Solar Eclipse 2024
April 8, 2024 – Granbury, TX
April. 8, 2024. — Much hype had been made about the Total Eclipse that was expected in the spring of 2024. Having missed the 2017 eclipse because we were in Alaska, seeing and photographing the eclipse definitely was on my bucket list. We had been considering a trip to our ministry partners, Techteam Advantage in Longview, TX to do some video production work. So in December, 2023 I began to make plans to do a trip to Texas in March and April. We spent 3 weeks in Longview working with the Media Solutions team at TechTeam. We then went to Freeport, TX for 2 weeks to photograph the various shore and song birds that winter on the Texas Gulf Coast. Then on April 6th we moved to Granbury which was within the path of totality for the eclipse. This page is dedicated to exhibiting the photos and videos I capture during the eclipse.
In the weeks and months before the eclipse as I contemplated what kind of photos I would like to capture, I determined that one of the primary goals would be to capture a time lapse video of the entire eclipse. Thankfully, I already owned a Celestron AVX Equatorial mount that would allow me to track the sun on its trek across the sky. I began to research and study how best to capture all the images I would need to do a time lapse. I spent many days/weeks doing my research to determine what I needed to do to assure success. I purchased a AstroZap Baader Visual Solar Filter to mount to my Sigma 150-600mm telephoto lens. Using this lens on my Canon R5 would allow me to capture the Corona and Earth Shine during the totality stage of the eclipse.
The biggest challenge was how to control the camera during the eclipse. Through my research I determined that the best software would be a free software package called SET’n’C – Solar Eclipse Timer and Camera Controller. This software allowed me to set the Latitude, Longitude and precise local time for my location in Granbury. Using my laptop computer linked via a USB-3 cable to the camera, the software would automatically fire the camera at chosen intervals. In addition it would control shutter, aperture and ISO. More importantly it would do bracketed shutter times to allow HDR processing of the images taken during the period of totality. During my research I learned that it was possible to do a HDR shot during totality that would capture the Corona along with what is known as Earth Shine. Earth Shine is the Moon’s surface illuminated by light reflected by the Earth’s surface back to the Moon. Being one of the more challenging images to capture and my tendency to always be up for a challenge I made sure I programmed the SET’n’C software to do this 9 shot bracketed mode shot. The beauty of this SET’n’C software is that it takes care of all the details allowing the photographer to actually have time to observe and enjoy the eclipse and not be totally occupied with operating the equipment. So on February 26, with all my photo gear packed in the RV we set off for Longview, TX.
Having all the needed gear was the easy part. The one factor that no one could control was weather. Starting 10 days before the eclipse I began to monitor the weather forecast. Each day as we neared the day of the eclipse the weather forecast was for clouds throughout the area of Texas where the eclipse’s path was projected to pass. If it was cloudy then the whole effort would be a bust. As there is nothing I could do to control the weather I left it up to Jesus, the One that can control the weather. I just handed it to Jesus and told Him that if He wanted me to capture this image He would have to deal with the weather. As my favorite Ansel Adams quote goes, “Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter.” I actually needed two windows of cloudless skies. Because the Equatorial mount must be aimed at the North Star I needed clear skies Sunday evening , April 7th to aim my mount. That evening we had crystal clear skies and by 9:30pm that night I had the mount aimed and ready to go. Through the night I would peek out the bedroom window of the RV and see stars in the sky. However, Monday morning I got up about 6:30am and when I looked out the window clouds had moved in and it was nearly totally overcast. A little discouraged, I began to prepare my mind that I might not get the shots I wanted. I put it at Jesus’ feet and told Him, Your will be done. As a step in faith, around 8:30am I began to do the final assembly of my gear and get the camera mounted, computer connected and everything prepared. As I completed the setup, we still had fully overcast skies. I chatted with the numerous other people in the campground that were there to observe the eclipse. Then about 30 minutes before the start of the eclipse some areas of blue sky began to open up. As the sun warmed the air, the cloud cover began to break up some. To the south there were some larger areas of blue sky. It was starting to look like there was a glimmer of hope for at least a few shots between the clouds. As the time for the eclipse neared, I checked and re-checked my gear. I shot a few test shots using the computer to fire the camera to assure I had everything hooked up correctly. About 5 minutes before the start of the eclipse the majority of the clouds blew over and the sky began to clear. A few occasional clouds were still hanging out to the south but when the time came to start shooting we had clear skies. I whispered a prayer of thanks to the Lord as I pressed the go button on the camera control software. As you will see in the video below, during the early parts of the eclipse a few clouds passed over blotting out the Sun at times. But, by the time totality started there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
One of the reasons I choose Granbury, TX was because a childhood friend lived there whom I hadn’t seen in 35+ years. On Sunday the 7th, we had an opportunity to attend Triple Cross Cowboy Church with them. During the service the worship team sang “How Great Thou Art”, cowboy style, in recognition of the up coming eclipse. Being a Wyoming country boy, there just isn’t anything quite like Cowboy Gospel music. I recorded their performance and have used it as background music for this video. For me, this song reminds me of what an awesome Creator God, Jesus Christ, we serve. On Monday during the eclipse this song was playing in my mind as I watched the eclipse occur.
Solar Eclipse Composite Wall Mural
- This is a composite image measuring 96″ x 64″, made up 19 separate shots taken during the duration of the eclipse showing the various stages of the eclipse.
- The center image is a wide dynamic range image utilizing 9 different exposure times that allows one to view:
- The Corona which is the far outer atmosphere of the Sun.
- The red glow of prominences extending out past the Moon.
- Earth Shine (the blue hue within the circle of the Moon) which is the Moon’s surface being illuminated by blue light reflected back from the Earth.
- Also a few stars are visible.
- The 6 images with dark centers nearest the center image are other stages of the totality period.
- The two nearest the center show the prominences. In solar physics, a prominence, sometimes referred to as a filament, is a large plasma and magnetic field structure extending outward from the Sun’s surface, often in a loop shape.
- The second pair are the phenomenon known as Bailys Beads. This effect is caused by the Sun shining through the valleys along the edge of Moon.
- The third pair are what are call the Diamond Rings. This effect occurs just as totality begins and ends as the final sliver of the Sun is still visible.
Earth Shine, Far Corona and Stars
This next image is just the center Earth Shine image that makes up the center portion of the above composite. This image full sized is 20″ x 30″. I have made it available as a separate image.
Diamond Ring Phase
The instant before totality starts a tiny sliver of the Sun still peeks past the Moon creating the commonly referred to Diamond Ring. In this photo we see the Diamond Ring just before we entered totality.
Bailys Beads Phase
During the final seconds before totality the Sun shines through the valleys on the edge of the Moon creating the effect called Bailys Beads. In this photo we see the Bailys Beads. We can also see numerous promenences, the orange/red loops of solar flux being ejected from the surface of the Sun. The inner Corona is also visible.
I had heard that at the time of the eclipse there would be up to 7 planets visible pretty much lined up in a row on either side of the sun in the darkened sky. I sat my spare camera up with a 24mm wide angle lens hoping to capture some of the planets. This is a stacked photo that captures 4 of the planets. The bright one in upper left is Jupiter. The first one below and to right of eclipse is Venus. Of the pair in the lower left the left one is Saturn and the right one is Mars.
2024 Solar Eclipse