Although the most spectacular part of this eclipse wasn’t going to be visible in the Kansas City area, I made a last-minute decision to go ahead and try to get some photos of the partial phase. Since I didn’t plan ahead, I didn’t have a telescope at home with me. All I had was a pair of Binomite solar binoculars, a Canon 50D and a cheap Canon 75mm-300mm telephoto lens.
I included not only a couple of photos of the eclipse, but also a photo of what I did with the telephoto lens to allow me to take them. I went to Price Chopper and got an non-inflated Mylar balloon, cut the edges off so that I had a couple of round sheets of Mylar. Then I used my wife’s fingernail polish remover (acetone) and wiped off the paint off its outer surface. I covered the front of the lens and used a rubber band to secure it. I then trimmed off the excess Mylar. It was a total MacGyver job!
