16 replies to this topic

[twinion]

This was my first total solar eclipse and while totality was an awesome experience, my fondest memories of April 8th 2024 will be of those after third contact.

 

Eclipse enthusiast friends of mine decided to arrange a group trip to Mazatlan, and after having missed out in 2017, I decided to join them. Most advice for first timers is to take it all in and forget the camera at home, but I'm a hobbyist photographer and I felt that if I was going to the effort and the expense to travel a thousand miles to see something, I should do my best to capture it. Without any experience in astrophotography, I fell down a long rabbit hole of forums and blogs and videos and books to prepare (shout out to this forum and Gordon Telepun for book and app!). In the months prior I was periodically practicing in my back yard and refining my process. In order to spend most of my time viewing, my primary rig was guided and scripted with Eclipse Orchestrator, but I also had a second camera I was shooting manually. Part of that second rig included video out to my iPad, something added at the behest of an experienced friend. While I've seen some far more impressive and sophisticated setups online, as well as some at our hotel in Mazatlan, I definitely had the most notable setup on the small hotel beach my friends had chosen as our viewing location.

 

 

Totality came and went far too quickly, and while I was dedicated to imaging all the way to C4, most people started milling around shortly after C3. Naturally, a few inquired as to if I'd gotten anything worthwhile, and being curious myself, I pulled up some shots to view on the iPad. My images aren't extraordinary by any means, but even through the clouds I captured some nice detail of the prominences and Baily's Beads. After a few gasps and excited shouts for loved ones to come on over, I quickly drew quite a crowd. Over the next 30 minutes or so, even as I was still imaging the final partial phases, I got to share what I'd captured with dozens of thrilled eclipse viewers.

 

 

 

Typically I'm pretty bad about turn around time with my photos, so it's usually a while before I get any feedback on my efforts. That was very much not the case on Eclipse day. In between my scheduled shots I'd bring up random sequences from totality and explore them with whoever was over my shoulder. People would gasp when I'd bring up 100% crops of the prominences in particular. I realized that my photos represented the first opportunity for these folks to get a better view and understanding of what they'd just witnessed. I ended up with a bilingual running commentary as I was scrolling through different sequences and disappointed groans when I'd stop the viewing to take another shot. People were leaning in to take pictures of my iPad, asking where I'd be posting my shots, and offering their thanks for giving them context for what they'd just seen. It was one of the most rewarding experience I've ever had with my photography and a testament to how a phenomenon like an eclipse can bring people together.

 

 

I was (and still am) pretty bummed that clouds put a very real ceiling on the quality of what I could capture, but even if everyone there found better images on Instagram on their way home, there was a brief moment where my efforts were meaningful to a handful of random people on a beach in Mexico. It was a surprisingly affecting experience, and one that brought an extra measure of joy to an already extraordinary event.

 

Who all has had similar experiences? Maybe some excited reactions to a look through a telescope?

 

[ericjaakkola]

How did you get a flight to Mazatlan?  We had hotel reservations but couldn't find a flight.

[Anhydrite]

 Most advice for first timers is to take it all in and forget the camera at home, but I'm a hobbyist photographer and I felt that if I was going to the effort and the expense to travel a thousand miles to see something, I should do my best to capture it. Without any experience in astrophotography,

This always bothers me when people give that advice!

 

Its not like Eclipse photography is some complicated process.  It just takes a little know how and some research/practice.

 

So many post in here where people ask for help months in advance, and the only reply they get is "if this is your first eclipse, don't bother...leave the camera at home".

 

I wonder how long it would take to get a ban from the forum if every time someone asked for camera advice in the beginner Astrophotography section my response was "unless you have spent 8 years looking at that target through an eyepiece you should not take any photos"....

 

 

Great shots by the way!

Edited by Anhydrite, 24 April 2024 - 10:12 PM.

[ericjaakkola]

This always bothers me when people give that advice!

 

Its not like Eclipse photography is some complicated process.  It just takes a little know how and some research/practice.

 

So many post in here where people ask for help months in advance, and the only reply they get is "if this is your first eclipse, don't bother...leave the camera at home".

 

I wonder how long it would take to get a ban from the forum if every time someone asked for camera advice in the beginner Astrophotography section my response was "unless you have spent 8 years looking at that target through an eyepiece you should not take any photos"....

 

 

Great shots by the way!

