Eclipsed

Written by Jerod A. Merkle

My father always said that he was never really that impressed with celestial events.  I tend to agree, however, sometimes looking into the sky can be really impressive.  This evening was quite special, as a partial solar eclipse was happening over "the land of the living skies," Saskatchewan!  Like normal evening weather, we had mostly sunny skies with light clouds moving through.  I managed to get this photo as the sun was just emerging from a cloud, with the poster child tree of southern Prince Albert National Park, quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), in the foreground.

Bethann asked how I took the picture without burning my eyes sightless.  I put my thumb over the viewfinder hole, and aimed the camera at the eclipse.  Thanks to the digital display, after the first "blind" shot, I could adjust the focus and orientation of the camera until I got this image.  I'm glad we were far enough west to see it - you couldn't see anything in Quebec, apparently.  In our part of Canada, this solar eclipse was one to not forget.

Jerod

Field Notes from PANP