After the eclipse of 8-7-2017 I had been looking forward to the 4-8-2024 eclipse. I had hoped to photograph the 2024 eclipse even though, in 2017, this seemed a lofty and perhaps unattainable goal. Fast forward to 2023 and I was seriously getting into astrophotography. By October I had purchased my current setup and was working out the kinks. At this point, photographing the eclipse seemed much more reasonable.

As with many others, I planned to be in Texas given it was the location in the USA most likely to have clear skies. As the day of the eclipse approached, however, the weather forecast soured. Given that moving to an area with a better forecast would involve moving my entire group 8+ hours at the last minute I elected to stay put and hope for the best.

During my scouting trip I had eyed Woosely Baptist Church as a possible location to set up, polar align, sleep in the car, and photograph the eclipse the next day. I attempted to contact them for permission but was never able to reach anyone via phone and they don't have a website. The day before the eclipse the church parking lot was roped off with 'no trespassing' signs... very Christlike... My girlfriend had spotted another church a few miles south and we decided to try setting up there.

It was now getting to be around 10PM and I was in a hurry to get setup and get some sleep. Not long after, a crazed looking local approached me. He was holding one of his hands near his waist and, not wanting to provoke him, I did my best to be non-threatening. After about 10 minutes of wondering whether I was about to be shot, he calmed down, took photos of me and my license plate, and walked off. Mind you, I don't get freaked out easily. I frequently make friends with strangers in the dark when photographing at my usual site (which is in the middle of nowhere). That said, this guy made the hairs on my neck stand on end. I immediately informed my girlfriend, who was half asleep, and packed up as fast as I could.

We drove about an hour back to my parent's RV camping spot in Tyler, TX. This was near the edge of totality and would only get around two minutes of totality. With it being past midnight  I decided to set up there. The clouds held off just long enough for me to polar align. I covered the rig with a tarp and went to bed.

The next day, the weather looked ok. But, as the eclipse approached, the clouds became steadily thicker. As totality approached the entire sky was covered with clouds. It appeared that things were going to be a bust. For a few seconds, though, there was a bit of a gap in the clouds. While my family and I were appreciating the eclipse my rig was able to capture a single set of exposure brackets.

Given the circumstances, I'm fairly happy with the result. The outer corona was unrecoverable due to clouds but the other features are discernible. It won't win any awards but it's definitely a unique memento of the experience.

Stack of 8 exposures from 1/125th to 1 second.