the most important thing.  The warning is on the Home Screen, it's in the App Tutorial, it's in the Help File.

The app does not require the internet or cell service to run.  Als long as it has GPS coordinates in the path it will time the eclipse.  Thanks for your support during the 2024 eclipse!

Yep, you are totally right. Completely user error. Plenty of warnings....................  But just maybe if the font was bigger in the middle panel LOL

[No1umfan]

Fortunately I recorded it in 8K VR180. Once rendered I can relive that memory at anytime by just throwing on my headset:)

WOW, any chance you could share that video. Really interested in how much dynamic range you could pick up with that system (I'm assuming Canon R5/R5c). Like someone else earlier posted I've never seen a video or picture that could come close to capturing the experience you see with your own eyes. I did do a vr360  with an insta360 OneRS one inch Leica which did a great job of capturing the setting all but for the corona

[brentwood]

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought it was going to be some of the crazy things that people say about the eclipse. My favourite was the one where a woman wrote that her eclipse glasses didn't work  as although she had them on the whole time, when everyone started cheering and clapping, she could see nothing!  Everything went dark and she couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. The other one was where people wrote that they were going to get a 99% eclipse so why would they bother to drive a few miles for just ONE more percent. ! 

[bookemdano]

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought it was going to be some of the crazy things that people say about the eclipse. My favourite was the one where a woman wrote that her eclipse glasses didn't work  as although she had them on the whole time, when everyone started cheering and clapping, she could see nothing!  Everything went dark and she couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. The other one was where people wrote that they were going to get a 99% eclipse so why would they bother to drive a few miles for just ONE more percent. ! 

During totality in 2017 I heard a guy near me say "I can't see anything", and without even looking at him I knew what the problem was and exclaimed "take your glasses off, man!"

 

This time I shouted at full volume right after C2 "TAKE YOUR GLASSES OFF!" Don't know if it helped anyone, but I tried

Edited by bookemdano, 12 April 2024 - 04:02 PM.

[NightSkyD]

WOW, any chance you could share that video. Really interested in how much dynamic range you could pick up with that system (I'm assuming Canon R5/R5c). Like someone else earlier posted I've never seen a video or picture that could come close to capturing the experience you see with your own eyes. I did do a vr360  with an insta360 OneRS one inch Leica which did a great job of capturing the setting all but for the corona

I thought more about why your eyes see more and better views of the eclipse than video or images. I think the big difference between your eyes and technology is scale and of course dynamic range, but let’s just deal with scale for the moment. I’ve seen some really good images of Corona streamers detailed in images, but that does not give you the perspective your eyes has when viewing the Sun in relation to the horizon, trees, and other things. It’s kind of like having to put a quarter or a dollar bill next to an object when you photograph it to give it scale.

 

As Einstein once said relativity is unique to the observer. For example, you have to compare something to another to give a perspective according to what you see. If someone is standing next to you and appears to be motionless or static, that obviously is perspective and relative to you, since the earth is rotating hundreds of miles per hour and traveling around the Sun tens of thousands of miles per hour and of course the Sun is traveling around our galaxy etc. You get the point.

 

So getting back to comparing something to another to give perspective the Sun and its corona, when viewing with your eyes, gives scale and perspective according to what you see relative to the surroundings. Of course dynamic range also changes how you view the Sun with your eyes compared to technology, but I think most of what you see with your eyes makes you contemplate the vastness of what you see, whereas pictures make it difficult to do that. To be fair Ansel Adams gave a good perspective of the famous “Moonrise” image in Hernandez, New Mexico. The buildings, and the surrounding topography gave the Moon perspective.

 

Also, when I tell people of what I had seen, they just say OK and dismiss it as nothing fantastic or think well that’s nice. I think if they really understood what you see visually during an eclipse, they would say WOW that’s amazing! Another analogy to this would be like a woman, trying to explain to a man, how fantastic it is to give birth. No amount of description or reading books about it would give you the kind of perspective and observing/going through it a woman has, unless you have gone through it yourself.

 

Just my two cents…

 

Cheers!

Edited by NightSkyD, 13 April 2024 - 10:30 AM.

[dissent]

The Solar Eclipse Timer app worked great for me. The only issue I had is that when I mounted my cell phone running the app in the clamp that was in one of my camera hot shoes, I accidentally placed the clamp over the lower button on the left side of the phone. This turned the volume all the way down! About 30 minutes before C2 I realized I wasn't hearing anything, and then noticed my blunder with the phone clamp. After resetting the phone volume I could hear the SET app notifications perfectly! Very handy app to have around.

