Screen capture at Amazon.
Should you buy a Thousand Oaks Optical filter sheet from “Rix Beauty” (or any other non-approved vendor) at Amazon? For now, my advice is no. Why? Several reasons. The most important is you have no idea if the filter sheet was actually made by Thousand Oaks Optical, or if it is a fake. This also applies to all the other eclipse products at Amazon that are sold by non-approved vendors.
Originally posted August 6, 2017. Updated with new information August 8, 2017.
Baader Solar Eclipse Material
You can make your own inexpensive high density filter to photograph the eclipse. But there is a catch. It is not safe to use to look at the sun, and you should not look through the viewfinder of the camera because you could go blind or suffer serious, permanent eye damage.
Originally posted August 6, 2017. Revised and expanded August 14, 2017.
It is getting very hard to find safe solar eclipse glasses that comply with the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard. A week ago I found ten safe vendors of solar eclipse viewing and photography products. Nine of those vendors are now out of stock. The good news is the David Chandler Company has them in stock so you can order now with no delays.
Originally posted August 5, 2017. Updated August 8, 2017.
Finally! I have found some high quality filters to photograph the eclipse. As I worked my way down the lift of safe vendors of solar eclipse products, the first 12 were totally out of stock. And then, success! But first, two notes of caution that could save your eyesight.
Even in a digital age with fancy apps for your smart phone, tablet, and computer, a planisphere is a handy, low tech tool to have. It is a map of the night sky to show you what is up there based on the date and the time of night you choose.
Originally posted August 4, 2017. Revised August 8, 2017.
I am so pleased to share this video featuring the excellent images of Quiet Shutter Photography (Winnie and Bill Johnston). Winnie is the person who kept bugging me to bring my total immersion nature photography workshop to the campground they manage on the shores of beautiful Lake Charlevoix in Northern Michigan.
Celestron eclipse glasses and binoculars that are safe for viewing the sun.
This article could save your sight. If you bought solar eclipse glasses recently from Amazon, they could be fake and unsafe, even if they have the ISO certification printed on the glasses. You should throw them away.
It is very dangerous out there for buyers of solar eclipse glasses, as in dangerous for their eyes. The American Astronomical Society says “the marketplace is being flooded by counterfeit eclipse glasses that are labeled as if they’re ISO-compliant when in fact they are not.” Quartz is reporting “Solar-eclipse fever means counterfeit glasses are flooding Amazon’s market”. That means it is no longer safe to order solar eclipse glasses from Amazon or other third party web sites. You have no way of knowing if the glasses are safe or not. So what should you do?
White Light Solar Filters
UPDATE August 4: Read this important article first: Unsafe Counterfeit Solar Eclipse Glasses Are Flooding Amazon and Other Online Markets
UPDATE August 3:Â I found another source of safe solar eclipse glasses. See below.
UPDATE August 3: Fake Eclipse Viewer Certification. See below.
This is your last chance. The bad news is almost all of the solar filters that are safe for viewing and photographing the Great American Eclipse (August 21) are now sold out at dealers all across the country. Only a few safe options are left. If you want to photograph the eclipse there is only one inexpensive option left (less than several hundred dollars).
If you want to know when the Great American Eclipse begins, reaches totality, and ends from the location of your choice, you need a local eclipse calculator. This article shows you two simple calculators and one GPS calculator.
That’s right, it is a free 33 lesson introduction to Photoshop on YouTube by TastyTuts. There is a 12 minute introduction (yes, you should watch it), followed by the 33 lessons. Go here for the full video list. More at the links below.
Pursuit (4K) from Mike Olbinski on Vimeo.
Mike Olbinski does some of the most impressive time lapse photography you will ever see.
The Sun photographed with a White Light solar filter.
Unlike most other solar filters, a “white light” solar filter from Thousand Oaks Optical is visually safe (which is really important) and gives you a true color, yellow-amber looking sun (saving you processing time). A white light solar filter also makes it simpler and faster to photograph the sun.
UPDATE August 4:Â This article was originally posted July 25, 2017. A lot has changed since then. All of the links below are to safe sources of solar eclipse glasses, viewers, and filters from reliable companies, but many of them have now sold out. As reliable dealers sell out of their stock of safe products, Amazon and other third party online sites have been flooded with unsafe, look alike, counterfeit products from fly-by-night companies. Read this important article for details: Unsafe Counterfeit Solar Eclipse Glasses Are Flooding Amazon and Other Online Markets
Here’s the short answer. Don’t use any kind of eclipse glasses or eclipse viewers unless you can find evidence that they are ISO 12312-2 certified. If they aren’t, don’t use them.
Mt. Sneffels and the Sneffels Range from County Road 7 (East Dallas Creek), Colorado. October 3, 2014.
