Annular Eclipse - Exposure Experience?

[Kimberly Anderson]

Hello everyone,

I'm going to Parowan, Utah to photograph the Annular Eclipse this next Sunday (5/20/2012). I have never photographed an eclipse and was wondering if anyone had any general exposure guidelines. I understand it gets quite dark and of course I'll have my meter with me. I will have about 4 1/2 minutes of totality, and I figure that if it's as dark as they say that those 2 minutes just might take up the majority of my exposure. I am planning on shooting 12x20 and 8x10, and have no interest in filling the frame with the sun, but rather will be shooting a traditional landscape shot with the black sun in the sky. It looks to be very clear with no clouds at all.

I'll be about 35 miles from the perfect sweet spot for the 'ring of fire', but The Gap and it's significance as a location is more important to me than being in the exact spot on the globe for the perfect 'ring of fire'.

Anyway, it should be fun, I am confident I'll be able to get a good exposure on my own, but I am curious if there are others who have any experience shooting eclipses.

[Paul Bujak]

First of all, the sun will not be completely covered so you will not be in darkness, needing a long exposure. The sun will only be covered 88% at maximum eclipse so a lot of light will still be illuminating the scenery. Think of a dark cloudy day at best. Anything longer than the briefest exposure will burn out the sun. You might not even get an image of the sun and moon if you expose for the surroundings. Even with heavy ND filtering, there will be too much of a brightness difference to get good exposures.

I saw a total eclipse in 1995 and it did not get really dark at totality, just a bright twilight. I don't think you'll see anything close to that dark. I exposed small format transparencies through the whole range of speeds to capture solar prominences and the corona using an 880mm/f10 telescope. At third contact, I quickly re-applied my solar filter.

For some information, here's a [I]Sky & Telescope[I] article:

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/commu...141037803.html

Good luck,
Paul

[Paul Bujak]

Additional info:

http://www.space.com/15730-solar-ecl...=Google+Reader

[QT Luong]

See my analysis here: http://bit.ly/J3h5OH

[tgtaylor]

Just an idea...

Shoot IR film exposing for the landscape as normal and then exposing (yes, double exposure) for the sun's Corona on the bright end. Using IR film will give you a black sky which is what you wanted and metering off the corona will give you a sun which is not "blown out."

Thomas

[Jehu]

I'm going to try to get a solar version of my lunar shot:



Right now, I'm processing some test shots of the sun that I took with VS100; 10-stop ND filter; 1/125 @ f64.

I'll check back in with the results.

[IHS]

Can anyone tell me what time the eclipse will occur in Flagstaff, Arizona on Sunday the 20th? I thought it was around 5:30pm but now I am not sure.

[Kimberly Anderson]

I think the peak is at 7:30 MST.

[Jehu]

I'm going to try to get a solar version of my lunar shot:


Right now, I'm processing some test shots of the sun that I took with VS100; 10-stop ND filter; 1/125 @ f64.

I'll check back in with the results.

I just pulled the sheets out of the can. I like the results. Multiple exposures at 5 minute intervals should work.

[Jehu]