Photographing the 2024 Solar Eclipse

Note: This post is way overdue. I’m writing this in April 2025 – a year after the eclipse last spring – but dating this as April 27, 2024 like it was posted just a couple of weeks after the event when I completed editing of the eclipse images.

I documented the 2017 Great American Eclipse shortly after that event. Capturing a partial eclipse in the northern Virginia area of the mid-Atlantic was a thrilling photographic and astronomical experience. Watching the moon converge over the sun, seeing the dimming ambient light, and feeling the atmospheric cooling on a blazing hot August afternoon made me want more! So I circled April 8, 2024, on my calendar and although this would once again be a partial eclipse in my neighborhood, I knew I would travel somewhere in the path of totality for a true total eclipse experience.

Luckily my sister and brother-in-law live in Louisville, just south of the path of totality for the 2024 eclipse. And a friend extended an invitation to join an eclipse viewing party at their house on Grandview Lake in Columbus, Indiana … almost in the center of the path of totality. We had an eclipse destination and travel planning was underway!

But since 2017 I’d updated the gear I used to photograph that eclipse. Gone was the Nikon D750 DSLR and the Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 lens … replaced as part of my transition to mirrorless. I still had the Gitzo tripod, the HDMI viewing monitor, and the solar filters, but now I’d be using the Nikon Z8 mirrorless camera and the Nikkor Z 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 S lens. So, leading up to the event there were three areas of preparation …

• What to capture and how to expose? Hudson Henry’s Approaching the Scene 294: How to Practice and Shoot the Solar Eclipse was an excellent guide to preparing for solar disc captures and a landscape composite.
• How to rehearse? From my 2017 experience I knew that rehearsing with the setup in advance of the event was the best way to prepare.
• How to pack? In 2017 I brought several bags of equipment to the shoot location. I’d be flying to Kentucky for this event, so had to figure out what I could bring, how to pack it, and what that meant I could capture during the eclipse.

Preparation in each of these three areas began in early March, 2024 …

March 4, 2024	Solar eclipse exposure test (partly sunny 68). This initial test was done with using the Nikkor Z100-400mm lens with the Z TC-1.4x Teleconverter attached. Sampled a range of shutter, aperture, and ISO settings similar to the 2017 eclipse. Results with the TC weren’t very sharp.
March 14 , 2024	Solar eclipse exposure test (Scattered clouds 75).
March 17, 2024	Solar eclipse exposure test (Broken clouds 72). This time without the teleconverter using settings recommended in the Hudson Henry video mentioned earlier. Improved sharpness.
March 22, 2024	Solar eclipse exposure test.
March 26, 2024	Solar eclipse full rehearsal for timing and batteries. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 100-400mm on Gitzo Carbon Fiber tripod using a Benro S4 video head. Nikon Z6ii with Nikkor Z 14-30mm on Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod. Black Pearl Flysight RC801 7″ HDMI monitor for viewing. No photos taken, but confirmed all batteries would make it to the end of the event.
March 27, 2024	Gear pack test. I planned to pack most of the camera gear in a Think Tank Airport Accelerator backpack and the Gitzo tripod in a small suitcase that I planned to check. But the Gitzo would not fit safely in my TravelPro 21″ spinner.
April 3, 2024	Gear pack test. I decided to mount the Nikon Z8 on the Peak Design Travel Tripod and leave the Gitzo at home. But I also mounted the Nikon Z6ii on the Gitzo Monopod with the Benro IN00 Double Action Ball Head using the Benro Articulating Base for Monopods and it was surprisingly solid!
April 4, 2024	Solar Eclipse Test to confirm the camera and mount plan will work.
April 4, 2024	Gear pack. I pack everything as I plan to travel and I’m good to go!
April 5, 2024	Final Solar Eclipse Rehearsal at home before packing and traveling.
April 7, 2024	Final Solar Eclipse Rehearsal in Louisville.
April 8, 2024	Total Solar Eclipse in Columbus, Indiana.

Here is what I pack:

• Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S Telephoto Lens on Gitzo GT2541 Carbon Fiber tripod using a Benro S4 Video Head
• Nikon Z6ii with Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 Wide Angle Zoom on Peak Design Carbon Fiber tripod with Benro IN00 Ball Head and Benro Articulating Base
• Black Pearl Flysight RC801 7″ HD Monitor
• Daystar Universal Solar Lens Filters
• Vello FreeWave Micro Wireless Remote Shutter Release
• Anker 20,000 mAh Power Bank
• Assortment of batteries, cables, and mounting hardware

I flew out to Louisville on Saturday, April 6. I’ve been traveling to Kentucky for well over thirty years and I’ve experienced much of what the Bluegrass State has to offer. But I’ve never had a “Hot Brown” at The Brown Hotel. So on Saturday night we went downtown to The Brown Hotel for dinner. A Hot Brown is an open-faced turkey sandwich covered with Mornay sauce and broiled until golden brown on top. It’s a Louisville tradition dating back to the 1920s and it’s delicious!

That Sunday afternoon I took advantage of some nice weather and did a final solar eclipse rehearsal with a full setup of all the gear that I would use the next day. On Sunday evening I charged up all the batteries. The preparation and planning was done. Time for the actual event!

