Whatever Weds. Eclipse

Posted in Birding in Nevada, Nikon, Sun, Wide Field Astro-photographyTagged , , , , , ,

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

I wasn’t in the path of Totality for the eclipse on Monday but, I did watch the it from my patio. The Partial we saw covered 47% of the Sun’s face.

He-Man, myself, and a neighbor enjoyed the birds singing, and watching golfers play through without ever looking up to see what was happening in the sky above us.

I made an image of the full sun first before the eclipse started.

Sun, April 8, 2024

The large sunspot is 3628, and the smaller one is 3633.

This image below is a 5 frame composite showing the sequence of the partial eclipse from shortly after the beginning to the end with the Maximum coverage image in the middle.

Image-5 Frame Composite

The dark shadows you see on the face of the images of the sun are clouds that were rolling across the Sun/Moon during the eclipse.

Now that eclipse madness has passed and it’s sunny, the snow has melted here in the valley and our lawn has turned green I’m ready to turn my attention to looking for spring flowers and more birds.

Speaking of birds. I got a “lifer pair” last Friday. A pair of Red Crossbills.

They were a bit out of range for my lens but, I did get an image that positively identified them. It’s noisy and soft, but it’s a keeper.

Red Crossbill Pair

This is the female with her wings spread ready to fly, and her mate in the back. I was doing my happy dance when I got a positive ID on these two.

So, did you see the eclipse in partial or in Totality? Wasn’t it cool!

Happy Wednesday!

Nikon D850|Nikkor 500mm PF-e| Orion Glass Solar Filter| PS CC 25.5.1

more to come…

55 thoughts on “Whatever Weds. Eclipse”

  4. Cool shots of the eclipse! We had about 80% totality, we sat and watched it from our back porch. Did your birds quit singing at all? Mine did, they did react as if it was going into evening mode, then 20 mins later they were happily singing again!

    Another lifer!! WOOT WOOT!!! 🤗💃😊 And to get the pair in a shot, just wonderful. You go, girl!!!

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    1. Thank you so much, Donna. I was excited to get the a pair too!

      It didn’t very dark just like a dark cloud passed by and the White-crown Sparrows kept feeding at the cake feeder singing, and squabbling with each other as if we weren’t there. We only 47% coverage. It did get remarkably chillier and the wind picked up so much so that I wished I had a brought my coat with me out to the patio. I was wearing fleece too.

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  7. Thanks for the eclipse photos, Deborah. We had a partial. Many schools closed early. Children watched with solar glasses, and everyone saw a crescent sun by the black moon. It was very cool. Your ‘lifer pair’ photo is just terrific! Definitely one of my favorites! 😀

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    1. Oh how fun for the children! I bet they’ll remember wearing those solar paper glasses forever. We had them as well so when I wasn’t tracking the sun and photographing it I was leaning back enjoying the show as well.

      I’m still doing a little happy dance about those Crossbills! It’s always so fun to see a new bird. Do you have the Red Crossbill there? Have you seen them before?

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      1. I do hope the children will remember. Lucky you to enjoy the show! I have never seen a Red Crossbill. I understand there are some in Maine, but it’s not a bird common to this area. I wish!

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    1. I agree it was still fun to see. If I don’t make it somewhere else to see it before 2045 I’ll be right there with you in my mid 80’s! 😀 I don’t think I’d have to go too far to see it either maybe only 3 hours northeast or so. That might be doable still.

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  9. How wonderful Deborah that you all got to see the eclipse, we only saw how you all enjoyed watching it on our news. Many times when we have solar events here it is cloudy and we miss seeing it. Love your photos !

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    1. Thank you so much, Ashley! It was fun to see it. I enjoy all eclipses really.
      I was looking at the next one you all are going to be able to see in July 2028. My only reservation about going there specifically to see it there is that it’s the middle of your winter then. The weather could be really storming that day and everyone would miss seeing it.
      That happened to me last October for the Annular Solar Eclipse. I only traveled 3 hours to see it. I wasn’t crushed though because I had seen the one that came through Nevada back in 2012.

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    1. I’ve been there Rebecca. Just last October I went several hours from home to see the Annular Solar Eclipse and the sky was covered in dense clouds. I never saw it so, I know how you feel about seeing the images of others.

      Thank you so much, Rebecca!

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  12. Actually, procrastination doesn’t lead to fun; time running and you’re rushing to setup without planning leads to stress and mistakes in settings; I actually had a thought to shoot through netting material but that didn’t work so quick change to find some filtered light through the shrubs. I was trying to post process a couple of the shadow eclipses but the post processing and blurring didn’t look good; sometimes you have to retry post processing another time when you’re not getting the desired result because you’re not hitting the right editing tools so I may try editing again later.

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  13. Good captures of the eclipse! At the last minute I decided to try the “pinhole” method by shooting the filtered sunlight through the flower shrubs in the backyard; it wasn’t perfect but I did get some eclipse shadow images but they were blurry; I think my settings were wrong as only the light shadows were not sharp. I’m guessing my shutter speed might have been too slow shooting in the shadow (forget the sun is moving bing quickly) or it might be because I had my birding AI focus left on and the camera was looking for the “eye of the eclipse 😉 LOL. Time to buy that solar filter for the future!

