How to Photograph and Still Enjoy the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse

With the Great North American Eclipse coming to Canada on April 8, 2024, now is the time to start preparing for the big day. Alan presents his tips and techniques for viewing and photographing the solar eclipse, using methods that best ensure success and still allow you to see and enjoy the eclipse!

Alan has chased 16 total solar eclipses — on land, in the air. and at sea, from the Arctic to the Antarctic, on two oceans, and on five continents. Alan is co-author with the late Terence Dickinson of The Backyard Astronomer’s Guide. Asteroid #78434 is named for him.

[scottmcnally]

I'm heading to Texas from Minnesota for the eclipse and I've been watching videos for a month now. This was as good a video as I've seen. Very nicely done and I like the simplified idea. You defintely have calmed my nerves a bit. Thanks!

[doyoulookup]

Thank you so much. This was very informative. I appreciate your presentation style - enthusiastic, calm, clear, well thought out with clear explanations.

[bsuthe]

Yours is the first video I've watched in preparation for the April, 2024 eclipse. Thank you so much for all the information. This will be my last realistic chance to see a total eclipse. I do want to get a few of my own still photos, but I know so many will get much better photos. My main goal is to actually see the eclipse.

[marktieleman]

Incredibly informative video! Much appreciated. Have been contemplating trying my hand at shooting this upcoming eclipse with a star tracker and 400mm telephoto lense/DSLR combo. Wanted to make sure I was as prepared as possible, and this will certainly help!

[randallbestrcb]

An absolutely fabulous and knowledgeable video! I'm actually just getting into amateur photography for the eclipse, and yes I've already got my filters :) It'll be a busy couple minutes in S.Texas but so worth it.

[jta]

Thanks for the great video and planning for 8 April 2024. Did you mention that the optimum viewpoint is on the US side of the Falls on Goat Island

[achernarpolis]

Outstanding, 2017 was great even with a simple smartphone.

[fabiopignata]

Using Eclipsedroid to automate my DSLR. Easy and really convenient to do without laptop. Worked flawlessly in 2017

[SueFerreira]

Excellent - well presented and very practical.

[brianrose]

Very good information and informative! Take care and good luck!

[ronjenkins]

Great video. I'll be watching it through several times, taking notes as I plan my photography for the day. At the moment I think I'll have a 400mm lens on an APSC DSLR on a tripod with a geared ball head, operating manually, and a mirrorless camera on another tripod with a wide angle lens taking time lapse. This will be my first total solar eclipse. I'm living in Mississauga; presumably the Niagara area will be good for viewing?

[michaelmckeag]

For the 2017 eclipse I used Xavier Jubier’s Solar Eclipse Maestro to automate exposure sequences for two cameras, a wide angle on fixed tripod covering the sun’s path from sunrise through awhile past totality and a telephoto on equatorial mount recording the eclipse from first contact through last. It was a lot of work to set up and test the automation scripts but on eclipse morning when I started the script running on real time instead of simulated my only job was standing between the cameras ready slip the filters off on voice prompt from the script and replace again on prompt. I was free to witness totality directly, standing between the cameras with a filter in each hand. I did manage to capture full HDR set from corona through earthshine. Post processing was a challenge. My skills have since improved and so has the available software. Hoping for clear skies for all.

[mguerramd]

Wimberly head if you can swing it. Works fabulous, and for LOTS of other photography as well. It's not just for telephotos, by the way. I even use it with a 50 mm prime!

[Hotrob_J]

This video is amazing thank you.

I've got like a full page of notes lol!

[euykyrthu]

Thanks for the great video. I bought your book. I figure it's a fair trade: two beers for insights from your 50 years of experience.

[richardscottw]

Thank you for this video. Very informative! I just want to be sure I understand what you are saying about the 4K wide-angle video with mirrorless camera option. Are you saying that I can set this up and run it for a few minutes before and during totality *without* a filter attached? That this will not damage my camera?

[stephencorcoran]

Planning on attempting to capture the April eclipse this year in New Hampshire. Using a Sony A7sIII with a Sony 100-400 mm lems. would Aperture Priority work to minimize camera changes manually? Thank you for the video, great presentation.

[Jimmy_Cavallo]

💥 thank you for so much great information. 13:08 during this intervalometer sequence you said that no filter is needed.? I don’t understand that since all of talk about this event says don’t aim the camera at the sun without a filter except during totality.

[mcable]

I used Eclipse Orchestrator Pro during the 2017 eclipse and it worked great. I had to tune the number and timing of the shots at totality, but I never changed the exposures. During the eclipse all I did was remove and replace the filter when it prompted me to. There is a sequence in the program for the 2023 Annular eclipse but it also has the prompts to remove the filter at totality like during a total solar eclipse. I know I can’t do that and I need to leave the filter on, but will the bracketed shots and exposer settings in the program work with the filter still on the telescope?

[brucetrue]

My question: Is a 16 stop ND filter good for eclipse photos, or will my camera be damaged? I thought it was good but doing some recent inquiry on the net some seem to say it has to be a mylar filter.