My best eclipse photo:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

[Solly Mack]

1. Looks great !!!!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Thank you so much, my dear Solly Mack!

I had never NEVER thought I would get this photo. But it was nearly the end of the totality, and I was snapping away like mad!

When I saw what I'd gotten, I started screaming!

It was an incredible experience, and more than worth all the troublesome aspects of travel.

[hunter]

39. The travel was part of the fun. We drove up and back on Interstate 5.

There were a few traffic jams along the way, but my wife and I have experienced worse in Los Angeles and the scenery was much nicer, even though vistas on the return trip were largely obstructed by smoke from the Oregon wildfires.

Saturday night the Oregon rest stops were overcrowded with people sleeping in their cars.

Thank you for these lovely photos!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

40. I'm glad you found the travel part of the fun! It was not, for us.

And I will never again attempt to sleep in my car!

But the trip was worth all the effort.

Thank you for your lovely comments!

[hunter]

43. We're lucky to have a kid living in Sacramento we could stay with...

... and I'd found a nice place to camp in Oregon.

Even so, it was a much longer drive than we'd planned for. About 500 miles, I was figuring ten hours... ha ha.

My wife wasn't sure she'd be able to take time off from work until all the motels had long been booked.

You scored on the eclipse photo!

We've got no photos close to that.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

44. Thank you for the kind words, dear hunter!

We were in Madras for the eclipse itself with a house we were sharing with our daughter, her boyfriend and his parents, plus two dogs, in Bend. From Madras to Bend took us about 7 hours!

But seeing the eclipse and getting this photo made it all worthwhile.

[onecaliberal]

2. Wow, that is fantastic.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. Thank you, my dear onecaliberal! I had so much fun. n/t

[elleng]

3. That's GREAT, Peg!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

11. Thanks so much, my dear elleng!

[Rhiannon12866]

5. Wow! That's spectacular!

And I sure appreciate it, since the eclipse was a non-event here in my neck-of-the-woods.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. Thank you so much, my dear Rhiannon12866!

I'm sorry it bypassed you, but I am thrilled that you like my photo!

[Rhiannon12866]

17. It really is excellent!

I'm grateful to see what I missed!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. Aw, that is just lovely of you!

But you have always been a sweetheart!

[Rhiannon12866]

19. Awww! Thank you, my friend!

I'm a little bummed out, my last night on MIRT. I'm hoping that you'll think of signing up again - maybe next time around - you did a great job!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

21. We did have such a great time, but I think my life has changed so much now.

I feel the responsibility so much. I doubt that I will ever take it up again.

But do let me know if you decide to participate again, down the road, and maybe I'll change my mind.

[Rhiannon12866]

23. Well, you know that DU needs experience

And I still believe it's the friendliest corner of DU... I'll take you up on that in three months...

[MLAA]

6. Beautiful!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

13. Thank you, dear MLAA!

[herding cats]

7. That's gorgeous!

I love it!

I have 7 years before I'm in the path of totality. I hope everyone is still around to see my pics.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. Thanks so much, my dear herding cats!

I should still be here 7 years from now, and if you post any, I will see them!

[Sophiegirl]

8. You did good.

It's a beautiful shot.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

15. Thank you my dear Sophiegirl!

I just kept pressing the cable release button, and then this happened!

[LovesPNW]

9. Nice clarity and color ...

Where along the path did you take this?

Amazing picture!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. Thank you for that great critique, my dear LovesPNW!

I was in Madras, Oregon, which is just a tiny bit below the absolute maximum totality line. I wanted the best chance I could get. Looks like I did it!

[longship]

20. You've got a diamond ring there, and quite a bit of corona as a bonus.

In other words, very, very nice!

Question: Did you see the umbra shadow crossing the ground at the moment of totality?

Apparently -- I've heard -- that is the deal maker of a total eclipse. It's super sonic. Most people will be looking at the Sun and will miss the big game, the edge of the moon's umbra shadow crossing the ground.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

22. Thank you SO MUCH, my dear longship!

Alas, I didn't see the umbra shadow. Like everyone else, I was busy watching my viewfinder to see the moment of totality. There's just too much going on to get it all.

