Disappointing Eclipse Pictures

In the wake of Britain’s nearly total solar eclipse The Guardian published a set of disappointing pictures from their roof which was shrouded in thick white smog and cloud.

While not a total washout, certainly the eclipse in Leeds was not what we had all hoped for. This is the story of my life really – the last total eclipse in 1999 I was actually staying in Caen, in the line of totality, but we had been convinced to go to a party somewhere in Brittany, this was outside the total line and also cloudy. Caen was bright perfect sunshine, and the location of Le Monde’s headline image – ‘Inoubliable!’ the caption read.

So today’s eclipse was not really unforgettable. I doubt, unless I travel, I will get to see another close to totality.  I bought a solar filter, which due to the cloud showed nothing, tried welding glass, and then took most of my shots through a standard ND8 filter.  I really must get my telephoto lens fixed as well, so that it works on anything smaller than f/5.6 for sharpness.

Anyway, here are some creative, rather than documentary, shots.