The photographer has shared comprehensive information about their intent and creative vision for this image. Please examine the details and offer feedback on how they can most effectively realize their vision.
Self Critique
I wanted my composite to show the progression of a solar eclipse as it arcs across the sky. I reference PhotoPills to emulate the arc of the sun. The eclipse ended about noon where I was located.
Creative direction
Many composites that see show the sun moving in a straight line. Does showing the sun movement in an arc help? Does my composite tell a story?
Specific Feedback
My first question has to due with the color of the sun. When I viewed the sun without a camera through sun filter glasses, the sun is white. Through my camera, the sun is white. When I see other photos, the sun is yellow/orange. Is what I’m seeing different because of the filter or are the photos I’m seeing (yellow/orange) altered because that was what we have been taught?
I’m not happy with the sharpness of the photos. I played with my settings before the day of the eclipse and found the best setting for my camera and lens. The photos in the composite have enhanced using Topaz Sharpen. Is it difficult to get sharp photos of the sun or do I have lens that isn’t preforming well?
Technical Details
Canon 5DSr camera; f8; 1/1000s; ISO 100; Sigma 150-600 lens @ 600mm; NISI 16.6 stop filter
iOptron SkyGuider Pro tracker; Vello ShutterBoss II intervalometer
ACR & Photoshop; Topaz Sharpen
Description
I traveled to Farmington New Mexico to explore and photograph areas south of city and the solar eclipse. My goal was two fold. One, to document the solar eclipse. Seen in this upload.
Previously, I had witnessed two partial solar eclipses. So I new that the light would turn a hazy yellow-orange during the eclipse. My second goal was document the changing light in the landscape as the eclipse progress. While not in the center of the shadow, I chose the Angel Peak Badlands to photograph the annular solar eclipse. I will upload these photos to the Landscape group.
I like the arc arrangement of the sequential photos. You might be slightly over-exposed for the sun, but I am not an expert in this aspect of photography…Jim
Very nice! The color is due to the type of solar filter – some give the warm cast and some are gray. If the filter is flat over the lens, it should be possible to focus cleanly and quickly on the edge of the sun. I use the sensor group with a square and 8 helper points. I get “sharp” pictures, but you have to factor in that the edge of the sun is a roiling furnace and the edge of the moon is affected by thermal motion in our own atmosphere. It looks like you got decent focus as you can see a sunspot. You can see a reference to the sharpness to be expected from sunspots by a couple of my posts here.
Different filters may affect sharpness – there is a huge price range in them.
I think the arc looks nice, and how realistic is subject to opinion, since you are showing individual images enlarged on the arc. The eclipse spanned about 4 hours, if I recall, and the sun would have moved 60 degrees in that time. So if you had a wide angle lens on a fixed tripod, it seems like the sun would make a slight arc across the frame that encompassed that movement. (A 14 mm lens covers 115 degrees diagonally with a full-frame sensor. There are always pictures online that show a fixed wide-angle view of various eclipses, and many do look like they show a straight or almost-straight path. But wide-angle lenses have a lot of distortion so what is “right”? A curve feels nice.
Would be easy to put a filter on a wide-angle lens and shoot the sun every 15 min or so. Well, maybe not easy – you may need the film filter material to stretch over the lens.
You had better weather than I did! I knew I was taking a chance but driving 2 states away when the forecast started looking iffy was just too much. Extra points for going to the trouble!
Hi Jim,
Thanks for taking the time to review my photo. I appreciate your help. I played with exposure quite a bit before this trip and I will play with it some more before the next eclipse in April.
Hi Diane,
Thank you for taking the time to critique my photo. This is my first attempt at a solar eclipse and I very much appreciate your help. I’m preparing for the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse now. This will most likely be my last chance to capture a solar eclipse.
If the skies are clear, I won’t have to travel as far for this eclipse. My house is inside the umbra, albeit 40 miles from the center line. I’m exploring locations along the center line now. There are a lot small towns and open areas along the center line with in an hour of my house.
I’m searching for a website that has historical data on cloud cover. Hopefully one that shows the type of cloud cover. Do you know of a website?
Somewhere I found a chart of average expected cloud cover along the line, and now can’t find it again. But it was pretty definitive that the odds got lower the farther NE you went. We will try for SW TX, and scramble frantically if that doesn’t look good.
