PHOTOBLOG
SHAUN C TARPLEY PHOTOGRAPHY
The galactic center as photographed from Davis Mountains State Park
Star trails behind the Harlan J Smith 10m Telescope
The early morning sunrise slowly creeps into the Chisos Basin of Big Bend National Park, Texas.
The galactic center as photographed from Davis Mountains State Park
PHOTOGRAPHY TOOLS
I often find myself making tools to help me plan for different photography projects, especially complex events like a total solar eclipse. They take a long time to create and fine-tune, but they are usually well worth the effort. While the tools I make are specific to my needs, goals, and equipment, I figure they can likely be helpful to others pursuing similar goals. For that reason I am including a few photography tools here that can be used by anyone who needs them.
For detailed information on how the spreadsheets work and access to the files, click on the Title of tool and it will take you to a separate page for each tool.
I have endeavored to address as many of the nuances of an eclipse in these tools as I can, but ultimately there are too many variables at play to guarantee success. Ultimately these tools and the corresponding posts are just guides and each photographer will need to adapt my assumptions and specific case studies to the equipment and local conditions they have to work with.
If you find these photography tools helpful for your eclipse preparation, please consider supporting my work by purchasing something from my Store, or by donating a few dollars to my Paypal account using the button below or @ShaunCTPhoto
Based on a table first provided by Fred Espenak (Mr. Eclipse), I have expanded the table to include new information and tools for calculating more specific exposures for an eclipse.
Click on the title to see full instructions and download the PDF or Excel file.
Version: 1 - March 5, 2024
Total Solar Eclipses are complex and require planning for multiple steps over many hours, punctuated with a dense set of requirements in the fleeting moments of totality. To help plan and execute an eclipse photography session, I have developed an exposure schedule to organize everything as much as possible.
Click on the title to see full instructions and download the PDF or Excel file.
Version: 1 - March 6, 2024
The partial phases of a solar eclipse generally last more than an hour, so breaking down that time into intervals helps to reduce the image load of the event. Additionally, the most common visual representation of an eclipse includes partial phases flanking a central image of max eclipse. Creating this graphic can be slightly more complex than just dividing the time by the images in the graphic, so I have created a spreadsheet that breaks down the nuances of intervals and how they fit into the overall photographing of the event.
Click on the title to see full instructions and download the Excel file.
Version: 1 - March 8, 2024
Total Solar Eclipses have a wide dynamic range from the dimmest phenomena of Earthshine, to the brilliant prominences of the chromosphere. The only way to capture all this information is to take multiple images of increasing exposure known as brackets, but since those brackets are dependent on a single "metered" setting, you need to know the range beforehand to properly set up the camera in the moment. For this reason I created this calculator to estimate the exposures of bracket sequences and the time it will take to perform them.
Click on the title to see full instructions and download the Excel file.
Version: 1 - March 6, 2024