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Our vantage point along the A9 motorway in Austria, just past Rottenmann! |
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It's begun! |
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Totality |
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Leaving totality |
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The final phase - a bit of an anticlimax really. |
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Our vantage point along the A9 motorway in Austria, just past Rottenmann! |
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It's begun! |
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Totality |
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Leaving totality |
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The final phase - a bit of an anticlimax really. |
The day dawned with heavy cloud - not a patch
of blue sky in sight. A glance at the television confirmed our fears. The
weather forecast was not good. Broadcasts from Stuttgart showed heavy rain!
We checked the teletext for the best chance of sun in Austria for that
day, and this gave a forecast of a possible break in the clouds in the
south and east of the land. So, it was decided - head east! We always intended
to head a little way down the road past Radstadt to bring us into the band
of totality (where we were situated in Zauchensee, we would only see a
99% eclipse), we just ended up driving a little further east than first
intended.
At 10am CET, we started our pursuit of blue skies.
Leaving Zauchensee, we went through Altenmarkt and got on the main road, the
E651, heading away from Salzburg towards Graz.
11:20, first contact. Frantically looking around
for a spot of sun, spy a likely stopping place. Pull in and set up camera
gear. Hunt around for sun through viewfinder - not so easy to find! Locate
first with eclipse glasses on and aim camara roughly in the right direction.
Too much cloud, still, there's another hour left to find the sun! Chat
with a Dutch family out for a bike ride, who casually enquire what time
the eclipse begins. Pile back in the car, head off down the road again.
Half an hour further on, past Schladming, could this be the spot? Can see the heavy rain
clouds chasing us so take a cople of cloudy shots and carry on further.
Reach the motorway on the east side of Liezen. Stop again - it's getting close
to 12:30 and still the clouds are piling up. Our last chance. We spot some
distinct shadows in the distance and decide to go for it. In the car again,
camera in the hand, tripod ready. Belt down the motorway - yes, we've reached
a bit of clear sky! 12:35, pull in to the side of the road (shouldn't really,
but plenty of others have done, as you can see from the top photograph
taken after totality had passed), leap out, set up equipment and wait!
12:40 sun is disappearing and I'm looking through the lens of the camera.
Suddenly, nothing. I look up at the sky and all around are audible gasps
from the small gathering in the lay-by. I know that it went dark, but it
didn't seem really dark like night. More like the sort of light you'd get
on a clear night with a full moon, a bluey-grey sky. I shivered and my
hand was shaking as I went back to the camera and removed the filter. I
don't remember it feeling cold, but that could have been due to the
excitement I was feeling. I had a 36 exposure 100 ASA slide film loaded
ready and clicked away like mad, trying to go through lots of different
shutter speeds. Perhaps I clicked too frantically as the film was soon
used up! I loaded another film, I only had 200 ASA Kodak Gold print film
with me as spare, still another 36 exposures wouldn't do any harm! Still
well into totality, someone's mobile phone rings. I can't imagine that
they'd stop watching this amazing spectacle to answer it. It carried on
ringing - I think it was left unanswered. Finally, a bright point of light
began to appear at the right-hand side of the moon, totality was ending.
I carried on snapping away. Another roll of 36 used up. Hopefully I managed
to record something!
It became lighter and people started talking
again. The couple from the car in front of us embraced emotionally.
I reload the camera, but am just too late to record the emotion of the
moment. A few minutes later, the same couple began to have a heated argument
- perhaps one of them had forgotten to put film in the camera?! The total
eclipse over, no-one seemed interested in the continued passage of the
moon over the sun and slowly, people packed up and moved off. We left too,
to head back to Zauchensee. We did pause in another patch of blue just
to take a few more photos of the final phase of the eclipse and to have
a sandwich - after all, it was now gone one o'clock! 14:09, 4th contact.
We are not yet back in Zauchensee and the eclipse is now over. We stop
in Altenmarkt to have a celebratory ice-cream and apfelstrudel.
It was a truly wonderful experience.
