Lunar Eclipse Dec 2010

[cpasley]

I have just learned that tonight there is going to be a Lunar Eclipse and its also said its going to be the darkest night in 400 years ,I was thinking of trying my hand at taking some photos of it ,I have no idea what to expect it maybe a total waste of time or a photographic disaster but before I try I wanna know your guys thoughts ,any tips maybe suggestions or with my 300mm lens am I wasting my time ,so give me all you got ,I do have a tripod and can use if might help ,thanks in advance

[BillOz]

Chris,

Give it a try.  You have nothing to lose, except some sleep. 
You will have plenty of opportunity to try many exposure combinations, as the total eclispe is supposed to last over an hour I think, and there's about an hr. before an after total eclipse where the shadow starts to form and then is going away.  Use a tripod if possible, so you can use a low ISO of 100 or 200.  Then just set up an exposure of say 1/20 sec. at f8.0, and adjust from there, by looking at the pics on your screen.  I don't know if 1/20 at f8.0 is a good starting point, but it only takes 1/20 of a sec. to find out.  Then just keep adjusting until the image on the screen looks good.

Be sure you find out when it starts in AZ.  I think around 11:30 is when the totality starts, but I will have to check again.

Good luck, and keep trying until you find the right combination of shutter and aperature.  Use manual if shutter priority osn't turning out good shots.  The time during when the eclipse is beginning and when at totality will require different exposure, because there is different lighting at each stage.

[jslugman]

And please, somebody, hit the CLOUDS GO AWAY button if you don't mind.

[cpasley]

Thanks Bill I will try ,may not sleep since I gotta be up at 3am for work but if I get decent results ill post ,thanks again

[Chris Kennedy]

According to NASA, it starts at 11:33 PM. Totality starts at 12:41 and lasts 72 minutes.

[Jay Beckman]

According to the NWS, roughly a 50% cloud cover from 10pm until 4am over the greater Phoenix area.

Could still make for some interesting shots!

[jslugman]

They also said it was "sunny" and all I saw was clouds down here in Tucson but it was breaking up around 7pm so it's a start..

[F-16_fixer]

Still a nice hazy cloud cover over my house  

[cpasley]

Fail for me all I saw was clouds ,I was checking every 30 min too ,man im beat