A once a year solar event - May 2nd, 2013

Dave_W

The Dude
Here in So. Cal. we've been in the middle of a weather pattern called a Santa Ana condition. It's a hot, dry blast of air that comes in from the Mojave and the Colorado deserts east of here. Here in San Diego the wind usually comes directly off the ocean and hence we have nightly bouts of marine layers but during these Santa Ana's the marine layer stays well off the coast. So last night I figured I'd take a stroll down La Jolla shores and maybe get some shots of surfers in front of a red setting sun.

But when I got there I saw a funny thing. There under Scripps Pier were a bunch of photographers all set up with tripods, maybe 10 or more. Some high and some low on the ground. My first thought was that it was some kind of photography class or maybe a photo club out taking images. So I decided I'd walk down to the pier and see what was going on. I asked the first person I saw if this was a photo class and he said no. Instead, today was the one day of the year that the sun sits directly at the end of the pier and they were all there to capture that image. Some of the people I met there had been planning over 6 months for this day. And they were all very stoked that it was during a Santa Ana conditions and there would be little to no marine layer covering the sun.

Out of just good ol' dumb luck, I was able to some shots of the sun going down directly in front of the Scripps Pier. I'm thinking I'll go ahead and stop by there tonight, too, even though it'll be slightly off, I'll most likely get a spot more centered than I did yesterday. Here's one of the HDR images I took below and then a slide show with the rest of them. Unfortunately I changed the focal length a couple of times throughout the 5 or so minutes this event was taking place so I had to go back and try to crop them all equally. Granted, I didn't do such a great job but at least you get the idea.

Link to the video slide show - [video]http://bit.ly/18AUKUT[/video]



DW1_8445_HDR_1.jpg
 

crycocyon

Senior Member
That's terrific. What an amazing chance for you to be there at the right time. Very cool. Now you are like the Aztecs hehe.
 

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
Here in So. Cal. we've been in the middle of a weather pattern called a Santa Ana condition. It's a hot, dry blast of air that comes in from the Mojave and the Colorado deserts east of here. Here in San Diego the wind usually comes directly off the ocean and hence we have nightly bouts of marine layers but during these Santa Ana's the marine layer stays well off the coast. So last night I figured I'd take a stroll down La Jolla shores and maybe get some shots of surfers in front of a red setting sun.

But when I got there I saw a funny thing. There under Scripps Pier were a bunch of photographers all set up with tripods, maybe 10 or more. Some high and some low on the ground. My first thought was that it was some kind of photography class or maybe a photo club out taking images. So I decided I'd walk down to the pier and see what was going on. I asked the first person I saw if this was a photo class and he said no. Instead, today was the one day of the year that the sun sits directly at the end of the pier and they were all there to capture that image. Some of the people I met there had been planning over 6 months for this day. And they were all very stoked that it was during a Santa Ana conditions and there would be little to no marine layer covering the sun.

Out of just good ol' dumb luck, I was able to some shots of the sun going down directly in front of the Scripps Pier. I'm thinking I'll go ahead and stop by there tonight, too, even though it'll be slightly off, I'll most likely get a spot more centered than I did yesterday. Here's one of the HDR images I took below and then a slide show with the rest of them. Unfortunately I changed the focal length a couple of times throughout the 5 or so minutes this event was taking place so I had to go back and try to crop them all equally. Granted, I didn't do such a great job but at least you get the idea.

Link to the video slide show - [video]http://bit.ly/18AUKUT[/video]




Great shot... you better order another frame!

Pat in NH
 

Dave_W

The Dude
Great shot and composition Dave. I don't think I can improve anything if I was the one who took that shot. :)

Thanks Glenn. But truth be told, I didn't have a lot of options where I stood. There were about 12 to 15 other people with tripods all layered there in one space. There were two rows below my tripod and a couple behind me higher up. What was very impressive was how all these people, some who drove all the way from Arizona and a few from LA were all courteous and very thoughtful of everyone else's shots. Not that I would have expected any less but it was nice to see this random collection of photographers all sharing this event.

I'm about to take off here in the next few minutes and see how "off" the sun is tonight vs. last night. There are some high clouds sputtering around so it could be a spectacular red and orange sunset or it could peter out if the marine layer sneaks in at the last minute.

Here's a webcam that is in Del Mar beach, about 2 miles north of where Scripps pier is, so when the camera moves to the south you can almost see where the pier is.

Del Mar Beach Live Streaming Video
 

Rick M

Senior Member
Excellent Dave! This reminds me of why we go overboard on gear, when/if you get that once in a lifetime shot, we want the best possible reproduction, which you have achieved!
 

Dave_W

The Dude
I was using my 24-70mm at f-4.0 and each HDR was a set of 5 exposures at 1 stop apart. I may try using a stronger telephoto so as to increase the size of the sun, assuming there's enough sun to be seen tonight.

Btw - here's an HDR compilation image that was taken a few seconds later than the one I posted. It's been mapped a little stronger with a bit more detail (and a little sticky with saturation! ;) )

DW1_8460_HDR-3.jpg
 

crycocyon

Senior Member
Somehow I like the first one a bit better, maybe because the pier is darker and I like the wave arrangement better. But the sun looks better in the second one.
 

Dave_W

The Dude
Thanks guys. Btw, I'm not sure what I was thinking when I gave this thread its title. It's a 2x a year event, not one. Doh!!
 
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