Emergency Solar Filter

The great American eclipse has come and gone. Many of us looked to the skies with cameras, telescopes, and data collecting technology. It was not surprising that i ran into a bunch of technical difficulties and draw backs while trying to prepare for the event. I attempted to order a solar filter for my camera but demand was so high and bootleg orders were everywhere. I ran out of time before my trip to Glendo, Wyoming and had work quickly to find a solution. Using the power of MACGYVER i was able to fix a pair of solar glasses to act as my solar filter.

Staring into the sun is bad mmm...kay your eyes will fall out of your head, we have all heard the warnings. Some were surprised to find out that you also need to protect your camera from the violet and ultraviolet radiation. These wave can damage the delicate sensors inside the camera, or even melt the insides if using a strong magnification. A proper solar filter should block out everything except the direct source of light. Inside you should see nothing but the filament inside a light bulb. My logic was if glasses will protect my eyes it will protect my glasses. The image of the sun has no glare and is a warm yellow orange. you can even see sun spots!

Here you can see some of the pictures I was able to capture with my special solar eclipse glasses camera filter. Really happy with the results and disaster avoided. After struggling with some masking tape the trip was well worth it. The images of totality and the diamond ring are with out the filter on.