And I never expected to get the diamond ring. I had dreamed of it, but it looked impossible. I was just snapping madly and I got lucky!

[Adsos Letter]

24. I like it!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

27. Thank you so much, my dear Adsos Letter! I'm thrilled you do! n/t

[DFW]

25. That is cover quality for every magazine in the world!

Absolutely brilliant! Well done!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

28. You are WAY too kind, my dear DFW!

But thank you so much!

You'll probably see another copy of this one, around, say ........holiday time!

[DFW]

30. Sounds like it will be worth waiting for! n/t

[CaliforniaPeggy]

31. Oh yes........it will! n/t

[Duppers]

26. Fantastic!

And you open your studio when, Peggy?
Seriously, this is professional quality.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

29. Aw, thank you so much, my dear Duppers!

Maybe in my next life!

[C Moon]

32. That photo speaks. I keep staring at it. Amazing!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

33. Thank you, my dear C Moon! I apppreciate your kind remarks a lot! n/t

[ailsagirl]

34. Wow, CaliforniaPeggy!

That's beautiful! Up in the SF Bay Area, it was cloudy and foggy and it didn't burn off until noon.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

35. I'm sorry you didn't get to see it, my dear ailsagirl...

It's a tough break, for sure.

I hope next time you can go where it is and see totality!

And thank you for your beautiful words.

[ailsagirl]

38. Seeing your photo was a close second to seeing it in person

[diva77]

36. Absolutely stunning!

What camera did you use?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

41. Thank you so much, my dear diva77!

I used my Nikon D3200 with my Tamron 16--300mm lens.

[mnhtnbb]

37. Fabulous!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

42. Thank you so much, my dear mnhtnbb!

[denbot]

45. A real beauty of a shot Mss CP!

All we brought were phones and tablets, and could not get anything close to a good image. Even if we brought our only camera, it is a point and shoot digital so that would have been just as useless as out phones.

We went up the 395, picking it up near Ridgecrest, all the way to pretty much our destination of Monument OR. Not a single hotel vacancy the whole way, but no traffic.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

46. Aw, thank you, my dear denbot!

How lucky for you that you had no traffic! We had traffuck on the way home. From Madras OR to Bend, where the house our kids rented was, took us about 7 hours. Carmaggedon! But the celestial show was sure worth it.

[Beartracks]

48. Lol - 100 points for "traffuck"!

I'm in OK, so we're not as traffuck'd up as CA!

==========

[CaliforniaPeggy]

50. Glad I made you laugh, Beartracks!

I am sure there is much less "traffuck" in OK!

[csziggy]

57. CP - I love that term "traffuck"

We were in Brasstown, North Carolina, at the John C. Campbell Folkschool. I'd spent the previous several days at a seminar in Asheville so we just kept our room there and commuted that morning. The drive TO Brasstown was not bad at all, took about two and a half hours with normal traffic.

It was AFTER the eclipse, when we headed back to Asheville, that we got into the traffuck. We left Brasstown at 3 PM and didn't get back to Asheville until after nine. It was stop and go in the mountains at more than one location.

Just to top it off when we got back to the hotel room, it had been flooded. All our dirty clothes which had been in the closet were soaked. Not only did the hotel not offer to move us to a dry room, they said they would wash and dry our clothes but they were still wet the next day. There had been problems with the toilet for days and I had left the water turned off in the room most days. I thought I had left it off that morning but apparently the maid had left it on when she cleaned.

Don't EVER stay at the Crowne Plaza Asheville. The management sucks, the maintenance is poor (probably because the management does not give them the time or resources to do their jobs), and the place is aging badly. They are part of IHG and I am still fighting with them over compensation for how they destroyed my vacation.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

58. Oh my dear csziggy......how awful for you.

How could they treat you so badly? I mean, I get it..........but still! Can you sue them? Probably not.

The word "traffuck" really fits, doesn't it?

