Are you ready for the solar eclipse?

Monday 3 August 2026, 23:23 by Nando Harmsen | 3,823 views | 7 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

The solar eclipse on 12 August 2026 is just around the corner. Many photographers are travelling to Iceland or Spain to see, experience and photograph totality. I will be doing the same. Are you ready for the solar eclipse?

A total solar eclipse must be quite an experience. I have never experienced one, and now I have the chance to go and see, experience and photograph one in Spain. Good preparation is important.

Eclipse glasses are important. Of course, you want to protect your eyes properly from the dazzling sunlight. But your camera also needs protection from the bright sunlight.

There are various filters available, such as the Haida One Million X Edition filter, which blocks no less than a million times the light. Or a Baader solar filter, which is also used by astrophotographers.

To see totality, you need to go to Spain or Iceland. I chose Spain, because you can easily drive there. In the Netherlands, about 90% of the Sun will be obscured. That is spectacular too.

I have made a plan using Photopills. But that may still change on location. The weather also plays an important role, of course. A cloudy sky is not ideal.

I have described more information about the solar eclipse in an article on my own blog. It is more convenient to provide this link instead of writing everything out twice. You can also read more about the equipment I will be using.

Be especially careful when photographing it. If you do not have a suitable solar filter, you can also photograph patches of sunlight in shadows. You will then see the crescent shape of the Sun in those patches of light. Or you can simply enjoy it without taking photographs. That is an option too.

Are you going to photograph the solar eclipse? If so, where are you planning to do that? Let us know in a comment below this post.

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About the author

Nando Harmsen has been photographing for more than 40 years. He specialises in wedding photography and landscape photography. Nando also gives talks, workshops, masterclasses and photo trips, and regularly reviews new and interesting equipment.

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7 comments

MacBigfoot wrote on Tuesday 4 August 2026 at 10:13 | reply
I experienced the solar eclipse of 11 August 1999. Back then only from the roof of the office where I worked at the time, even without eclipse glasses, which of course was not really doable.

This time I want to be better prepared, I have eclipse glasses and a filter. Above all, I want to enjoy it, hopefully the weather will cooperate and we’ll get to see something. And where possible also take photos.

I’m going to take a look at one of the observatories near me, some of them head outside there with a wide view.
Translated from Dutch.

Mat Geerings wrote on Tuesday 4 August 2026 at 12:52 | reply
Is it also possible to take photos with a 10-stop ND filter?
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 4 August 2026 at 13:59 | reply
That is too little. Then combine a 10-stop with a six-stop. That is possible.
Translated from Dutch.

André Kremer wrote on Tuesday 4 August 2026 at 16:02 | reply
I saw the total eclipse near Reims; quite an experience, first it slowly gets dark, then quiet - no wind, the birds stop singing, and you feel a relative cold. Fun anecdote: I was in the area with my gliding club, and we went with a small group to the center of the eclipse. After returning, it turned out that my daughter, who was at camp in the Ardennes with a scouting group from the Netherlands, had been watching a few hundred meters away from me. No mobile phones and such yet......
Translated from Dutch.

André Kremer wrote on Tuesday 4 August 2026 at 16:09 | reply
See also: Solar eclipse 1999
Translated from Dutch.

guest wrote on Wednesday 5 August 2026 at 00:26 | reply
Welding goggles or a welding helmet work, fold a grey garbage bag in half or look through an old CD
Translated from Dutch.

Ludo wrote on Thursday 6 August 2026 at 20:28 | reply
Nando, since the adapted special solar filters are sold out everywhere, I wonder if I could also have success with my ND filters while photographing the solar eclipse.
Translated from Dutch.

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