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I was writing a lengthy post of my ambitious triple imaging venture of the partial solar eclipse but I am scrapping the whole thing because not only because its dreadfully boring but this passerby street photographer, inconspicuously took this photo of me which pretty much tells the whole story better than I can describe!
Image by Sue Lockhart Images
Alright I know the story is obvious but I'll add a few more words for context 🙂 It was my most ambitious and exciting imaging venture where from Eastbourne I used my laptop to simultaneously control 3 cameras, a planetary camera mounted on my PST solarscope, a DSLR with a widefield 24mm lens and another DSLR remotely accessed which is mounted on my refractor (also remotely controlled) at home in Peckham in case of cloud cover in Eastbourne! I test run everything with success and confidence of pulling it all off for the main day. But that aint how life works, huh?!
The best pictures of the day were without a doubt the FLamsteed members photos of cheerful faces united together in bitching about the British weather. Well done Mike and Sumitra for capturing that vibrant spirit of the crowd! I am sorry I didnt share that fist shaking fun with you guys but I am grateful to this street photographer, whom after sneakily snapping the above picture, came up to me to chat about what I am up to. She showed me her street photography gallery, we shared contacts and consequently she sent me the above photo earlier today. There were many passers by that chatted with me, some describing their own experiences with the 1999 eclipse and some I educate with whatever knowledge I have. As always those interactions are highlights for me.
Eastbourne fish and chips are bloody delicious btw!
Posted : 22/03/2015 1:06 am
Wonderful photo. You should have that framed! It really does sum up the frustrations of the day.
I can understand entirely why you made the trip down to Eastbourne. Had the conditions been clear, the sea would have made a superb foreground to any eclipse images. I have to say though that there is nothing quite like sharing a major astronomical event like this with lots of other people. That's what really made the day for me, and compensated hugely for the fact that we didn't see anything.
Ah well, at least you found some decent fish and chips!
Start planning your next trip... there's plenty more partial eclipses visible from the UK over the next decade! See http://astronomynow.com/2015/03/21/when-can-i-next-see-a-solar-eclipse-from-the-british-isles/
Posted : 22/03/2015 10:10 am
The curse of new equipment.
Posted : 22/03/2015 10:21 am
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Huh curse of my new equipment...I just realise...as I was also remoting my home telescope, I cursed both London and Eastbourne...I best not show my face a while!
Posted : 22/03/2015 8:30 pm
Topic starter
Wonderful photo. You should have that framed! It really does sum up the frustrations of the day.
I can understand entirely why you made the trip down to Eastbourne. Had the conditions been clear, the sea would have made a superb foreground to any eclipse images. I have to say though that there is nothing quite like sharing a major astronomical event like this with lots of other people. That’s what really made the day for me, and compensated hugely for the fact that we didn’t see anything.
Ah well, at least you found some decent fish and chips!
Start planning your next trip… there’s plenty more partial eclipses visible from the UK over the next decade! See http://astronomynow.com/2015/03/21/when-can-i-next-see-a-solar-eclipse-from-the-british-isles/
Well actually, I am now planning to take my chances on travelling a bit further, to America for the August 21st 2017 total eclipse! If the clouds blow rasberries at me, I'll just make a holiday out of the trip :)...um...I dont suppose it could be a Flamsteed event by any remote chance?!?!?
Oh I look forward to the Flamsteed Lunar eclipse events, I absolutely do love the vibe of sharing an astronomical event with a crowd as you describe.
Posted : 22/03/2015 8:57 pm
