It was a once in a lifetime opportunity so off to SC we went, my firstborn daughter and I. She did the planning. We wanted to avoid the traffic and still be in the right location so we had an extended stay. We tent-camped 3 days and nights in sweltering heat just for the pleasure of looking at The Eclipse for 2½ minutes. And view the Eclipse we did. It was glorious!!
The viewing was easy, but it proved to be difficult to get the sun in focus to photograph. I set up two cameras. That was good since one of my filters didn’t work as planned. I used welding glass and got double images, a huge disappointment! I used a Mylar filter on my second camera. It worked well, but my focus length was only 135mm because of photographer error. Having said all that, I am pleased that I got some nice, if small, images.
The whole eclipse process lasted almost 3 hours. We had clear skies for about 1 hour, 35 minutes. Totality lasted 2 minutes and 34 seconds at our location. When totality neared, we held our breaths to see which would occur first, cloud cover overtaking the sun or totality. Totality won, but only by a minute or 2. Wow!!! It was amazing. My heart still races a bit just thinking about it.
The viewing was easy, but it proved to be difficult to get the sun in focus to photograph. I set up two cameras. That was good since one of my filters didn’t work as planned. I used welding glass and got double images, a huge disappointment! I used a Mylar filter on my second camera. It worked well, but my focus length was only 135mm because of photographer error. Having said all that, I am pleased that I got some nice, if small, images.
The whole eclipse process lasted almost 3 hours. We had clear skies for about 1 hour, 35 minutes. Totality lasted 2 minutes and 34 seconds at our location. When totality neared, we held our breaths to see which would occur first, cloud cover overtaking the sun or totality. Totality won, but only by a minute or 2. Wow!!! It was amazing. My heart still races a bit just thinking about it.
And so it began. The moon slowly moved across the face of the sun.
The crescent became smaller. It’s hard to see, but there are sunspots visible in this photo.
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The eclipse progressed until there was only a sliver of sun showing.
Here you can see the diamond ring effect. The impending clouds are visible here too.
The diamond ring effect became smaller.
During totality you can see the sun’s corona. The corona is composed of plasma much hotter than the surface of the sun.
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As totality neared an end, the diamond ring reappeared. Can you see red areas near the right of the photo?
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Finally the sun crescent reappeared for a couple of minutes before the clouds blocked any further views of the eclipse.
Everyone at the campground was thrilled and very grateful that the clouds moved slowly enough to allow us to fully experience the totality. The campground had campers from a variety of locations including NC, PA, FL, and England. Two men celebrated their birthdays by viewing the eclipse. What a gift!!!!!!!! Happy birthday again Michael and Swann.
Thanks again to Marnie for making all the plans, securing the campsite and spending three days with me, her mother.
Time: August 21, 2017
Location: Blount’s Campground, Eutawville, SC
I welcome your questions and comments.
Cheryl
Thanks again to Marnie for making all the plans, securing the campsite and spending three days with me, her mother.
Time: August 21, 2017
Location: Blount’s Campground, Eutawville, SC
I welcome your questions and comments.
Cheryl
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