Total Eclipse, August, 2017

Finally, had a chance to see a total eclipse in person, and it certainly did not disappoint! Wow. Words and even really pictures cannot do it justice, as a total solar eclipse is really not something you see but something you experience! And what an experience it was. I was set up in a field right outside of the east entrance to the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, and was able to get some good images of the sun before, during, and after totality. But the best part was, I had automated my camera control so I was able to actually watch the eclipse with family and friends instead of fiddling with gear the whole time. Even so, it all seems to happen so fast, and is so overwhelming it is virtually impossible to take it all in. My wife and I may have become instant overnight eclipse chasers on the spot. Oh rats, we are going to have to go to another one I guess :)

Totality!
A single exposure of the total phase, edited to bring out corona details. The bright star Regulus (actually a 4 star system consisting of 2 pairs of binaries) is seen in this image to the lower left, only about a degree away from the eclipsed Sun.
Prominences
A fast exposure nearing the end of totality highlights some huge prominences on the edge of the sun prior to the diamond ring effect bursting out.
The Diamond Ring
As the eclipse is ending, the impossibly bright diamond ring effect bursts forth from the edge of the Sun.
A partial Sliver
...And this is what the diamond ring effect, too bright to stare at with the naked eye already, looks like once the solar filter is replaced.

Total Eclipse Composite
A composite image made from an HDR combo total eclipse image and 8 other individual images collected during the eclipse. This is, by its very nature, a manipulated shot, combining individual views of the eclipse that happened at different times into one image, but it does give a sense of how each of the distinct phases of the eclipse can appear very different. The partial phases were shot through a solar filter, while the diamond ring and totality images were imaged without any filter in place.
The Moon Departs
The Moon moves off of the face of the Sun, revealing a section of sunspots.