Partial Solar Eclipse - October 23, 2014

Pre-Eclipse Test Image showing Huge Sunspot Group

Partial Solar Eclipse of October 23, 2014. After days of analysis and agonizing over whether to stage a public event or go out on my own, I decided to be a spectator myself and try and get some good images. From where? I decided to use fishing pier located in Avon Lake, Ohio to observe the sunset partial solar eclipse. I was hoping to get images of the eclipsing sun sinking colorfully on the western horizon, reflecting dreamily in Lake Erie waters. When I arrived there were few people around but I saw a line of cars arriving at the parking lot. I hustled my equipment down to the pier and staked out a corner so as to be out of the way.

A Portion of the Fishing Pier Crowd Watching the Eclipse

Soon the pier was packed and, at the expected time, I spotted the dark edge of the Moon encroaching upon the Sun's bright disk. I shouted to the crowd, "It has started!" Folks quickly faced sunward and, holding their sun-safe viewers, looked and agreed... "Look! I can see it!" I was shooting with a 400mm telephoto lens mounted to a 2X lens extender on a cropped-sensor camera giving me about 1000mm of telescopic goodness. I'd tried the combo out earlier in the day and got very good results.

Dark Disk of Moon Encroaching Upon Cloud-Streaked Sun

The evening's seeing, however, wasn't as good as that of midday; the Sun was low in the sky (more atmosphere), there was a fairly stiff breeze (vibration and atmospheric turbulence), and there were thin clouds. Still, while not as sharp as I'd have liked, the presence of a huge sunspot group and some cloud effects along with the eclipse made for dramatic images.

Eclipsing Sun Sinks into Lake Clouds Ending our Day

The eclipsing Sun sank into lake clouds before giving us sunset colors but I didn't regret staying til the (cold) end. As eclipse watchers started heading home, someone asked if they could see my images, review them in the camera's tiny LCD panel. I obliged and soon collected a little crowd. Some had arrived late and hadn't seen any of the event. It was heartening to have seen the excitement of fellow viewers and to have shared the wonder of this partial solar eclipse with them.