Photography: Monumental Eclipse
Eclipse at the Washington Monument, February 20, 2008
The eclipse begins: F7, 6 seconds, ISO 100
I was part of a small group of photographers last night trying to capture an image of the full eclipse, with the context of the Washington Monument in the foreground. I learned my lesson from the brutally cold sunrise shoot last weekend and basically dressed to ski last night. Early in the eclipse, I used the fast moving clouds associated with our departing clipper storm to dim the moon and give the sky a streaked appearance. As the moon went to full eclipse, the clouds disappeared and the moon took on the characteristic reddish glow. See below for more photos, including the full eclipse.
The Eclipse Continues: F7, 6 seconds, ISO 100
Full Eclipse: F6, 0.5 seconds, ISO 400
By Kevin Ambrose |
February 21, 2008; 2:55 PM ET
Photography
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Posted by: weatherdudeVA | February 21, 2008 3:16 PM
WOW! Those are absolutely BEAUTIFUL!
Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: weatherdudeVA | February 21, 2008 3:17 PM
Do you have anything in higher res? That would make a great desktop image!
Posted by: Evan | February 21, 2008 3:35 PM
wow - great shots. I took some amatuer pictures with my digital camera - my two older kids were so excited. These are great...
Posted by: marlee | February 21, 2008 3:48 PM
Braving the cold really paid off. Great pictures.
Posted by: Tommy N | February 21, 2008 4:22 PM
Wow that's stunning and erie. Unfortunately, an approaching flu put me in bed at 7:30 last night, so I missed the excitement. Fortunately, others were there to capture the beauty of it.
Posted by: Christopher | February 21, 2008 5:04 PM
These are gorgeous photos...it was too cloudy in Annapolis last night to see it, so thanks so much for posting these! Absolutely beautiful!!
Posted by: Sarah | February 21, 2008 5:30 PM
Truly beautiful! Next time, try for a solar eclipse. :-)
Posted by: mcleaNed | February 21, 2008 5:39 PM
Great pictures. Next time you can try the Capitol dome as the backdrop. It should give you stunning pictures.
Posted by: skywatcher | February 21, 2008 5:51 PM
Nice!
Posted by: Uncle Dak | February 21, 2008 6:49 PM
Very nice photos! Am curious what equipment you used...specifically, what lense. I was out in the cold taking pictures too, but mine didn't turn out nearly as well!
Posted by: ClaireG | February 21, 2008 7:47 PM
Thanks! Skywatcher, I considered the Capitol but tripods are not allowed on the Capitol grounds. If the eclipse was low in the sky, I could have photographed from the Mall, but it was much too high and I would have had to been on the grounds. ClaireG, I used a Sony A100 with an 18-200 lens. In the first two shots, the clouds helped dim the moon for proper exposure. The last shot, I color leveled afterwards, just a bit, to bring out the moon.
Posted by: Kevin, Capital Weather Gang | February 21, 2008 8:59 PM
Wonderful & interesting images. Thank you for sharing your hard earned photos! The drama of the streaked sky in the early eclipse photo is magnificent. Well done.
Posted by: JD | February 22, 2008 6:43 AM
Those are gorgeous shots. I was fortunate enough to see clear skies here in Baltimore to capture the entire eclipse from start to finish. Totality was so beautiful to see with the crystal clear air around. It was a great night for shooting the eclipse, but if you were in the right location relative to where clouds tended to overtake.
Posted by: Jim Schuyler | March 6, 2008 4:45 PM
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WOW! Those are absolutely BEAUTIFUL!
Thanks for sharing!