Posted on by Anne Sandler · 56 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #271: Contrasts

Timing is everything. Amy’s challenge this morning is on contrasts: shadows and light, colors, hard and soft, etc. It just happens that this is the morning of the annular (partial) solar eclipse. We didn’t see much of it in California, but NASA put on a good show for us. Amy, I hope you were able to see the totality in Texas.

NASA gives this explanation of a solar eclipse: A solar eclipse happens when, at just the right moment, the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth. Sometimes the Moon only blocks part of the Sun’s light. This is called a partial solar eclipse. Other times, the Moon blocks all of the Sun’s light. This is called a total solar eclipse. As the Moon blocks the Sun’s light, it casts a shadow on part of the Earth.The Moon’s shadow creates a trail as Earth rotates. This trail is called the path of totality. If you want to experience total darkness during an eclipse, you have to be in the path of totality. In that path, the Moon completely blocks the Sun’s light for a few minutes. It gets so dark that it looks like night time during a full Moon!

So why am I mentioning this? Watching the eclipse unfold on my computer screen, I thought there is no better contrast between the sun and moon during this rare occasion. This took me back to the total solar eclipse Richard and I viewed in Idaho in 2017. That was an amazing experience. We were camping in our trailer, but crowds came in that morning. During the eclipse the crowd went quiet until totality. Then the clapping and yelling started. Wow!

I took pictures with my Nikon D3100, armed with a solar filter, handheld. Here are my results of nature’s contrast of the sun and moon from beginning to totality and the end.

I hope you enjoyed my cosmic contrast scenes. Thank you Amy for encouraging me to look back. When you post your contrasts, please remember to link to Amy’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag. I enjoyed seeing all your varied displays last week as encouraged by Ann-Christine. I always enjoy your unique posts and interpretations to our challenges. Next week John is presenting the challenge so be sure to look for his post.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 2 Comments

On the road again: A small town gets ready for a big event, Weiser, Idaho

The sky will turn dark this morning as we experience a total solar eclipse. The timing for our trip to Glacier National Park revolved around our getting to a place for viewing the eclipse–a once in our lifetime event.

So here we are in Weiser, Idaho, a tiny town living in the past as much as it can and enjoying it. When we arrived, a children’s festival was being prepared, an adult festival was already in progress, eclipse shirts and viewing glasses were being sold. Around our campground (which is really the lawn of the National Old Time Fiddlers’ Association), there are food and drink vendors. Two young boys are selling popsicles and ice cream.

The Old Time Fiddlers’ Association building.
Festival in Memorial Park.
Getting ready for a children’s festival.
Food vendor.
Drink vendor.

The field across the street has filled with people, tents and RVs. NASA and MIT have taken spots on the High School’s track.

Tents in the High School Field.
There’s always a solution!
NASA
Following the sun.
MIT

Right now at 8:20 Mountain Time, there are a lot of people setting up. Breakfast is being sold. It’s a bit chilly, so I’m going to get a light jacket and join everyone. I’m still not sure whether I’ll shoot the eclipse. Reason: I really don’t know what I’m doing. Last night, we fashioned a solar filter for my 55 – 300 mm lens, but maybe I’ll be better off taking photos of the eclectic crowd.

I only have a couple of hours to decide before the sky turns dark.