China Eclipse

[Pete the Britt]

Hey all, just thought i'd share some of the photo's i shot on August 1st with you all. So yesterday was "showtime" as we headed into deepest darkest Mongolia, It took us around 3 hours to drive through some twisty turning mountain roads in a long coach, i couldn't help myself & chuckled at the thought of Micheal Caine & the italian job when their coach was ladden with gold & hanging over the cliff, it all seemed to look so familiar with the surroundings lol. After going through several check points set out along the road by the police we eventually managed to get to our destination with 45 mins to spare. Set myself up & adorned the silly spectacles that these eclipse chasers wear & i somehow managed to fit in quite niceley lol. 38 C in the shade but i was out in the open with no cover so it was boiling hot (guess thats why deserts are the way they are) & the first little nibble from the moon against the sun appeared, it was all systems go & the new video camera was fired into action & still camera aimed at the subject. Didn't have a clue as to what exposure or focal length of lens so wasn't expecting any great results. With 95% of the sun covered it dropped down into a thick cloud (only cloud in the sky i hasten to add) & with it my heart sank, so close but yet so far. After the poxy chase season in the States this had just managed to twist the final turn of the knife & i was ready to kick my tripod over & have a hissy fit & turn the air blue but all was not lost as the sun carried on getting lower faster than the cloud was moving & it dropped below the base with about 30 seconds or so to spare before totality. WOO HOO!!!

I hope you like the pics, i know i have & cant stop looking at them

[MAF]

Great shots there Pete, i especially like the 4th one i see you didnt set up the camera for any special settings. sometimes its probably just as well to point and shoot rather then complicate things. your results prove that

[Louby]

Pete they are awesome!! I couldn't possibly pick my fav as they are all just bloody fantastic!

[pottyprof]

Super set of photos Pete.. Nice one!!

[NL]

Stunning shots Pete, amazing!!

[James M]

Those are brilliant Pete! you're so lucky.

[sunny scunny]

Brilliant shots pete well done

[0000]

all the shots were amazing but loved no'6