The Ring of Fire: 2021 Annular Partial Solar Eclipse from Boston

Hello Hiveians! Welcome back!

Just want to thank everyone for all the support and engagement on my recent posts! Glad to see the community still so strong on here!

Now back to the post! Today I want to share with you some of the images I was able to capture of the 2021 Annular Solar Eclipse, also called the Ring of Fire, because the moon for many, is blocking most except the edges of the sun.

So I actually didn't even know about this eclipse, or that we'd get such a great view of it here in Boston until 2 days before the eclipse. At that point I began scouring maps to try to find the best place to view it. From down the street of my house, to buildings in Boston. I ultimately ended up choosing a small island in Boston Harbor that is not too far and pretty accessible.

I also didn't know too much about photographing an eclipse, so I started looking that up to make sure my camera doesn't explode and I don't go blind. After getting a good idea of what not to do, I wish I knew sooner so I could have gotten more eclipse gear in time, but I had to make do with what I had.

So with a decent plan, a hope for good weather, and a reasonable understanding of how not to burn my retinas out, we headed out at 3:30am to our spot to set up.

On arrival, we could see the horizon was a bit cloudy/hazy. A bit disappointing to see. I set up my gear and watch the early pre-sunrise glow come up.

Inching closer and closer to the sunrise, and it seems the clouds wouldn't be clearing in time. Will I be able to see anything?

The moment comes, and the star that gives life to our planet arises from beyond the horizon.....behind cloud coverage. And it just looks like....a regular sun...behind clouds? How disappointing. But then my friend says to photograph it anyways and under expose it with my ND filter. I do. And I was able to see my first ever solar eclipse!

The best lens I had for this was my 70-200mm f4, on my older Sony A6000 for the extra crop factor, giving me roughly a 300mm FOV. Here's the rest of the shots I managed to get as the eclipse continued.

At that point, it's been about an hour or so and the eclipse winding down. I was hoping for some more amazing photos of the sun when it just came up on the horizon, but the clouds had a different plan. Overall, I'm happy with what I got, and that I was able to see such an amazing natural phenomenon only 20 minutes from my house. And I also didn't burn my retinas out either, so that's a win.

I definitely need to make the effort to visit a total eclipse location in the next few years after seeing this!

Hope you enjoyed!

In the meantime, you can see more of my work and prints for sale at www.SeanGold.com and on Instagram at @SeanGoldPhotos

Til next time,

Sean