Many people are tired of hearing that there will be a solar eclipse on Monday, and they may not have prepared for it at all. The absolute uproar over this celestial event seems like an overrated excuse to jack up AirBNB rates and sell boring cardboard glasses, right?
Special items are recommended for viewing and photographing the eclipse, so procrastinators or those who change their minds at the last minute may find themselves at a loss. What's even more discouraging is knowing that millions of people will be taking this photo, and no doubt many of those people will have high-end camera equipment and appropriate filters. It's about being there.
Still, if you take a photo or video of the eclipse, it's yours. Would you like to make a small souvenir? Even though high-resolution images from super-powerful cameras are available, people like to take pictures of the moon. Even if it's not as good as James Webb's, there's something undeniably special about observing celestial bodies through your own telescope.
It's a little late now to buy the designated solar filters you need to enable your camera to zoom in and capture the details of the sun. Many filters are sold out, express shipping is expensive, and even if your friend has a solar filter, the eclipse passes quickly, leaving little time to replace the lens.
Make solar filters from trash
please do not worry. Solutions can be found in unexpected places.
The Mylar “foil” used to wrap Pop-Tarts, candy, and other foods can be quite effective as a sun filter for your camera in a pinch, and some emergency blankets made from the same material can do the same. got it. Crafty photographers are making solar filters for their cameras using Pop-Tart or candy wrappers, attaching them to cardboard tubes or soup cans, or using masking tape to attach them directly to the camera lens. Sometimes I do.
Since the camera zooms in on the sun, all this filtering method requires is a small piece of mylar. Mylar should be placed directly above the center of the lens. Select the unprinted part of the wrapping paper and place it on top of the camera with the “inside” side of the wrapping paper facing out. If you tape the wrapper directly to the lens, use a gentle tape that won't leave scratches or marks, such as masking tape.
Do not look directly at the sun through Mylar film. This method is only intended for use with devices that have a display screen, such as a digital camera with an LED display. Do not look at the sun through the eyepiece of a camera with a Pop-Tart filter.
The resulting photos won't be as sharp as a proper professional setup, but they should work for taking eclipse photos in a pinch. Watch the video below for a comparison and step-by-step instructions for taking photos of the sun using different food wrappers and specialized solar films.
wide angle lens mobile phone photography
Apple reports that instead of using a camera equipped with a soup can and Pop-Tart wrapper to zoom in on the sun, you can safely photograph the eclipse without a filter using your iPhone's wide-angle lens.
The iPhone's wide lens technology has its pitfalls. Don't zoom in on photos taken with an unfiltered cell phone camera. Therefore, the eclipse will only occupy a small portion of the photo. This is great for locations with beautiful views, but for those venturing out from work to take photos, it can result in less-than-ideal views.
Again, these photos should be taken without looking directly at the sun.
Photograph the sun without photographing the sun
For those who don't want to trust the health of their camera to random junk or the words of an Apple executive, another fun way to view and photograph a solar eclipse is to take photos of the light and shadow. included.
One of the coolest, easiest, and most well-known ways to photograph the solar eclipse indirectly is with a colander/cheese grater. Most objects with small holes, such as punched cardboard or paper, work well. These simple items project a crescent-shaped light during a solar eclipse. Smaller holes create sharper images.
Continuing the theme of recycling food scraps, NASA has shared instructions for making a solar eclipse viewer from a cereal box.
For the sharpest and clearest results, project the light onto a smooth white paper. Colanders are generally preferred for this method because the arrangement of the colander's holes creates an interesting pattern of hundreds of tiny crescents.
You can customize your projection by punching holes in the cardstock to form the shape you want, spelling out your name, or drawing a picture on it. For a more creative approach, you can also project the crescent moon onto a variety of different surfaces, such as a leaf, a painting, or someone's hand.
No matter how exaggerated it may seem, remember that this eclipse is not just a tourist trap, but a wonderful part of the elaborate dance between the stars, planets, and moons of our solar system. Have fun shooting!