[DevilJack]

I too took my filters off late, missing the C2 Diamonds and Beads. But I was able to get great partials and my first passes at HDR Corona composites look good. 
 

looks like I’ll be planning a trip to Spain or Australia in the future.

[Stricnine]

Count me as one of those who got distracted talking to others, forgetting the imaging plan, and after looking up and saying "Wow!" completely forgetting everything else.

 

All I managed to get were a few images through the solar filter at totality.  I did the best I could with what I ended up with.  I did get plenty of images leading up to totality.  I had planned to keep imaging as the Moon continued on through, but clouds came back here in DFW and I gave up after 13 or so more images after seeing that even more clouds were on the way.

 

I ended up deciding to call this slightly out of focus one "The Heart of Morgoth".

 

Edited by Stricnine, 17 April 2024 - 08:43 PM.

[BRCoz]

Late last year I ordered a Neewer shutter release with timer for my DLSR.  When I got to the spot and setup my camera and tripod; I could not find it.  I did get some photos.  I set it to delay after I pressed the shutter and also adjusted how long to camera was open.  I still have not found the shutter release.  I still have to check out all of the photos I took.  It looks like I missed the focus.  

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[ericjaakkola]

So after months of practice, finding a perfect spot, taking a camper and getting up at 5 AM to Polar align and everything working perfect I did the ultimate stupid thing in the excitement of the whole situation. FORGOT TO TAKE THE FILTOR OFF for totality. I had solar eclipse timer running, and I heard an announcement at two minutes to C2. But I swear I never heard any more announcements. I had automated brackets going from 1/2000 all the way to six seconds for totality. I was hoping to try to see if I could tease out Pons Brooks plus get about eight radii of the corona. Obviously that’s not happening. So I’m reaching out to the community to see if some kind hearted soul would be willing to share a bracket of RAW files I could play around with just so I could regain some sanity

I just posted my raws onto OneDrive in a recent thread.  Have at it.

[Abc_xyz]

Haha! I have you all beat in my own stupidity. 

 

I made the reversed version of your typical mistakes.

 

My picture taking, while not fantastic, far exceeded my expectation. You see, my photography days were like 15 years in the past. So, as I was packing to go WATCH my 1st total eclipse, I thought at the last moment “Oh, maybe I should dig out my photography kits and take it with me? Who knows”. So I dug out my 15 year old, 1st generation DSLR, which doesn’t have half of the latest bells and whistles, and my tripod. Fortunately, my remote shutter release was also in the bag… I had to google and download the manual since I’ve forgotten how to operate half of the controls in the 15 year interim.

 

Still, I didn’t pin much hope on getting good photos on my first ever attempt. Further more, I know all too well how photography interferes with actual enjoyment of seeing and experiencing these once in a lifetime events. Been there, done that in the days when I was pretending to be an armature photographer. Not going to make THAT mistake!

 

I was determined to focus on enjoying watching the eclipse. 

 

I swear I once owned a stack of neutral density filters, but I couldn’t find any of them. So, no picture of partial eclipse phases. But for totality? I was blown away how good the results were on my casual, last minute setup of fairly outdated equipments. I only took 2 sets of 3 bracketed shots. Turns out 4 of the 6 were pretty good. All good then?

 

But, let’s rewind to the morning of April 8, 2024.

 

I parked my car, put on my ski boots and skis. Carrying all my stuff in a backpack, I rode TWO chair lift up to the top of the mountain. I put them down to claim a spot with a good view of the sun for when the time came. Now all the preparation done, I went skiing up and down the slopes till it’s time for the partials to start. With a clear view of the sky, I put on my eclipse glasses to take a first look. That’s when I realized…

 

I forgot my own regular glasses!!!

 

I’m slightly nearsighted. I don’t usually wear glasses except when I’m in class or driving at night. Moreover, glasses get in the way of skiing. So, I had completely forgotten to take my glasses with me at all! It was still sitting in the car way down at the bottom of the mountain! There’s not enough time for me to go down to get it and still come back up in time for totality!

 

Fortunately, I see well enough even without glasses. It’s just not exactly crystal clear as when I have glasses on. Or at least that’s what I thought anyway. Though afterwards, when I look at my photos, they capture some of the details with a lot more clarity than my naked eyes. I do wonder… Granted, I was shooting with a telephoto lens. So I probably wasn’t actually missing too much… Or I hope I didn’t miss much anyway! 

 

So, I’m definitely going to Spain to SEE it again, wearing glasses hopefully. 

Edited by Abc_xyz, 18 April 2024 - 10:02 PM.