I'll be travelling to Plano Tx to stay at a friends house. I am very new to photographing an eclipse. I currently am using a solar filter made by 1000 Oaks. Based upon my test shots (posted in the photo gallery) I don't think the filter is dark enough. I'm still looking for a solar filter.
BTW I looked at the filter you mentioned and came across this.
"This filter is designed specifically for photography applications. This filter is not suitable for direct solar viewing with the naked eye, including with optical viewfinders." I need something I can look at the sun thru the camera viewfinder with. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Mount Adams in the Cascade Range, Washington State.

I went looking for one or two of the Four Elements of Nature: Earth, Wind, Water, Fire (a flickr group theme this week). I believe I have all four in this photo if you consider an active volcano contains "the fire within."

Feedback welcomed!

The Fire is Within by Linda Shorey, on Flickr

Mount Adams by Linda Shorey, on Flickr

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I had some problems today with my RP losing focus and then hunting to get it back. I drove up the ridge SW of my home to take pictures of the snow on the mountains without so much urban clutter blocking the view. But the turn-around at the entrance to a gated community still has some small trees and light poles that get in the way while shooting overlapping frames for an horizon to horizon panorama of the mountains to the north.

I did find one thing that really bugs me. It is a bright sunny day and because I wear glasses, light gets into the electronic viewfinder the image was washed out very badly. I could hardly see to frame the images and check the focus. A rubber eye cup won't fix it because of the glasses. I do have some one-use and toss them contact lenses my eye doctor gave me a Rx for to see if that will solve my problems. I of course have the same problem with my R7 and my EF bodies, I still have. I stopped wearing contacts full time when I was still teaching because some of the older classrooms* still had chalk boards and that chalk dust and contacts did not play well together. Eyes itching, turning red and watering like I was crying. But maybe I should think of going back to wearing contacts full time. I can see better with contacts anyway.

*A very overcrowded high school, so we took turns being traveling teachers using someone's room during their conference/prep period. One semester just before I retired, I had 5 rooms for 6 periods of class and a 20-min homeroom. I got to do two classes in one room because the assigned teacher worked as a part-time dean for homeroom, nutrition, 3rd and 4th periods. So 1st and 2nd-two rooms followed by homeroom, nutrition/morning break plus 3rd and 4th periods in the same room without having to lug a briefcase and backpack of my books and materials from one room to another during the 7 minutes between classes, then lunch to move to another room, followed by two different rooms for 5th and 6th periods. The two rooms I used 1st
and 2nd periods still had chalk boards=lots of chalk dust to get under my contacts and bug me the rest of the day.

As a New Zealander I am finding UHH a rather fun forum to be a member of.
We have the friendly members and we have the knowledgeable members.
And then there are the other members who are neither.
We also have members who're keen to learn from other members of UHH, whilst at the same time there are some members who appear to be on here more because they love to pick a fight.
I guess 'US of A' is a large country full of diverse people, and with a diverse range of 'photographers', and most of UHH's members are based in USA.

So!...
What is a photographer? Someone with a camera, or even someone with a phone that has a camera, or is a photographer someone who makes good photos?
And what makes a photo a good photo?
Opinions on that question will be very diverse I imagine.