Today (Jan 4th) was a partial solar eclipse between 6:40 and 11:00 UTC seen in most of Europe and in northeast Asia. Greatest eclipse occurred at 08:51 UTC in northern Sweden. Watching and taking pictures was ideal opportunity for creative start of new year.
I took of from Ljubljana towards the region Štajerska before 7AM. Weather forecast was good for that part of Slovenia. I was a bit worried about the morning fog but was bound to lift if needed.
7:05 on Ljubljana's highway
I planned the course of the eclipse using SkySafari, iPhone app. With it I’ve seen the path of the moon crossing the sun.
SkySafari for iPhone
I was near the town of Vransko half past seven as I noticed that the nearby mountain tops were lit by the first rays of the sun. I stopped on the nearest hill over the town. The scenery was beautiful.
Panorama of town Vransko from my vantage point.
I quickly started to shoot phases of the eclipse.
Previewof the solar eclipse on Nikon D200 display.
I decided to do a time-lapse only during greatest eclipse as I didn’t have remote head on the tripod to follow the sun path. I used Nikon D200 and an analogue F90x with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D ED and Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG Macro lenses. I had a special foil on Sigma for watching eclipses that I got before the last full eclipse in Europe August 11th 1999. Nikkor had a polarizing filter on and a Light Craft Workshop™ Fader ND filter. Combined there was enough absence of light for watching.
Special foil for watching eclipses on Cokin filter on Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG Macro lens and analogue Nikon F90x
Nikon D200, Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D ED, polarizing filter with Fader ND
The eclipse was not seen with the naked eye.
The scenery and the light during the eclipse was perfect so I took some different photos.
Hand glove didn't helped watching the eclipse.
The lack of sun rays was not visible even during greatest eclipse. Maybe you could see the moon crossing the sun it if you squint with your eyes and imagined the eclipse.
The ground was frozen and after a good hour of standing I was freezing.
After the peak of the eclipse I went home to process the images.
Processing the images using Apple Aperture.
Photos were merged into one where you can see the whole course of the eclipse.
Course of the partial solar eclipse 2011
I pieced the photos into a movie and added a music score. I am very pleased with the creative beginning of the new year.
Solar Eclipse 2011 from Peter Prevec on Vimeo.