My advice was to dedicate a full minute to just looking at it.

[R Botero]

Great story and shots from Mazatlán! 

 

We (wife, daughter and I) were also there further south from your location.  We imaged from the rooftop terrace of the building/airbnb we were staying in.  Around 30-40 people joined us, some with telescopes, many with binoculars.  It was a great experience despite the high clouds.  We made some friends and encouraged a few to consider 2027 in Africa and 2028 down under.

 

This is my 4th totality and longest.  2017 was better in terms of clarity of the sky and view of the corona (from South Carolina) but this is the first time I've taken pictures of one also.  My results are here:  https://www.astrobin.com/0ef83r/F/

 

Roberto

[rockethead26]

How did you get a flight to Mazatlan?  We had hotel reservations but couldn't find a flight.

A year in advance and even then prices were climbing as we took a half hour to decide on our flights,

[Cajundaddy]

"Who all has had similar experiences? Maybe some excited reactions to a look through a telescope?"

Looks like you had a great experience, bravo!  I had a similar experience in 2017 with clear skies and everything went right.  Lots of oooohs and aaaahs as images came up on my iPad screen in the middle of totality.  

So many things can go wrong so quickly and the main event is over in just a few minutes with no time to adapt or troubleshoot gear.  In 1999 we were rained on just as we entered totality.  I covered my cameras and just watched but really wanted to record the event.  A similar problem arose for this one where my SLT tracking drive simply refused to move on eclipse day.  I had rehearsed with it several times and had very nice timelapse results during the partial in October but on April 8th, bupkis.

I did not bring a manual tripod and the scope/camera combination is too heavy to reasonably hand hold.  I had made an agreement with myself in advance to automate everything and watch the event live.  If anything went wrong and I could not resolve it very quickly, stop fiddling and watch it.  I honored this and put the scope away minutes before C2.  We had a lot of clouds with breaks in between.  We got a very good look at totality which I never would have seen if still troubleshooting and aligning my mount.  Easy come, easy go. 

Photographing an eclipse is not easy and for every photographer that gets nice shots, 10 get poor or no shots.  I think this is the basis for recommendations to avoid imaging the event unless you are very familiar with your gear and have time to rehearse with it.  If you prepare months in advance and can automate your exposures, rehearse several times, no problem.  

A week in advance, new gear, no rehearsal time, means the chance of getting great shots is approaching zero.  In this case, I too recommend to just watch the event.  Don't fiddle with unfamiliar gear during this rare American TSE and miss it.  The cost/benefit ratio is just too high.

[twinion]

How did you get a flight to Mazatlan?  We had hotel reservations but couldn't find a flight.

Booked everything a year in advance or so. It also helped that being in San Diego we could fly out of Tijuana on domestic Mexican flights.

 

This always bothers me when people give that advice!

 

Its not like Eclipse photography is some complicated process.  It just takes a little know how and some research/practice.

 

So many post in here where people ask for help months in advance, and the only reply they get is "if this is your first eclipse, don't bother...leave the camera at home".

 

I wonder how long it would take to get a ban from the forum if every time someone asked for camera advice in the beginner Astrophotography section my response was "unless you have spent 8 years looking at that target through an eyepiece you should not take any photos"....

 

 

Great shots by the way!

Yeah, I understand where the advice comes from even if I chose not to follow it. In my mind, the calculus would be the same for my first or tenth totality: how much of my limited time and attention under totality am I willing to spend on the photography? I decided to do my best to find a middle ground of primarily automated photos, and I'm happy with that choice. The advice that I found most useful was to practice and be comfortable with your setup. I was pretty confident with my gear and when things did go wrong, I didn't have to spend long getting things fixed.

[Abc_xyz]

This was my first total solar eclipse and while totality was an awesome experience, my fondest memories of April 8th 2024 will be of those after third contact.
…
Who all has had similar experiences?

 
Yes! Yes! Yes!
 
This was also my first total eclipse. I too, enjoyed the “total experience” beyond just seeing totality!
 
1) I’m surprised on how “easy” (relatively speaking) to captured “some” decent totality photos. Or, how good digital cameras manage what used to be considered difficult subjects.
2) Weather forecasting had been very detailed and pretty accurate. I was able to change location at the last minute to get clear sky.
3) I enjoyed very much the interaction with other eclipse viewers while they ooh and aaah at the images I managed to captured with minimal fuss.
 
