I put together a rough extended corona this morning. I like the way the corona looks but not happy with the ringing that is present in the middle corona.
I will play with this data for some time yet.
Feel free to tell me how to sort the problems. We don't get many chances to see totals and image them.
Edit. sorted some of the problems but the high cloud is evident in later images and I suspect Phil is correct about this affecting the outer corona.
I have left the original for comparison.
Last edited by Paul Haese; 16-11-2012 at 09:46 AM.
Interesting image, Paul. Will be good to see what you can do with it with some more processing. My first attempt at the corona with Photomatix didn't work very well. I'll spend some more time on it when I get back home.
I had no luck processing with PS4 HDR yesterday while waiting for my flight.
Unfortunately, even these HDR shots don't do justice to what was visible with the naked eye. I was blown away by the sight when I took the eclipse glasses off just before totality. I'd left them on for a while watching the last slither of sun, so I think my eyes were partly dark adapted. When I took them off, the overall scene of the corona above the tree was awe-inspiring. I'm kicking myself for not taking a widefield camera, although I keep trying to remind myself it was only my first eclipse and photography was meant to be a secondary priority.
David I remember my first eclipse and your description here was just as I remember it. Looking at the eclipsed sun I thought I was seeing something quite weird and then I knew instantly what people were on about.
You are right about any shot not being able to translate the view you get of seeing the corona. It is an exceptional experience and the ethereal aspect of it leaves you wanting for more.
great work Paul.. and glad you got the luck you needed to get it. when you figure out how to fix the banding i'll be keen to hear how you did it.. my images are showing the same issue at the moment, but also only with very rough processing so far. i wonder how much the high cloud is contributing to this?
Phil, you could be right; there was a fair bit of high cloud about, but not enough to be evident in the images. Perhaps this is contributing to the loss of signal.
Greg, now that you raise it, this makes sense. It is like onion rings in planetary imaging and that is most often caused from under exposure which reduces the dynamic range.
Dennis, capturing the coronal streamers was my main objective for this trip. China was such a bust with high cloud that capture of the streamers was near impossible. So this time it was a significant improvement.
Paul, you should be happy with what you were able to get given the conditions. Alas this eclipse is not going to produce the results of a cloud free one. You have done well with what you had to work with, next one will get you the results you are looking for! Well as long as you dont go anywhere that starts with C.
Thanks guys, I think there is still some room for improvement, but I will address this once I get home Adelaide.
Tony, the next place will not be somewhere with cloud for sure. Or should I say without a high chance of cloud. Still; it was another spectacular site, but the next one I will just do a movie and do the corona with a small mount and my DSLR. Not going to carry as much crap next time. I am very happy with these results. I reckon 4th time will be a charm.
Ray, it was quite different from previous ones I have seen. The ocean added an ethereal look to the scene with the reflection of the coronal light from it to my position.
Still; it was another spectacular site, but the next one I will just do a movie and do the corona with a small mount and my DSLR. Not going to carry as much crap next time. I am very happy with these results. I reckon 4th time will be a charm.
