A friend has draw my attention to a photography competition organised by the Ordnance Survey. The competition gives you the chance of winning a holiday and having your photographs on the front covers of the next set of OS maps. You can find the details on this link:
You can also browse the photographs that have already been submitted and vote for your favourites.
Steven.
At this evening’s club meeting, folk were asking for information about the total eclipse of the Sun on 20th March this year. The eclipse is total if you are lucky enough to view it from the Faroe Islands or Svalbard. From Scotland, we should see a significant partial eclipse, with the Sun shrinking to a small crescent. The further North and West you can get, the better the eclipse will be.
Having said that, the eclipse happens around sunrise (from 08:30am until 10:44am when viewed from from Edinburgh), so it is going to be visible in the East. To photograph the eclipse you need a place with a good, unobstructed view East and East South East. The East coast would be a good place. The very best place (if the weather holds up) would be the Western side of a loch, or Eastern side of an island, up in the far North West of Scotland. Here are some links to more information about the eclipse:
http://www.solareclipse2015.org.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_March_20,_2015
Be aware that it is still dangerous to look at the Sun during a partial eclipse. You will need dark glasses to protect your eyes. A wide-angle shot with a short exposure should be ok, but if you use a telephoto lens your camera will need protection with solar film. (You might get away with a 10 stop ND filter and a short exposure, but don’t look through the viewfinder.) An alternative way to photograph the eclipse is to project the Sun’s image onto a white card through a pinhole. The obvious shot is one looking towards the Sun, but you might notice some weird effects happening away from the Sun. Look what happens to shadows. The eclipse will create some interesting light.
Let’s hope the weather holds up. The last time we had an event like this I ended up driving down the A68 chasing the nearest gap in the clouds. Best of luck.
Steven.
P.S. If you want to buy eye protection and solar film from a company other than amazon, you can try the company run by some of my ex-colleagues from the Royal Greenwich Observatory:
http://www.green-witch.com/2015-solar-eclipse-416-c.asp
If you have ever burned a piece of paper by focussing the light from the Sun onto it with a magnifying glass, you’ll know why your eyes and your camera need protecting. Solar film (which can protect both your camera and your eyes) is equivalent to a 17 stop ND filter. A 10 stop ND filter can protect your camera (as long as you use short exposures) but it isn’t dark enough to protect your eyes.
If anyone is interested, the web site for the Arizona Highways magazine, which I displayed at the last club meeting, can be found at
Even if you don’t subscribe, they have some photography tips and a collection of photographs on their web site.
Steven.
Members might be interested in the 2014 STFC Photowalk Competition. On 16th June and 4th July 2014, the UKATC (part of the Royal Observatory on Blackford Hill, Edinburgh) will be giving up to 60 photographers “behind the scenes” access to the site. You will be able to photograph things the general public don’t normally see (or normally see when the room is packed full of members of the public…). The photographs taken on the day may be entered into a competition, and there are prizes for the winners. You can find details and a link to the registration page here:
http://www.stfc.ac.uk/2987.aspx
As an employee of STFC, I’m not allowed to enter :(, but everyone else can :). If you read the small print the deal is that you agree to allow STFC to use the winning photos as part of their publicity material. It’s a win:win situation.
Steven.
P.S. If you’re really enthusiastic, or are planning to travel south or have some friends south of the border, there are parallel competitions at Chilbolton, Daresbury and Rutherford labs.
There is a comet in the sky which might provide some opportunities for night photography in the coming few weeks. At the moment, Comet ISON is visible in the morning in the southeast just before sunrise and is heading for a close encounter with the Sun. It might disintegrate and become invisible, but if it survives it will become visible in December after sunset and could become one of the brightest comets for years. The following websites will keep you up to date as the story unfolds:
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/14nov_whatsnext/
Steven.
