Cairns Eclipse 2012, a photo from Queensland, East

Photographer's Note

Firstly, this is not technically a very well crafted photo. It is grainy from the high ISO and very bizarre lighting conditions. On all accounts it was an experiment in photography I couldn't practice. But I wanted to show it to you.

On Wednesday November 14 about one hour after sunrise a total solar eclipse was observed in far north Queensland in Australia. The moon passed directly in front of the sun and the surrounds were plunged into darkness for around two minutes.

I sat on the beach at the northern end of the Cairns Esplanade hoping for the clouds to part. I was gifted with this 'glimpse' of the eclipse for about 30 seconds, and was able to view the retreat of the moon back to 0% coverage again afterwards.

It was the most surreal few moments I've ever seen. The colours in the sky, the changing light (very rapid) and the cool drop in temperature were all incredible.

I'm mainly posting this image today for the historic value and to remind myself of the fleeting moment I saw a total solar eclipse.

Didi, thebest, mvdisco, ChrisJ, MLINES has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Didi (61589) 2012-11-18 3:35

Hi Mathew
You were lucky for catching this scene
with few clouds.
I have tooken the eclipse of august 1999 in France it was also a very good moment for me.
Best regards

maxifred (0) 2012-11-18 3:44

Hello Matt,
Unfortunately we've only seen this on TV in Europe,it was amazing!
Nice capture of a unique moment,one can perfectly see the "ring"...
Best regards from the other side of the Earth,
Fred

janneman (4037) 2012-11-18 5:04

Beautiful! Lucky you with 30 seconds of view of the maximum eclipse.

In 1999 I was in France for a solar eclipse. 10 minutes before the maximum exlipse the clouds came and did not disapear again.
But still the it was an impressive moment!

Regards, Jan

PN85 (104) 2012-11-18 6:49

Although the picture as you say suffers from graininess, it is still as a whole a highly compelling photo and I can truly imagine that to witness this event was incredibly exciting. Although the picture is not technically perfect, I think you convey an interesting feeling, and that's ultimately what matters. Thank you for sharing!

Have a good day
Peter

LAPIAZ (3144) 2012-11-18 8:47

Hi :-)
What agreat moment captured !!! You're lucky to have seen that !
Best regards,
Annabelle

sevy (58) 2012-11-19 1:32

Hello Matthew,

As you wrote, technically, it is not the best, but let's assume this kind of shot are difficult.
Whatever, I am very happy you posted it because it remains worth and a strong show and you can keep this shot as a witness of this rare natural event.

Yves.

thebest (4276) 2012-11-19 18:27

Hi Matthew,

Well done on this photo Matthew it certainly is not easy to take photo's like this.
What a special moment for you.
Thank you for the interesting notes I am sure a young chap like you will experience a few more '' total eclipse '' & in between these special moments you will be super prepared each time to capture the ultimate shot.

Kindest regards,
Dawn.

mvdisco (17798) 2012-11-19 18:56

Hi Matt, Bonjour,
Yes, it certainly a great moment to see a total Eclipse of the moon passed directly in front of the sun...you are lucky to see and taken a beautiful picture at the good moment.. I saw that scene in 1962 when I was young and I remember that again..I think you never forget.
Nice notes of the sujet and great shot of a unique moment,
My best regard and Thanks for share..
Michel

zoomer (6) 2012-11-28 18:56

Hi,those technical imperfections just serve to enhance the doomsday drama here.Strong impact image,all the best,Wolf.

ChrisJ (161078) 2013-05-05 10:05

Hi Matt

It was touch and go there with the cloud so I am glad you got the shot. I have been to the October 1976 eclipse in Melbourne so knew what I was missing. Did not want to waste airfare on a non event. I got some good slides of the Baileys beads on a small pocket instamatic camera of 110 mm. May have to retrieve them and print them one day. The slide quality was quite good, not so for the prints, which is why I switched to 35 mm then digital. Greetings from Anatolia in Turkey!