I only made a decision to “chase it” at a relatively late stage, by which I mean a couple weeks lead time! Fortunately for me, it’s going pretty close to my home. And my “chase” (dictated by forecast of clouds) is still to area of my usual stomping ground.

 

Moreover, I no longer call myself a photographer (albeit only an enthusiastic amateur one at best) any more. I’ve lost my zeal to photograph anything and everything any more. What I do have, is a fair amount of leftover equipment and some technical knowledge on how to photograph subjects in tricky lights.
 
With the short lead time, I didn’t expect to have much success in photography. So I made a note to myself NOT to waste too big a chunk of my time fiddling with the camera which could very likely interfere with the viewing experience, and just as likely to have nothing to show for it. After all, I have just enough experience to know it’s a tricky lighting situation. It’s going to take some effort to get good results, effort that I can ill afford with only 3+ minutes! I didn’t even have an eclipse filter to fit the telephoto lens I was to use. So no photographing the partial phases either.
 
With only 2 weeks, I didn’t want to dive into any rabbit holes to automate the photographing. I resolved to only make use of whatever functions of my DSLR. Mind you, it’s an old DSLR, it doesn’t have the latest bells and whistles. 1/2 hr of googling on what to use as a starting setup led me into more confusion than answers. So I gave up and decided to rely only on my past experience. Fortunately, I can bracket the hell out of my DSLR, on a continuous firing shutter. (In hindsight, my “confusion” was from my lack of understanding on what’s worth photographing, which is actually A LOT)
 
To make matters even more difficult on the photography front, by a very large degree, I decided to combine eclipse viewing with skiing. The viewing spot is at a mountain top accessible by skis only. The advantage of it is the clear unobstructed sky. The disadvantage being I can’t bring too much stuff there. Only whatever I can carry in my backpack and still able to ski.
 
My fellow eclipse viewers were all skiers, since that location is only ski accessible. So I was the only one who carted a tripod and a DSLR there. They all looked at me with curiosity and a healthy dose of doubt. I added to the doubts with the admission it’s my first total eclipse and I had failed in my effort to find a known starting setting. (Granted, for the uninitiated, they don’t quite get what “setting” I was talking about).

 

Waiting around before 1st contact (you can only get there by skis ):

 

Getting excited as totality approaches:

 

During totality, I only took 2 “sets” of photos. Basically a bunch of bracketed shots with different starting point. That was when I realized I way overexposed on the first set. So I quickly changed the setting and took a second set, which got decent one of the corona and some prominent. I would have had to go further down on exposure to get the Bailey’s beads which I didn’t feel like trying. I wanted my first totality viewing to be a personal experience with my own eyes, not of what the camera sees.

 

When totality was over, someone casually asked if I got any “good pictures”. I had to quickly flipped through my photos to find a few of the better ones to show them. I was surprised at how good they look to me. My fellow skier-eclipse watchers were quite impressed with the extra details they couldn’t quite see well with their eyes, result of just a moderate telephoto lens can easily capture.

 
I really count the interaction with fellow eclipse watchers a significant part of my eclipse watching experience. It’s a lot more than just watching a 3 minute light show, which I could almost do it with more clarity online. The anticipation of the people around, the cheer at 2nd contact, the surprise when various “features” shows up throughout totality (there were stars in the “night sky”, which again elicits a lot of excited chatter), the shock when totality was over…
 
Since I didn’t have a filter for the telephoto lens, there’s nothing to do after the totality was over. Except watching the partial to finish, that is. We skiers put on our skis, ski down and got on the chair lift to get back up as we always do. Only this day, we also put on our eclipse glasses while we ride the chair lift up. So we got to watch the partial phase finish that way!

 
In terms of photography, it was nothing special that any of you haven’t seen. And while I enjoy watching the light show, and was pleased with the reasonable pictures I got, the best part of the day was sharing the experience with like minded strangers!

 

(I like it enough that I think I’ll go to Spain for the 2026 one. Need to work on my Spanish to get the most out of the experience though)

Edited by Abc_xyz, 27 April 2024 - 11:13 AM.

[MDT]

      OK, my advice as a twice in a lifetime eclipse observer/photographer:   

Do what YOU want to do. 

Of course you are not going to get the same results as the Webb telescope, but you will still have your own unique experience.
   