Carlyn, Bill, and I leave the house at 8 AM on Monday, April 8, to pick up Irwin and then head across the Ohio River and into Indiana. The weather looks good! It’s a two-hour drive from Louisville to our destination in Columbia, Indiana. There are over 100 people attending the viewing party and it’s very well organized! We check in, get our lanyards, grab some coffee and danish, and find a good spot near the lake waterline to setup our chairs and my camera gear. I was worried that trees in this location might block part of the eclipse view, but the sun is well overhead and in early April there isn’t much foliage on the trees yet. Around 11 AM there is a lecture about the solar eclipse and eclipse viewing safety from a University of Louisville astronomer and a box lunch is provided!

At 1:45 PM I turn on and aim the cameras to take a couple of reference photos before the event starts. Five minutes later at 1:50 PM the eclipse begins. I’ve mapped out a plan on a spreadsheet to capture closeup views of the eclipse with the Nikon Z8 to get a solar disc composite through various stages of the eclipse, the Diamond Ring, and the Prominences. With the Nikon Z6ii I’m capturing a wide angle view with a composite of the solar disc over the lake.

During the 155-minute event I’ve mapped out a plan to capture images every five minutes with both cameras. I quickly settle into a cadence. Centering the sun in the Z8 viewfinder. Snapping a still on both cameras. Watching for a few minutes. And then repeating the sequence. I’ve got the most amount of camera equipment at this viewing party. And I’ve got the large monitor for a great view of what the Z8 is seeing. A steady stream of eclipse party-goers stop by to take a look. It’s great to meet the people here and to be able to share the closeup view!

Slowly the environment around the lake changes. It’s like sunset … but hours earlier. And then the moon moves completely in front of the sun. Totality begins! At our location totality runs from 3:05:36 PM to 3:10:01 PM. And for the next 4 minutes I’m busy. The solar filters come off. Exposure on both cameras is changed. My attention shifts to the Z8 to capture the Corona, Diamond Ring, Baily’s Beads, the Chromosphere, and Prominences. I make sure to capture a wide angle view of totality with the Z6ii. And then I stop to look around and take in the moment. It’s the middle of the afternoon. There isn’t a cloud in the sky. And yet, it’s dark like the sun had set 30 minutes earlier. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Several minutes later the sky begins to lighten. The solar filters go back on and I shoot the second half of the eclipse.

The eclipse ends at 4:23 PM. A few minutes later I’m packed up and we start the drive back to Louisville. And it seems most of the population of Kentucky is doing the same. It’s bumper-to-bumper traffic for many miles. What was a two-hour drive earlier in the day is a much longer drive on the way back. But plenty of time for me to review images from both cameras, download a few to my phone, and to do a quick post to Instagram and Facebook.

I’m back home a couple of days later, but no time to download these pictures and process yet! I unpack all the gear and then repack for the next trip. I’ve got a wedding in Los Angeles the following weekend, and while I’m there I’m photographing the IndyCar Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. I don’t start processing the eclipse photos until the last week of April. I relied on a couple of resources to guide the processing … Hudson Henry’s Tips for Editing Your Eclipse Photos and Nebula Photos Basic Processing Tutorial. Here are the four finished images and the editing steps I used …

With the Nikon Z6ii I made the Solar Eclipse Landscape Composite, capturing a wide-angle view of the lakeside lawn, the eclipse party participants, and 33 images of the eclipse.

Here are the steps to process this composite:
In Lightroom …
• Select all photos for composite
• Edit In > Open as Layers in Photoshop
In Photoshop …
• Shift Click to Select All Layers
• Blend Mode > Lighten
• Arrange as needed
• Flatten then Save

With the Nikon Z8 I photographed the Solar Disc.

Processing to eliminate the orange cast is relatively simple in Lightroom …
• Increase contrast ~35
• Reduce Blacks ~25
• Increase Sharpening ~25

At the height of totality I photographed 9 bracketed images with the Nikon Z8 for the Prominences Composite.

Processing for this image was more complex:
In Lightroom …
• Select 9 photos from Bracket
• Enhance > Super Resolution
• Edit In > Open Layers in Photoshop
In Photoshop
• Align Layers with Opacity at 50%
• Select All > Layer > Smart Object > Convert to Smart Object
• Layer > Smart Object > Stack Mode > Median
• Filter > Camera Raw
• Increase Exposure ~ 4
• Reduce Highlights ~12
• Increase Whites ~12
• Mask > Select Moon > Reduce Blacks
• Flatten then Save

The Solar Disc Composite combines 9 solar disc and prominences images photographed with the Nikon Z8.

Here are the steps to process this composite:
In Lightroom …
• Select all photos for composite
• Edit In > Open Layers in Photoshop
In Photoshop …
• Shift Click to Select All Layers
• Blend Mode > Lighten
• Arrange as needed
• Flatten then Save

Experiencing a solar eclipse in the path of totality was an incredible experience!! I’m grateful for the opportunity to be able to capture the images. And thankful to Carlyn, Bill, Irwin for putting up with my very OCD approach to participating in the event, and thankful to our hosts for the perfect location … and whatever they did to ensure clear skies!