There was an Annular Solar Eclipse on boxing day of 2019 passing through Singapore and this is my experience capturing it.
First off, a primer.
- A partial solar eclipse is where the moon blocks part of the sun.
- A total solar eclipse is where the moon blocks the entire sun.
- An annular solar eclipse is like a combination of a partial and total solar eclipse. The moon is closer to the earth and so is unable to block the entire sun. What you get at maximum eclipse is a "ring of fire" like what you see in my title image above.
So while you can look directly at the sun during a total eclipse since all of the sun's rays are blocked, you should not do so during a partial or annular solar eclipse.
Likewise, camera equipment should be protected throughout a partial or annular solar eclipse. There is a caveat which I'll cover below, but for now, let's leave it at that.
Solar Eclipse Filters
People need to wear properly certified solar glasses (usually known as solar eclipse glasses) to safely look at the sun. Likewise, camera equipment need to be protected by appropriate solar films so that the image sensors won't get fried.
Note that these are not the solar filters that some people install on their windows to reduce the heat coming into their homes. Solar filters for capturing or looking at eclipses block about 16 stops of light and you usually can't see anything through them except the sun.
You can get these solar films in sheets or threaded filters which you can screw on to the front of your camera lens. I got the latter as it is less clumsy. The brand Thousand Oaks is popular on Amazon for these solar filters.
Lens: Panasonic Leica 100-400mm
I used my Panasonic GX9 with the Panasonic Leica 100-400mm for this eclipse. At the telephoto end of 400mm, the sun will only be about 1/3 the height of the frame.
It is noted that a good advice for people capturing total solar eclipses is not to zoom in too far, but that's because they want to capture the solar prominences extending outwards from the sun's surface. However, for an annular solar eclipse, you won't be able to see these as the sun is still visible and will overwhelm the prominences, so you can zoom in as far as your lens will allow.
Tripod
Zoomed in at 400mm, you'll certainly want a steady tripod to reduce camera shake.
Furthermore, from the time of partial solar eclipse to annular solar eclipse can be about 2 hours, not to mention another 2 hours for the moon to move away. So it's a good idea to use a tripod.
The sun and moon will move, so you'll need to adjust your camera every few minutes. This is easy on a tripod but will be difficult hand-held especially if zoomed in at 400mm.
Camera Settings
I took the partial eclipse at various apertures and shutter speeds and didn't see much of a difference. Just choose an aperture where you know your lens is sharp (f/4.0 to f/8.0?) and a shutter speed not too long since the sun and moon are moving (certainly not several seconds).
For the record, I tried to create some star bursts by using an aperture of f/11 and even f/16, but didn't manage to create any.
I think the more important setting is the focus. I use auto focus for the first shot then switch to manual focus for several other shots. Several minutes later, I'll change back to auto focus to let the camera re-focus. Indeed some of my shots missed focus.
I delayed the shutter 10 seconds to ensure the camera was no longer shaking from the time I pressed the shutter button to the time the shot was taken.
Finally, I used exposure bracketing to ensure I had the ideal exposure, mainly not to overexpose the shot. Note that this was not to include the landscape in the shot. The solar filters are darkened 16 stops. Even if the exposure bracketing was set to +/- 3 stops, you're still down 13 stops, so you'll see nothing other than the sun in your shots. Once again, there is a caveat to this which I'll cover below.
Shots of the Annular Solar Eclipse
Ok, so here're the shots I took from partial eclipse till the annual solar eclipse:
Clouds are your Friends
Now many photographers will get shots like the above and it's very hard to tell one from another. However, if the sun is partially covered by clouds, this can significantly reduce the intensity of the sun such that you can remove the solar filter on your camera. This will allow more creative shots.
For one, light is scattered unevenly by the clouds. In the shots below, I cranked up the vibrance and saturation but did not change the hue of the light captured. You can see the different color tones in the clouds.
Secondly, you can now include the landscape in your shots. This can create more interest in your images and even reveal the environment in which you were taking your shot.
Now clouds can be passing and temporal. So it would be ideal to have a second camera on hand (not on a tripod) without a solar filter to capture these shots as clouds cover the sun. This is so that you don't need to keep taking off and putting back the solar filter.
Shadow Casts
One final note is to look at the shadows around you during the partial eclipse. If there are small holes or gaps which project the image of the eclipse, then you will see the crescent sun in these shadows:
Singapore won't be getting another annual solar eclipse till 2063, so hopefully this post would prove useful to those lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time!
Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f/4.0-6.3:
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