Hope you get the compensation you truly deserve after such despicable treatment.

[csziggy]

59. Don't worry - I will use word of mouth to get them

We traveled in the Asheville area for several more days. Every where I went I made sure to mention our bad experience at the Crowne Plaza, particularly to the people most likely to be asked for recommendations for places to stay.

The organization that put on the seminar that was held there for the five days before the eclipse will get copies of the letter I wrote to IHG today about my experiences at Crowne Plaza. They already had lots of other complaints about the venue and will never arrange another one there.

I had become a gold member of the IHG Rewards Club due to the number of times I stayed at their hotels - they also own Holiday Inn Express, which I do like for the most part. In fact they have the only decent hotel in the town where my Mom lives is one so I will not be boycotting the entire chain.

Ralph and I are planning a cross country trip and I had thought about prioritizing IHG locations to stay so I earned points for free nights. Now I am not so sure. I made that a major point in my letter.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

60. Your plans sound very thorough and well-thought-out!

I almost feel sorry for the IHG folk! Almost.

[csziggy]

61. I was almost ready to settle for what they did offer me

Until I met the assistant general manager. She just had to throw a general "If you had reported the problems when they happened..." at me. I lost it in the middle of the lobby and yelled at her - I HAD reported every problem as it occured. I HAD worked with their maintenance people and stayed out of their way so they could fix the problems. But the basic problem - worn out parts inside the toilet - were never repaired.

If she had just said she was sorry for the problems, given me the compensation and been pleasant, I might have been satisfied to let it go. She never apologized and then tried to blame me. Screw her!

Lori Hollifield of Asheville, North Carolina, should never work in anything involving customer service. She is completely unfit for that kind of job.

[Beartracks]

47. Whoa! That is PRO!

Gorgeous.



=============

[CaliforniaPeggy]

49. Wow, thank you so much, my dear Beartracks!

I am very far indeed from being a pro.........but every now and then, I do get lucky!

I appreciate your lovely support very much.

[Docreed2003]

51. Beautiful!!!

Where did you capture this Peggy? FWIW, the totality here in TN, north of Nashville was incredible, one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

53. Thank you so much, my dear Docreed! I appreciate your kind words so much...

My family and I traveled to Madras, OR to see the eclipse, and that was where I took this photo.

I'm so glad you had a great experience! It is life-changing for sure. This was our second eclipse (we saw it in Hawaii in '91) and I wanted to get much better photos this time.

[radical noodle]

52. OMG Peg

That is spectacular!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

54. Thank you so much, my dear radical noodle!

I hadn't expected to get this shot, and when I realized that I had, I started whooping!

[LeftInTX]

55. Awesome!!! Beautiful!!! Magazine quality!!!

Photographing eclipses is very difficult.

I managed to snap a few with my phone where we had 60%. I had to play with the settings before any of the pictures turned out properly. My son is an engineer and his eclipse photo (70%) didn't turn out.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

56. Thank you so much, my dear LeftInTx!

The reason it turned out this well was because I had extremely expert advice from my photographer teacher! He advised me which shutter speed and F stop to use, and I did. The rest was pure luck!

I feel really grateful to him for this photo and the others. It was an amazing time.

[ManiacJoe]

62. Well done!

So much better than what I got....

[CaliforniaPeggy]

63. Oh, my dear ManiacJoe....

Thank you so much for your kind words!

Now, you must know that I had NO IDEA what I was doing. And I knew that I had no idea, so I got two lessons from a local professional photographer. He taught me what to do, and he suggested the F stop and shutter speed that he thought would work best under these circumstances. I used those values, and that's why I got this photo, among others.

The rest was just pure luck. I hadn't expected to get this photo at all. I was stunned to discover it when I was scrolling through the files in my camera. Luck. I was so very lucky.

[ManiacJoe]

64. I am planning ahead for the 2024.

Gotta get me a solar filter. That would have been so much better for 2017....

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2024-april-8
According to the site, the total eclipse path included mom's house! Gotta buy some plane tickets.