Partial solar eclipse at sunset

Shots of the partial solar eclipse yesterday. In my area it started just before sunset, so there was a very short time window. We also had clouds on the horizon which obscured it at the end.

Set the absolute minimum exposure I could get, not having any ND filters. 1/8000, f:40, ISO 100. I did not look through the viewfinder, I held the camera out a few inches from my face and sort of "aimed" it. D7000, 70-300 at 300mm. Amazingly, I was able to get sunspots!!!!! I though maybe that was just clouds, but I've seen eclipse pictures from a club member here who used a telescope and solar filters, and those are sunspots!!!! I PHOTOGRAPHED SUNSPOTS WITH A HANDHELD UNFILTERED dSLR!!!!!!!!

I also backed off the zoom and exposure and took a regular sunset pic, and the eclipse is visible on the top of the sun, if you know it's there.... Shows how the clouds interfered with me, though! :)

Shot from the pier at St. Andrews State Park, Florida.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3934/...7435d7f4_z.jpg

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3933/...f501c195_z.jpg

Great shots. You captured the sun nice and clean. The sunset looks good too.

Epic shot!