Eclipse: It is so incredibly dramatic, so life-changing in many instances. If you can only take one look, then try to time it for the period when the eclipse is at a maximum so you'll see the largest fraction of the sun covered by the moon.ĬNN: For those of us who aren't NASA scientists, why should we get excited about this eclipse? All you need to do is take a 10 minute coffee break near the maximum part of the eclipse. Don't expect amazing eclipse photos from your smartphone.ĬNN: Is it worth trying to take photos from areas where you will only see a partial eclipse? Get real! Camera phones were meant for selfies and such. Then slide your finger up or down to darken or lighten the exposure. Tap the screen and hold your finger on the image of the moon to lock the focus. Shoot photos of the moon to learn how to manually adjust the focus on your camera. Practice! Take photos just after sunset during twilight to get an idea of what the light levels will be like during totality.
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If you want to take pictures of the stuff going on around you during the eclipse, use a low light level setting or download a special app that lets you manually adjust exposure speed. Use a tripod to keep your camera stable. Buy a solar filter or use your eclipse glasses (NOT regular sunglasses) as a solar filter to cover your smartphone lens during the early part of the eclipse. You do need to do some homework or you'll end up with a fuzzy red blob. NASA has a cheat sheet on taking images of the eclipse with your smartphone. He cautions you'll need a special solar filter and some patience - eclipses take awhile. On his website, Espenak gives detailed tips for using a DSLR camera to photograph the eclipse. Anything with a bunch of little holes will project crescent images on the ground. But if you go under a shade tree, all the little patches of sunlight will be crescent shaped and that can easily be photographed with a cellphone. Eclipse: During the partial phases, the cellphone won't do you any good unless you can put it up to somebody's telescope that has a solar filter on the telescope. Eclipse: Is it really worth trying to take a picture of the eclipse with a smartphone?
Eclipse.īut before we begin, remember this important safety tip: Don't look directly at the sun except during totality. To get some tips on photographing eclipses, CNN spoke by phone with Fred Espenak, a retired NASA astrophysicist and photographer popularly known as Mr. You're probably already packing extra batteries.
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In addition to professional photographers, millions of ordinary people are expected to use smartphones and digital cameras to photograph this eclipse. But it's happening again and one thing about this eclipse will be very different than those in years past: smartphones!
It has been even longer - 99 years - since a total solar eclipse crossed the country from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The last time anyone saw a total solar eclipse in the United States was on February 26, 1979. Portions of 14 states are in the path of totality, the brief phase of the eclipse when the moon is totally blocking the sun. People in all the contiguous United States will be able to see at least part of the eclipse. Americans of all ages are expected to join by the millions to watch the sky grow dark in midday and then slowly brighten again. For a few minutes on August 21, everyone in North America will be united in a solitary, awe-inspiring event: A total eclipse of the sun.