 My first total eclipse was 2017 Duboise Wyoming. It was a small gathering. I used a Pentax DSLR camera coupled to an
orange C-90 mounted on a tracking EQ-1 mount. I got satisfactory
results, and I had the experience of a lifetime. But I was a busy guy for 2 1/2 minutes.
What did I miss? I didn’t take a thermometer. I didn’t experience the roar of a crowd. 

 

 

      2024 Makanda Illinois. I used a Panasonic ZS-70 point and shoot camera. During totality I used a paint roller extension pole for a monopod. I did take a thermometer. 

But I was in a gathering of about 12 people. So no roar of a crowd.

(My wife watched the 2017 eclipse from Glendo, Wyoming, with a crowd of about 150,000 people. She said the crowd experience is highly overrated.)
      My photo results were acceptable. I had my own unique experience. I did what I wanted to do.

 

 

 

Whatever your next “Once in a lifetime event”, if you want to watch it through the lens of a camera, then do so.
In the case of your next total eclipse.
   1. You’ve seen the results of your set-up.
So, like everyone of us, ”Next time, Next time, Next time.”
    2. And of course, Practice, Practice, Practice.
By the way, nice shot.

[Abc_xyz]

      

What did I miss? I didn’t take a thermometer. I didn’t experience the roar of a crowd.

 

 I did take a thermometer. 

What’s with the thermometer? (Sorry, newbie here)

[MDT]

What’s with the thermometer? (Sorry, newbie here)

My own curiosity. The temperature at Duboise Wyoming, elevation 8000 ft above sea level, went from 98 degrees F to about 50 degrees.

The temperature during the annular eclipse in Mesa Verde National Park dropped 23 degrees. In Makanda Illinois the temperature dropped 23 degrees. It's an interest of mine. 

[bookemdano]

This always bothers me when people give that advice!

 

Its not like Eclipse photography is some complicated process.  It just takes a little know how and some research/practice.

 

So many post in here where people ask for help months in advance, and the only reply they get is "if this is your first eclipse, don't bother...leave the camera at home".

 

I wonder how long it would take to get a ban from the forum if every time someone asked for camera advice in the beginner Astrophotography section my response was "unless you have spent 8 years looking at that target through an eyepiece you should not take any photos"....

 

 

Great shots by the way!

I just want to push back (gently) on what you said here.

 

The comparison with night sky astrophotography isn't really a fair one. Clear night skies are common (I know, not as common as we'd like) and furthermore, every night lasts for many hours. For most astrophotography subjects you have the luxury of time to mess around with your equipment, tweak settings, etc. If you screw up a picture, just take another one. If you made a fatal mistake that affects all your photos from the night, well then try again tomorrow. In most cases, It's a pretty relaxing activity with almost no time pressure.

 

In contrast, total solar eclipses are the very definition of "fleeting" (at least the ones that are accessible to a person of modest means). If you are lucky enough to get yourself into the umbral path under clear skies, totality lasts just a few minutes (at best), and then it's over. Your next chance is a year or more away, and would involve an outlay of thousands of dollars--probably many thousands. No matter how much money you are willing to spend, a single cloud or travel SNAFU can ruin the whole thing.

 

Most people who live on this earth will never see a single TSE in their lifetime. Furthermore, the vast majority of people who are lucky enough to see one TSE will not see a second one (aside from those lucky ducks in Carbondale). So I think that advice is intended for those folks. If you've never seen one before then you have no past experience to help you on eclipse day. If you'll never see one again then you won't have a chance at a do-over. Totality goes by so fast--it would be a shame to miss the actual spectacle whilst staring at your camera, dialing in settings, reviewing photos, etc.

 

While it's enjoyable to look at peoples' photos of the eclipse, I think we can all agree that even the very best photographs cannot truly convey the majesty of seeing it with your own eyes. Photos are a nice memento to remember the experience, but what really matters is the experience itself--who you were with and how you felt in those precious minutes/seconds.

 

If you have the right mix of time, money and know-how, you can get the best of both worlds by automating your camera(s) during totality. It's not necessarily easy to set up and requires a lot of planning and testing, but it does allow you to fully enjoy totality with your eyes while still getting photos. That's what I did in 2017 and in 2024. So, even though I did not take the advice not to photograph my first eclipse, I'm still glad that people gave me that advice, because that is what led me down the path of automation.

Edited by bookemdano, 29 April 2024 - 11:58 AM.

