How I Photographed the 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse in Utah
Capitol Reef Annular Solar Eclipse | Sony Alpha a7R II + 100-400mm GM @ 200mm, f/5.6, ISO 500, 2/5 sec
I am excited to see the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse, but here is the story of how I photographed the 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse. In 2017, I was in college and located outside the path of totality (91% partial eclipse). While I did see the tail end of the partial eclipse, I wish I would have taken some time to fully experience it. After learning about the cool science of solar eclipses in addition to how rare and fleeting they are, I knew I did not want to miss it the next time around.
What is the difference between an annular and total solar eclipse? In an annular solar eclipse, the moon is further from the Earth such that it appears smaller in the sky than the sun. Thus, when the moon transits the sun, it does not fully obscure the sun. However, in a total solar eclipse, the moon is closer to the Earth such that it appears to be the same size in the sky as the sun. Even though an annular solar eclipse might not be as cool as a total solar eclipse, I still was excited to see it. And if nothing else, it would be a good practice round for the upcoming total solar eclipse.
So, I visited Capitol Reef National Park in Utah with my dad to photograph the 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse. For any place that I could have gone from Oregon to Texas, why did I decide to go to Utah? Well, I wanted to be able to photograph the eclipse with a foreground element rather than just the eclipse against a plain black background. And to order to use a telephoto lens to zoom in close to the eclipse, you want to have the sun/moon as close to the horizon as possible. In that case for this eclipse, the best place would be the most western location, and in Oregon, the eclipse would happen at just under 20 degrees above the horizon. Unfortunately, looking at the mean cloud fraction for Oregon in the month of October, the probability of clear skies did not look very high. While New Mexico looked to have the best chance of clear skies, I found a cool rock formation that I liked in Capitol Reef, and the eclipse would be 30 degrees above the horizon.
Finding this rock formation was quite an adventure in itself. Looking at a past photo that I took of the sun at 300mm (as well as many other sun/moon photos online), I figured that I wanted to take my eclipse photo at 300-400mm to have the eclipse large enough in the photo. In order to fit the foreground object within the photo at that focal length, you have to be standing far enough away from it. I used the PhotoPills app to determine approximately how far back I should be standing. Then, I did some trigonometry to figure out how tall of a structure I should be looking for if I have to be pointing my camera at 30 degrees above the horizon. I spent many hours pouring over the satellite view of Google Maps and Google Earth, and I eventually came across this rock formation in Capitol Reef National Park. Before I left for my trip, I even flew around in Microsoft Flight Simulator to visualize the perspective of my photo plan.
View from above Chimney Rock
My dad and I got to the park with a full day to explore before the eclipse. We took the opportunity to figure out where to park and visit the location I had planned for the next day. The rock formation is called Chimney Rock, and I had not heard of this location until I started planning for this trip. But upon arriving at the location, the main parking lot was full and there were a handful of people practicing for the next day. After walking around, taking some test photos, and trying to figure out where I wanted to stand for the eclipse, my dad and I decided to go for a hike. We ended up hiking up the trail that goes on the other side of Chimney Rock, and we had a pretty good view for lunch. From this perspective, you can see the beautiful landscape with the rock formation in the foreground. Additionally, you can see the parking lot by the trailhead as well as the parking lot further down the road where we parked.
Me and my camera setup about 30 minutes before annularity
On the morning of the eclipse, my dad and I got to the location before the first contact point time and before the sun rose over the rock cliffs. Everyone was already there as expected, so I found a spot away from the crowd to set up my camera. I remember as the moon first touched the sun, the excitement in the air and the cheering from the crowd. During the partial eclipse phase, I took various test shots to make sure my focus and exposure bracketing was set up correctly. And as the morning progressed, I ended up moving my spot to be closer to the rock formation and set my focal length to 200mm which I felt allowed me to better include the foreground. As the time grew closer to annularity, I could feel the temperature dropping and noticed overall brightness of the environment was dimming while looking at my exposure on my camera. When the moon moved fully in front of the sun, it was truly a sight to behold. And the photo that I had set up at the top of the page turned out better than I could have imagined.