This article is updated and re-posted every year. To find the most recent version, go to the Favorites/Most Popular page and look for the name of this article.
Welcome to my Colorado fall color travel guide with 100 pages of information (if you print it all out), 109 photos, and 17 maps. I cover some of the best known fall color locations in Colorado, and one real gem of a road that is mostly unknown to photographers and leaf peepers. Spend anywhere from a few days to three weeks exploring the beautiful Colorado Rockies at a gorgeous time of year.
Blue Sun photographed with a Lee Solar Filter. Click for a larger version.
If you have been following my eclipse series all along, you ordered your solar filter from Thousand Oaks Optical long ago and you will get a yellow sun in your images. If you didn’t, my second choice is a Lee Solar Filter which is optically excellent but turns the sun blue. So how do you process a blue sun to get a yellow sun?
The Sun with Sunspots, photographed through a Lee solar filter.
After posting the last article I am getting questions about how to photograph the sun with a solar filter. It is time to cover the basics.
Left: Safe eclipse glasses. Right: Solar filter
Yes, that is right. Do not look at the sun on eclipse day (or any other day) through a solar eclipse filter. Even though you are looking through a solar eclipse filter (i.e. solar filter) you can still go blind. And this is especially true looking through a camera and lens, even with a solar filter on the lens. Why? I am glad you asked.
Some of my favorite photo location guides.
“If you want to be a better photographer stand in front of more interesting stuff!” – Jim Richardson, National Geographic photographer.
Looking for the best scenic locations to create beautiful images? You need good scenic locations guides written by and for photographers. Photographers are much more in tune with what other photographers want to photograph. And for each location, photographers will tell you the best season of the year and time of day to get the best photo.
Posted July 11, 2017. Updated Dec. 8, 2017.
Parks Collage. Click for a larger version.
What are the best months to photograph our best national parks? Truth to be told, the best national parks can be photographed just about any time of the year. But parks do have some months when they are at their photographic best. So what are the prime months? This park by park article is based on my own experiences as well as the advice of the photographers I most trust.
Posted July 11, 2017. Updated February 12, 2018.
Lee Solar Eclipse Filter, 100mm size
I am seeing back order notices everywhere for solar eclipse filters made by reliable companies. If you want a filter to photograph the solar eclipse, order it now. Here are my recommendations.
Seagate External Hard Drives
I read about a professional photographer who lost a bunch of photos because they were all on just one external hard drive with no backups. The cost of recovering the photos, if they can be recovered, will run between $500 and $5000 depending on the number of photos and the complications involved in the recovery process.
Sunset, Lake Michigan, Lake Michigan Shores Roadside Park near Charlevoix Michigan. iPhone photo.
A lot of photographers miss some great pictures while they are fiddling around with their fancy cameras and tripods. There is a lesson to be learned.
Some opportunities are fleeting and you should grab the picture while you can.
Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale, 1800
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.â€
From the Declaration of Independence, signed July 4, 1776. Written by Thomas Jefferson (1762-1826). 3rd US President (1801-09).
More images (including Thomas Jefferson’s original draft and George Washington’s personal copy) and the complete text follows the break.
Pika, Rock Cut, Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
What are the best national parks to photograph in the summer? Here are my choices, grouped by state from west to east. This list includes the favorites I have been to and want to go back to again, plus the ones I haven’t seen and most want to photograph.
Checkerboard Mesa, Zion National Park, Utah
Summer is the most popular time to visit the national parks. With so many to choose from, where should you go? Which national parks will provide the best photographic opportunities in the summer?
A June ad for campsites in the small town of Madras, Ore., anticipates the influx of tourists expected in the prime viewing location for the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse. Credit: Gillian Flaccus/AP
Just in case you haven’t heard, people are going nuts over the Great American Eclipse August 21, 2017. Places are booking up. Some places have been booked full for months. Prices are climbing. Little Madras, Oregon (population 6,500) is expecting 100,000 visitors because they are in the path of totality. Highways could turn into chaos. Read this eclipse news report from NPR.
What should you do? Make plans now. Start at the links below.
Celestron eclipse glasses and Celestron 10×42 eclipse binoculars.
The Great American Eclipse is Coming August 21, 2017. This is the best total eclipse of the sun in the United States in 38 years. Don’t wait too long to get your eclipse glasses, goggles, or binoculars. Due to the high interest in this eclipse, dealers could sell out long before the eclipse. There is already a delay of several weeks on orders for high quality solar filters.
Solar Eruptions as Totality Ends
The Great American Eclipse will cross the United States August 21, 2017. This is the best total solar eclipse in the U.S. in 38 years. This series of articles is your guide to the best information about the eclipse.
Notice: There is an updated version of this list here with the articles arranged by category.
Originally posted June 26, 2017. Updated September 5, 2017:Â There are now 41 articles in this series. Stay tuned for more articles.