[Rickycardo]

This always bothers me when people give that advice!

 

Its not like Eclipse photography is some complicated process.  It just takes a little know how and some research/practice.

 

So many post in here where people ask for help months in advance, and the only reply they get is "if this is your first eclipse, don't bother...leave the camera at home".

 

I wonder how long it would take to get a ban from the forum if every time someone asked for camera advice in the beginner Astrophotography section my response was "unless you have spent 8 years looking at that target through an eyepiece you should not take any photos"....

 

 

Great shots by the way!

This. All this.
 

[Rickycardo]

I just want to push back (gently) on what you said here.

 

The comparison with night sky astrophotography isn't really a fair one. Clear night skies are common (I know, not as common as we'd like) and furthermore, every night lasts for many hours. For most astrophotography subjects you have the luxury of time to mess around with your equipment, tweak settings, etc. If you screw up a picture, just take another one. If you made a fatal mistake that affects all your photos from the night, well then try again tomorrow. In most cases, It's a pretty relaxing activity with almost no time pressure.

 

In contrast, total solar eclipses are the very definition of "fleeting" (at least the ones that are accessible to a person of modest means). If you are lucky enough to get yourself into the umbral path under clear skies, totality lasts just a few minutes (at best), and then it's over. Your next chance is a year or more away, and would involve an outlay of thousands of dollars--probably many thousands. No matter how much money you are willing to spend, a single cloud or travel SNAFU can ruin the whole thing.

 

Most people who live on this earth will never see a single TSE in their lifetime. Furthermore, the vast majority of people who are lucky enough to see one TSE will not see a second one (aside from those lucky ducks in Carbondale). So I think that advice is intended for those folks. If you've never seen one before then you have no past experience to help you on eclipse day. If you'll never see one again then you won't have a chance at a do-over. Totality goes by so fast--it would be a shame to miss the actual spectacle whilst staring at your camera, dialing in settings, reviewing photos, etc.

 

While it's enjoyable to look at peoples' photos of the eclipse, I think we can all agree that even the very best photographs cannot truly convey the majesty of seeing it with your own eyes. Photos are a nice memento to remember the experience, but what really matters is the experience itself--who you were with and how you felt in those precious minutes/seconds.

 

If you have the right mix of time, money and know-how, you can get the best of both worlds by automating your camera(s) during totality. It's not necessarily easy to set up and requires a lot of planning and testing, but it does allow you to fully enjoy totality with your eyes while still getting photos. That's what I did in 2017 and in 2024. So, even though I did not take the advice not to photograph my first eclipse, I'm still glad that people gave me that advice, because that is what led me down the path of automation.

I will push back gently on this. As a photographer while I do enjoy the view if I don't photograph it I don't care to look at it.
 

[Abc_xyz]

I think the advice should be “Whatever you do, just make sure you WATCH it, because that’s the best part! Even the best photographs don’t come close to the real thing!”

 

It’s not so much the photography, it’s the obsession of playing with the camera that’s the problem. I watched the whole duration of the eclipse and still managed to take some pictures. I didn’t waste time fussing with the camera. The OP automated everything and got the best of both world, watch it and photograph it. I may go the automation route if I go to another eclipse. But if the automation failed, I am NOT going to bothering trying to fix it during totality!

 

Are people so black and white? Can’t they handle priority? The priority is watch it and experience it. Photography can be done without interfering with that using various strategies. If watching the eclipse is the priority, taking picture is only done with that in mind.

 

It’s ok to warn newbies attempting to photographing has the potential to get carried away and interfere with enjoying it. But it’s really up to the individual to prioritize it.

 

The advice of “don’t photograph your first eclipse” is overly dramatic, or plain too simplistic. It maybe a good advice applied to people who can’t prioritize. But for everyone else, it’s over the top too presumptive.

[Exeligmos]

I followed the "forget the camera at home" advice in 2017. It wasn't entirely by choice as I was completely gobsmacked by second contact. In 2024, I limited my efforts to cell phone video so I could be totally engrossed in the spectacle.

 

That advice is given so that fiddling with equipment or technology doesn't break the magic spell that envelopes you during (and just before) totality.

 

Heck, I would advise people to ditch the eclipse glasses during the last minute or so before totality (but not look directly at the sun, and not for small children) and observe the changes occurring around them. People miss so much of the experience as they strain to look at the slowly shrinking photosphere crescent.