Total Solar Eclipse

A total solar eclipse occurred yesterday in Austin, TX, and it was visible across a large swath of the US. It was labeled the Great North American Eclipse by many. This type of eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun obscuring the Sun. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon’s apparent diameter is larger than the Sun’s, blocking all direct sunlight, and turning day into darkness. Totality occurs only in a narrow path across the surface of the earth.

I wasn’t too excited about this event as photographing the solar eclipse is not part of my bucket list. As a result, I was not prepared. My camera gear sat on the shelf as it has for months. At about 1:13 pm local time, even though we had very cloudy skies and only minutes to prepare, I decided that I should get myself in gear and prepare to photograph the event just in case conditions improved. So, I got up from my desk and retrieved my camera gear only to note that the batteries were depleted. However, I found one battery with a 47% charge. I inserted the battery in the camera, mounted my lens, and headed out to photograph this astronomical event. The photo below is the result of my effort. Right place, right time.

This image was taken with my Sony A7 IV using my Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 Telephoto Lens. The camera was set on Manual mode with the aperture set at f/6.3, shutter speed at 1/160th of a second, and ISO set at 800. I hand-held the camera. I processed the photo in Adobe Lightroom and completed the work using Adobe Photoshop and Topaz AI to remove some of the noise.

You can access my other astrophotography photos by clicking here. Please post your comments, questions, or suggestions in the section below.

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