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  15. We got a great view of the total eclipse. The clouds where there when it started but broke for the total. It was magnificent. I like your photos and your shot of the Red Crossbills. That Mama looks like she is ready to take off.

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  16. We were in the path of totality and it was amazing though we didn’t take any pictures. We simply took the time to admire the spectacle. The totality lasted about 3min10sec which was quite short but it was really an experience of a lifetime. We liked it so much that we are now looking at when and where the upcoming total eclipse are and we have identify one in July 2028 over Sydney Australia which we might decide to travel to see.. Nice pics of the partial eclipse. (Suzanne)

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    1. Thank you so much, Suzanne! I looked at Sydney too. It’s long been on my bucket list but, I think I’m putting it further down on my list for the eclipse as it’s in July in their mid winter and the chance of cloud cover is nearly 50%.

      Spain August 2026 sounds like a better option.

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      1. Spain is a strange one because it is at sunset so it will be quite different. There is another one in Tunisia & Egypt in 2027 but in Aug so it will be very hot. I do know that it will be winter in Sydney but we have a friend we would like to visit and we also want to visit the Northern Territory which is better in Australian winter. We will see…

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        1. That’s a good reason to go to Australia with the eclipse as a bonus. 😀

          Fortunately, the days are still long in August, and I’d wouldn’t be disappointed if I didn’t see it start to finish as long as I got to see Totality.

          It’s something to ponder and do some poking around and planning. We will see…

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  17. The path of totality…. I’m going to remember that phrase. I’m not quite sure when to use it, if ever, but somehow I feel it could come in handy some day. Lovely pictures, Deborah. I was wondering how you managed to take this shots, but I understand you were using a solar filter. There could be symbolism in the fact that after the solar event your garden went green. Over here in the Netherlands no eclips visible what so ever. But, modern times, everyone did mention the event in the US, so no doubt plenty of us have been watching footage of some sorts. There will be a total eclips in Spain? That could be a reason to go an visit! Oh! Congrats with your lifer!

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    1. Total Solar Eclipse in Spain, August 12, 2026, and yes, the Path of Totality goes across a swath of the entire country! I’ve never been to Spain and have it on my bucket list. The eclipse is just another reason to want to go!

      A Meetup in Spain for the eclipse would be cool. https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/spain?iso=20260812

      Yes, I bought the solar filter back in 2011 or early 2012 for the Annular Solar Eclipse in 2012. I traveled to Nevada to see that one. I use my solar filter from time to time to make images of the Sun when there’s a huge sunspot or a spotless day, or just because. It’s a neat thing to photograph in the sky.

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  19. How fun Deborah! Lovely photos of the Eclipse and the Crossbills. Was cloudy in Seattle and past time to see it when I was on the plane, plus too far north.  🌝🌙

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  21. So the crossbills left you feeling anything but cross.

    Fortunately you had (and still have) have good equipment to photograph the sun with bites taken out of it. As you’ve seen, here in central Texas we got to experience a once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse.

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    1. Oh yes, anything but, cross!

      I’ll keep my solar filter for as long as it’s good as you never know where one can find themselves. There’s another Total Solar Eclipse in Spain in a couple of years. Plus I can photograph sunspots and the Sun whenever I get the inkling.

      I’ve been admiring all the images coming from others that traveled or live in the path of Totality. I can well imagine how cool it was seeing Totality as I have seen an Annular Solar Eclipse.
      It got much cooler here as well when the Moon blocked nearly half the sun’s face, but not nearly as dark as it got there.

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  22. We had clouds and only 96% coverage, but did catch glimpses. To be honest, I more enjoyed a partial eclipse from a few years ago. It took place in bright sunlight, and watching the leaves filter the light was neat. We did experience the wind and cooling with this one, proving that sight wasn’t the only way to experience an eclipse.

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    1. That’s a fun way to experience the eclipse looking through leaves or a box made to look for the eclipse’s shadow.
      The temperature dropped here as well when nearly half the Sun’s face was covered, but it didn’t get nearly as dark here as it did there.
      It sure makes me appreciate the sun more. I’ll take heat over cold given the choice.

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  24. We were in a similar path during the eclipse. Our daughter got a few nice photos. I like your photos of the eclipse, and I love that photo of the new lifer pair. The female with her wings spread is such a vibrant image. I makes me feel better just looking at it.

    Enjoy the arrival of spring in your area. Good hunting for more birds and thanks so much for sharing the results of your hard work behind the camera.

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    1. Thank you so much, Dan! It’s always fun to experience an eclipse of any kind. Our universe is amazing.

      I didn’t think I had captured anything really good on the Crossbill but, was thrilled to see I had got the female with her wings spread and enough of her face to get a proper ID.
      Seeing a new bird is so fun.

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