My efforts went poorly.
Cameras not cooperating, user error failures, etc.
I hope to sit down this afternoon and move images to the computer.
With any luck and a tiny bit of skill I should have something to look at.

GoatCam would have been fantastic.  But zero-point-zero chance of getting a GoPro back from the goats in one piece, or any pieces for that matter.

The only totality shot from A-Camera.



B-Camera has a good wide angle totality bracket, but I have no way to get the photos off of the D800 until I get back home.

C-Camera has a GoPro time lapse from inside the car, looking out the back window.  I couldn't get it quite framed the way I wanted, as the doors were inop, and trying to rig the tripod through a busted window without getting tetanus was a challenge.

[For partial Solar Eclipse Time Lapse - use exposure lock, set before the eclipse begins

For Total Solar Eclipse Time Lapse - just let auto exposure do it's thing - you'll miss the subtleties of partial, but when the real show gets going, Auto-exposure will render the scene pretty well, as far as my prelim look goes]

A client of mine has some "yard goats".

He quickly discovered that anything not made of carbonite was going to get destroyed, and anything that COULD be climbed on WOULD be climbed on.

Edit by FredMan, on Flickr

I got a few shots here in central Texas

Office Post Eclipse Meme by FredMan, on Flickr

My daughter and I had a miraculously fortunate eclipse chase.

We got out a bit later than we wanted to. Heading south towards Broken Bow/Eagletown, it became clear that the skies weren't going to cooperate and were pretty well overcast.

We finally decided to just pull over at Hugo as we didn't have enough time to get anywhere with clear skies. We ended up at the observation area at the base of the Hugo Dam. We figured if nothing else, that it would be a cool place to have lunch. And we'd still experience the darkness of totality.

866A6871-1 by Justice Bigler, on Flickr

866A6884-1 by Justice Bigler, on Flickr

The lens caps are still on the cameras. Just set up and waiting for a break in the clouds.

20240408-IMG_3092 by Justice Bigler, on Flickr

Base camp.

20240408-IMG_3096 by Justice Bigler, on Flickr

The skies were just a thick overcast. You couldn't even see the sun to tell where it was to point the cameras towards, and there was nothing to focus on.

Then, literally minutes before totality...seriously, like JUST two or three minutes before hand, the cloud cover opened up and we got to see the actual sun.

I got ONE single picture of the partial eclipse before totality. Which though partly covered by clouds, didn't turn out too bad.

20240408-866A6907 by Justice Bigler, on Flickr

I shot the eclipse with my Canon EOS R6 mkII with a rented RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 lens and my Canon EOS R7 with RF 70-200 f/4 lens, both at full extension. I definitely should have sprung for the RF 1.4x or 2x extender units. I thought before hand that 500mm would be plenty, but I had to crop in quite a bit in post. Next time I'll know.

The R7 didn't do so well and didn't really lock on focus for basically any pictures, even thought the focus assist arrows indicated it was in focus.

I shot the event pictures with my Canon EOS RP with RF 24-70mm f2.8 lens.

866A6936-1 by Justice Bigler, on Flickr

866A6945-1 by Justice Bigler, on Flickr

The best shot I think, a diamond ring, captured totally by accident as I was fumbling to get the filter put back on at the end of totality.

866A6953-1 by Justice Bigler, on Flickr

And some of the partial phases on the back end.

866A6970-1 by Justice Bigler, on Flickr

866A7002-1 by Justice Bigler, on Flickr

My ghetto home made filters with Thousand Oaks Optical solar film, during partiality.

20240408-IMG_3123 by Justice Bigler, on Flickr

All in all, it was a good day, and we were happy with the experience we had and the pictures that I got.

Nikon D750, 70-200 f2.8, Thousand Oaks Filter

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We drove a very long way to see this. Took our kids out of school and took time off work.

My wife and I both fairly convincingly pretended that we'd be fine if we didn't see it, as the forecast was not exactly stellar for East Texas. Being with our extended family would be enough, we said. We got so much more than we hoped for.

We saw our first total eclipse in 2017 under completely clear skies and it completely blew us away. Today, like so many people, we had layers of clouds with intermittent windows of clarity. We were pretty stressed between first and second contact (when the moon first touches the sun till full coverage) because the clouds seemed to be getting worse. Many times we completely lost sight of the sun in the clouds. Each time it returned, it was a thinner, more beautiful sliver than before. At times being able to be looked at without the need for glasses due to the dense clouds.
And then things started to go dark, and I completely forgot everything.  Totality was here. I looked around and was absolutely gobsmacked by the surrounding beauty. The clouds were all kinds of weird light and dark purples, with a strange 360 degree dimly lit horizon. I just couldn't believe my eyes. It was so beautiful. Dramatic, moody and surreal.

I kept staring at where I thought the sun should be, and then suddenly it appeared in its fully eclipsed splendor. Our kids were bouncing around, so excited and thrilled. If you saw it, you know that words cannot describe it. I was just completely overjoyed to see it in all its mind bending beauty.

Seeing an eclipse under what one would consider to be "perfect" circumstances is a wonderful experience, but I have to say, seeing it as we did today was in some ways, an even more amazing experience. And so glad that we got to share it as a family.

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Big lens camera is a Nikon Z9 with the 180-600
Wide field shot is a Nikon Z7 with the 14-24

This is my opinion, I don't mind paying to put it on a poster and frame it even if it cost more after it is all over.  I want to walk around my house and see my own work and remember the times I was there.

Avatar is from 2017

This.  I just dropped $250 on a framed 12x36 print of this.

Edit by FredMan, on Flickr

Hell, I just can't stop myself!!  

The icing on the cake would be to drop a totality shot in the middle, but I wasn't in the path of totality  

Eclipse 2024 Circle Of Time Med Rez by FredMan, on Flickr

This is my plan, adding the totality shot dead center with the various phases encircling. A local member of my photography group has a shot like yours and it gave me the idea. I was able to be in the line of totality.
Hopefully I can pull it off.

@Grendel-OK just sent you a PM about use of one of your totality shots.

Best shot I have of the prominences that were lifting off. Edit to add. Looks a shit ton better at full resolution and not dumbed down for Arfcom

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OK, with the approval of and permission from @Grendel_OK (that's his totality image)

BEHOLD:

Eclipse 2024 Circle Of Time Totality by FredMan, on Flickr

Nice!

I have a version that I'm working on in post to bring out the corona a bit more, but I think this one looks better with the partials. The larger coronas would extend out too far.

We booked an Airbnb a year and a half ago in Pocahontas, Arkansas.  Slept 9 with AC, 5 tvs, internet, grill...with a fenced in south back yard with no trees.  We packed all our food and drinks from home.

We grilled burgers and baked beans, macaroni corn casserole with chips and cold drinks.  Watched the whole eclipse without having to see it deal with anyone else all day.

We have some pretty amateur pics using a cell phone mounted to our Celestron 114LCM telescope with a solar filter purchased for the last eclipse.  

Everyone loved the blue shift in ambient color

Some updates with some better processing.

866A6936-3 by Justice Bigler, on Flickr

866A6945 by Justice Bigler, on Flickr

866A6953-Enhanced-NR-3 by Justice Bigler, on Flickr

Holy shit!  Those prominences!

I had to cheat a bit and reduce exposure and blacks on your image to fade out the crop lines while increasing the size of the totality image.

Anyone else shoot the eclipse at 1000mm+