Good Evening, Peter!
Glad that you've gone through the eye safety checks with Katya.
I know I used a bit of a heavy hammer to drive home the eye safety business,
but it IS important. as a simple mistake can be a permanent mistake.
The 1991 Eclipse will forever be known as "The Big One" , because totality
lasted 6 minutes, 53 seconds. This eclipse will offer totality ranging from 2
minutes 3 seconds just south of Portland, Oregon, to 2 minutes 33 seconds, as
it leaves the South Carolina shores.
In 1991 the Mexican Government was worried about people damaging their eyes, so
they exhorted people to watch on their TV. The advertising to do so was
relentless, leading up to the day.
The eclipse came in over Los Cabos and then swept down the west coast of
Mexico. They had TV crews, fully equipped, set up at every major town. That
way, people could watch it over and over again.
In La Perla hotel, in La Paz, I met a woman who ran and English School and she
wanted to chat. (Practice, I assume.) When I asked her if she was going to
watch the eclipse, she said "Oh, yes! I'm going to watch it in the time
honoured, Mexican way." "And, what is that?", I enquired. "Oh", she replied
"From under the bed!"
I will do most of my photography during the partial phase before totality, and
then at the start of totality. But, then, I will stop and look. I hope to do
all my shooting in the first 40 seconds for it is impotant to just stop and
look. It's a sight like you'll never see.
As totality approaches, the air cools (yes, even in Mexico, in July!). The cows
head for their barns, the birds go to roost and the entire world becomes eerily
quiet.
Then, if you're on a hill, you can watch the shadow of the moon race towards
you at 1500 miles per hour.
As the moon almost covers the sun, you'll see the "diamond ring" followed by
"Bailey's Beads", which show as a series of bright dots, as the moon fully
covers the sun, except where the sun still shines through the valleys, between
the mountains on the moon. That lasts only a second or two, but is amazing to
see. That is my goal, this time. To capture Bailey's Beads.
Of course, the Corona can only be seen during a total eclipse. Man has not
devised a way to see it "on demand". For those who have not seen it, it is
faint, wispy and up to 4 times the size of the sun, as we normally see it. It
is something every person should see, at least once in their lifetime. (If
shooting the corona, bracket heavily ... up to +/- 3 stops or more!
And then, before you know it ... it's all over. Bailey's beads, the diamond
ring return for brief moments and then... daylight!
I'm going to use the 400/6.8 Telyt - as it yields an effective 800mm fl, on my
Oly E-M1, Mk II. I'm hoping to pick up a cheap, used tripod, and put my 500/8
Reflex Nikkor on it, and use it to project the sun onto a piece of white mat
board, as well.
Like you, Peter, we are off a week Saturday. We'll stay on the Sunday night,
in Sheridan, Wy, as it is only a 2 hour drive into Casper.
I cannot believe the amount of gouging going on in the hotel business. It
seems most places on the center line are over CAD $1000 per night, if you can
get one at this late date. One place, near Riverton Wy, (if Booking.com is to
be believed) are offering two, one bed cabins for CAD $3000+ for the night of
the 20th. That's just plain greedy. (No wonder they're still available!)
Weather is always the big bugaboo. Best to have a car, to move about, if
necessary. In February of 1979, my then brother-in-law and I (in two cars)
reached an intersection of two dirt roads between camper's fields. We stopped
and looked at the clouds with just 10 minutes to go to totality. I announced I
was going right ... he went left. We saw the eclipse - they did not. It can be
that capricious.
May we all have good weather and cloudless skies on the 21st.
David.
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