How far away is too far? I have a farm in the middle of Illinois. I had planned to go there for the eclipse. I recently downloaded a map of the course of the eclipse and found out that...

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

I have a farm in the middle of Illinois. I had planned to go there for the eclipse. I recently downloaded a map of the course of the eclipse and found out that I'm about 15 miles outside the "total darkness" range. How much difference will that make?

For those of you who know the area, Effingham is right on the north edge of the path, and I'm 15 miles north of Effingham.

Orphoto Loc: Oregon

All the difference in the world. But you could at least spend the night and drive closer to the midline.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

AzPicLady wrote:

I have a farm in the middle of Illinois. I had planned to go there for the eclipse. I recently downloaded a map of the course of the eclipse and found out that I'm about 15 miles outside the "total darkness" range. How much difference will that make?

For those of you who know the area, Effingham is right on the north edge of the path, and I'm 15 miles north of Effingham.

Drive that 15 miles to a pre-selected spot and arrive about 30 minutes early. It's worth it. I'm in St. Louis and will have to drive about 50 miles. That afternoon I'll arrive in the parking lot of the Dollar General on Ill. route 3 south of Grand Tower. All contingent on the weather of course -- could be a nice rainy day.

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

Above replies are spot on.
The difference between totality and 99-1/2% totality is literally night and day.
Good luck and have fun!

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. It looks like I'll need to find a place south of Effingham to sit and enjoy the eclipse. Don't know how much shooting I'll do, as I don't have a filter and can't afford to purchase one.

schaferj1

AzPicLady wrote:

I have a farm in the middle of Illinois. I had planned to go there for the eclipse. I recently downloaded a map of the course of the eclipse and found out that I'm about 15 miles outside the "total darkness" range. How much difference will that make?

For those of you who know the area, Effingham is right on the north edge of the path, and I'm 15 miles north of Effingham.

For the 2017 eclipse we were about 10 miles off the centerline. Totality was about 30 seconds shorter than the center. It lasted over two minutes which was time for photography. Outside the totality band is not the same experience. There would not be a “Diamond Ring” moment. Of course you need a clear day. Thousands of people traveled to eastern Idaho and western Wyoming for the reliable summer weather.

sawdust_sam Loc: Pittsburgh

The dark glass for a welding helmet might work. It is available in a range of degrees of darkness. Size for modern helmets is quite large, available at an auto part store or welding supply. We've viewed eclips in the past by eye using just the helmet. Good luck!

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

AzPicLady wrote:

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. It looks like I'll need to find a place south of Effingham to sit and enjoy the eclipse. Don't know how much shooting I'll do, as I don't have a filter and can't afford to purchase one.

You can shoot totality and diamond ring without a filter.
I wouldn’t attempt this with a DSLR however due to risk of eye damage.
I used a Sony a-77 which is without an optical view finder.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

AzPicLady wrote:

I have a farm in the middle of Illinois. I had planned to go there for the eclipse. I recently downloaded a map of the course of the eclipse and found out that I'm about 15 miles outside the "total darkness" range. How much difference will that make?

For those of you who know the area, Effingham is right on the north edge of the path, and I'm 15 miles north of Effingham.

As probably others have said, you want to be as close to the path's centerline as possible. This will give one the maximum amount of what is always too little time.

And if you are 15 miles from the actual shadow path, you are only going to see a partial eclipse, not a total eclipse. And with a partial eclipse, you can never remove the camera filter or your solar shades. And seeing the stars and planets along with the chromesphere is what one goes to a total eclipse for.

Do not "short change" yourself. Get yourself to the centerline for the whole show. And remember that the temperature will drop about 10° to 15°.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

AzPicLady wrote:

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. It looks like I'll need to find a place south of Effingham to sit and enjoy the eclipse. Don't know how much shooting I'll do, as I don't have a filter and can't afford to purchase one.

Filters are only needed for the partial phases of a total eclipse. BassmanBruce is correct the difference between a partial and a total is night and day. As far as I can remember what I have read, this is the last US mainland total eclipse until 2045. He is also correct that you can shoot for the diamond ring (start about a half a minute before totality if your have a mirrorless camera) and chromesphere without any filter. And no solar shades are necessary for totality. sawdust_sam is correct that welder's glass is safe to use too. You can buy welder's glass without the helmet (ND18 or ND19) for viewing or shooting the partial phases of the eclipse. And if you have a mirrored camera (DSLR), you cannot use the optical viewfinder without a filter during the partial phases. An optical viewfinder will cause permanent eye damage from the concentrated sunlight burning the eye's retina. Not a good option for a photographer. But be sure to at least try for shots of the chromesphere (no filter needed). And be sure to stop using an optical viewfinder before the sun reappears. This, sadly, is another source of eye damage.

MrPhotog

AzPicLady wrote:

. . .
Don't know how much shooting I'll do, as I don't have a filter and can't afford to purchase one.

Keep shopping for filters. The prices seem to be dropping as more companies offer them.

Just searching google for eclipse filters, I’m seeing prices in the hundreds at the high end, but more and more there are offers dropping down to under $20 for unmounted filter material.

It is easy enough to cut a cardboard frame and tape a thin filter to it.

For example, American Science and Surplus is offering an eclipse kit with two pairs of glasses and two camera filters for $13.45 (plus shipping and tax, of course).

https://sciplus.com/solar-snap-eclipse-app-kit-w-2-pair-solar-glass/

The camera filters look rather small, though, as they are meant for cell phone lenses. That makes me think: Perhaps it wouldn’t bother me too much to risk a cell phone’s camera rather than my more expensive one.

Jack 13088 Loc: Central NY

There is a really good app for this sort of thing called PhotoPills. It very cheap when I bought it a few years ago now it sounds like maybe $10. The App Store won’t tell you the current price if you have previously paid. It even shows you what the eclipse looks like as you move time around. Probably worthwhile and, of course, there may be others.

guardineer

AzPicLady wrote:

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. It looks like I'll need to find a place south of Effingham to sit and enjoy the eclipse. Don't know how much shooting I'll do, as I don't have a filter and can't afford to purchase one.

Here is a no cost alternative to a filter. I used this for the October annular eclipse, just partial here. I used a manila folder, cut hole slightly smaller than eclipse glass lens, tape together and shoot.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

sawdust_sam wrote:

The dark glass for a welding helmet might work. It is available in a range of degrees of darkness. Size for modern helmets is quite large, available at an auto part store or welding supply. We've viewed eclips in the past by eye using just the helmet. Good luck!

That's an idea. Thank you.

rwww80a Loc: Hampton, NH

Certified filters in a carboard holder are fine and are availabe for$20 for the 3in size from B&H. They don't have to be photoglass.