Today was total solar eclipse day! It was also Pat's birthday, and what an awesome birthday present for him, right? This is the third solar eclipse in Colorado in seven years, which is pretty cool if you ask me. Here in Colorado Springs today's eclipse was 67% at its maximum, so I heard. This photo was taken at 12:39 PM, exactly at the apex of the big event, and it's a miracle that I got a picture at all. I of course was wearing eclipse glasses, which are so dark you can't even see your hand in front of your face. I'd set my camera down on the roof of the car to put the glasses on, then I would be unable to find the camera again! I was having no luck at all getting a good exposure since I didn't have a proper filter, so Pat ended up holding the cheesy plastic eclipse glasses in front of my lens and I bracketed my exposures, rapid fire. I couldn't even tell if I was getting anything, let alone anything in focus. It wasn't until I got home that I saw exactly two sharp and well exposed images out of the many pictures I took. Anyway, that was fun and since it's going to be a very long time before it happens again in our neck of the woods (the year 2043 is being bandied about), I'm glad I managed to get a decent shot for the blog.
4 comments:
Ha,sounds a bit stressful, but in the end a day to remember I guess.
Aha! You ended up with a nice photo. I was so pleased yesterday that the sky cleared off just before and just after the eclipse here where I live in TX. And getting to a location for totality took only 15 minutes. Being in a small and unfamous town where it was going to be 99%, traffic was nonexistent on back roads. But 10 miles away was totality. It is definitely worth getting to totality. A NASA guy wrote that it was a big difference between 99 and 100%, and it was. Never got very dark in 99%. Only one minute of the 100%, very dark, stars next to the sun, and I want to do it again!! But at 78, not gonna be one around here in my lifetime. I am so glad I experienced it. And when you do, don't fuss with taking photos. Labor all you want in partial, but not in totality.
@JudithK that sounds amazing! My brother traveled all the way to Austin to view the totality, but it ended up being cloudy skies there so he missed out. I'm so glad you got to experience it! I've never actually gotten to witness totality but maybe one of these days I'll be in the right place at the right time.
So disappointing for him! I was in a lucky spot; clouds before the eclipse started, and after it ended. So a spendid clear sky. I am so glad it was possible. Don't know how young either you or your brother are, but I think in 20 years, you'll have a chance!! I do hope so.
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