Capitol Reef Annular Solar Eclipse | Sony Alpha a7R II + 100-400mm GM @ 200mm, f/5.6, ISO 500, 1/5 sec
After taking a few versions of my photo and taking in the scene for a little bit, I decided to move my tripod so I could get the sunlight touching the top of the rock formation. What is interesting about my second eclipse photo is that you can see that the green lens flare is a mirror image of the eclipse. Also, you can see how quickly the clouds were moving based on my two photos which were only taken one minute apart. My biggest concern that morning was that there would be too many clouds that would obscure the view of the eclipse. I knew that there would be some clouds from looking at the weather, but I did not think we should change course and drive somewhere else that we were not familiar with if there was only a little bit of cloud coverage. Upon arriving at the location, the sky very was clear, but as the time got closer to annularity, more clouds started forming in the direction of the sun/moon. In the end, I am happy for the clouds that were present as I think it adds a unique part to my eclipse photos.
Capitol Reef cliffs at sunset | Sony Alpha a7R II + 100-400mm GM @ 400mm, f/8, ISO 100, 1/25 sec
After the eclipse, we had some lunch and explored the gift shop before doing a nice long hike. It ended up being just over 8 miles long with quite some elevation gain. Along the way, we saw the namesake of the park, Capitol Dome, which was named after the Capitol Building. And on our way back as we were coming around the canyon wall, we caught the last bit of sunlight reflecting off the rock cliffs. It was quite a pretty view, and it felt that much more rewarding since we had hiked all the way up there.
My dad and I
Overall, I am grateful for this experience to see the annular solar eclipse. And I was happy to share this experience with my dad. After annularity, I remember I was feeling in awe of what I had just witnessed. It seems pretty special that the moon and the sun just happen to be about the same size in the sky from our perspective on Earth, and for a brief moment in time within a certain path on Earth, they can all line up for this solar eclipse to occur.
It was also nice to have some small conversations with people we met during the trip including those watching the eclipse near us and hear where they were traveling from. And after I was done taking my eclipse photos, it was also cool to show them some photos on the back of my camera that I had just taken. I was also able to lend my solar filter to one gentleman who did not have one so that he could try it out as well. And along the way, I even met someone who graduated from Purdue too.
In a canyon
For those curious, here are the resources that I used to help plan my trip (the links are for the 2024 solar eclipse).
Median Cloud Fraction by American Astronomical Society
Lots of information including a video flyover animation from Great American Eclipse
Here is a good guide on how to photograph the solar eclipse. And additionally, here are some other things I learned while photographing the annular solar eclipse.
I used the NiSi Solar Filter which is a darkens your exposure by 16.5 stops of light. It is made of glass and screws onto the front filter thread of your lens. While not an issue for an annular solar eclipse since you should not remove your solar filter, unscrewing your filter during the total solar eclipse might not be that convenient opposed to a filter that goes over the end of your lens which could be more quickly removed.
Use manual focus and take a few test shots to check that the edge of the sun is in focus. And if you change your focal length, remember to refocus again. It is most likely that the focus will change ever so slightly when zooming your lens.
Not specific to photographing a solar eclipse but bring extra batteries. I had to swap mine part way through the eclipse.
Also, having a tripod to keep your camera stable and an intervalometer/shutter release to take a photo without shaking your camera is very helpful.
Finally, be sure to enjoy the event. Experience it firsthand, not just through your camera screen. In 2017, I remember feeling curious when I saw all the cool photos and learned about the cool science things about the solar eclipse. I hope that this blog post offers a little bit of that inspiration for you as well. And maybe, you will make some last-minute plans (if you have not already) to see this year’s total solar eclipse. I am looking forward to it, and I hope to share my experience and photos with you in a future blog post.