For us in Southwest Colorado, the “peak” of the annular eclipse was supposed to be at 10:30 a.m. The “path of annular solar eclipse” passed directly over the Four Corners, just south of Disappointment Valley.
I didn’t get any eclipse glasses, and I didn’t get a special filter for my camera lens. I just wanted to be *out there*, and with any luck, with a band of mustangs in Spring Creek Basin.
Although this wasn’t to be a solid eclipse, just (!) a “ring of fire,” and though I was out of the main path, my location was close enough that I thought there would be a noticeable change. … There was a slight dimming of the blazing, full-blue-sky sunshine – though my camera seemed to recognize it better than I did, and I had to crank the ISO higher to get enough shutter speed as bright as it was (seemed to be). My shadow seemed a bit “shimmery” at the edges. It’s usually very quiet out in the basin (unless it’s windy, which is usual), but it seemed maybe a bit *more* quiet. And the air, which started the morning in the 30s and was warming up by 10:30, seemed to get a bit chillier again, like going down through a draw or creek bed.
Subtle. š
The eclipse *did* create these crescent-shaped shadows through some vegetation. This pic was taken at 10:22 a.m. The top pic of Sundance was taken at 10:30:25 a.m. When my shadow lost its shimmery edges, I figured the eclipse had passed. (Does anyone else think the image between the obvious crescents looks like a horse?!)
Rewind a day, and this sundog graced our southwest sky on Friday evening:
There was a sundog on both sides of the sun, but the one to the left was brighter.
Bonus celestial wonders the last couple of days!
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 
Yes, a horse š! The sun dog great!
I just got a sudden darkness in Aztec. We were not looking up at it.
You guys were right in the main path. Interesting about the darkness! The light just barely dimmed here.
We were out and about at the Bradfield bridge yesterday and around 10:30 a.m. the light got really wonky with a significant dimming. We didn’t have any lenses either but the “natural” experience was pretty cool! Saw that sundog on Friday too. Very impressive! Fun things going on in the high desert. š
Ah, that’s interesting about the “wonky” light and “significant dimming.” I would definitely agree about the light getting “wonky,” but it didn’t seem to dim a lot here (though my camera disagreed by its need for different settings!). So cool that ya’ll also saw the sundog! I put “Spring Creek Basin” on those photos out of habit, but I actually saw it just outside the basin in the valley.
I was driving, wearing sun glasses when it happened. The bright sunshine just seemed to dim for a few minutes, making my sun glasses appear to dark to wear.
No sun dogs were seen in my area. ā¹ļø Missed seeing the moon last night when I was out feeding the ferals.
That’s interesting about the effect of light dimming enough to make your sunglasses too much. Other than having my eyeball to my camera’s viewfinder, I kept my glasses on against the bright glare. Love the effects from different parts of the country!
Stunning photo of Sundance! Love the little ‘eclipse horse’ shadows! They look like heiroglyphs! Ooooohhh, Sun Dogs….good omens.
That’s what I thought about those little shadows – petroglyphs or pictographs, we would say in this part of the country. š Sundogs from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere? Whatever the scientific explanation, I like seeing them, too.
Beautiful pictures! It was cloudy here in Mi, so no eclipse!
Bummer! Usually, I like a bit of clouds, but I was glad yesterday for the turquoise sky (OK, I love that Colorado-blue as much as anyone else, but clouds are lovely)! Hope you get to see the eclipse in April next year. That path will be much closer to southern Michigan!
I love your photos — especially the one of the crescents on the rock.
I love that, too. I almost didn’t stop to photograph it … but I keep coming back to look at it, so I’m glad I did!