For most, The Great American Eclipse was a once in a lifetime event. It effected people in many different ways, and it was fun to watch. What amazed me most is that what for months (or years) had been the silent preparation of the geek/nerd community, suddenly turned into the science equivalent of a Super Bowl level national holiday. The eclipse turned into an excuse for one big party. The main stream media discovered the eclipse about a week before the event, and spent more time saying over and over about not looking directly into the sun then anything else. Stores sold out of everything even remotely related to an event of this size. Government officials were handed difficult responsibilities, keeping massive influxes of people safe.
While scientists were clearly, and justifiably excited, so were the photographers. I think I can safely say that August 21st, 2017 will remain for quite some time, the day of the highest number of shutter releases in the history of mankind. Yea, so everyone took out their phone, and snapped off a few pics, so what. For the serious photographers, this was a very serious test. Photographing an eclipse has to be one of the toughest subjects in all photography. There would be thousands or more pictures taken with extremely stout, highly advanced gear, and those photographs would far exceed the quality the average pro or amateur photographer could possibly achieve. So why did they all go out in droves, to shoot anyway? For some it was a technical challenge, mating computers with cameras to achieve extreme precision. For some it was the challenge of learning all that would be necessary to know about astronomy, to know what to capture. For some, it was social, hanging out with other like minded photographers. Perhaps, an opportunity to prove technical prowess to their peers. Or simply a personal way to measure their photographic skills. Whatever combination motivated each of them, they came out in the thousands, and labored in the sweltering heat, hoping that everything would align in their favor, through luck or through shear force of determined minds.
I was among the throng of photographers out shooting that day, risking actually missing the event due to inattention, while focused on focusing. The picture above represents a few of the thousand or so pictures I took that day, not counting the thousands taken doing practice runs for weeks in advance of the big event. I shot one camera with complete computer control, one camera with full manual control, rolled a video camera watching the scene around us during totality, and also shot a time lapse of the entire afternoon, setting up and breaking down camp with my fellow members of the Spartanburg Photography Guild.
It will take quite a while to dig through all the photos, and pick out the ones worthy of various levels of post processing. But first, it will be necessary to learn how to actually do that post processing, identifying tricks to speed up the process, and achieve interesting if not amazing results. In the first few days, all the photographers will be digging out their "best" shots to share with the world. I will pick out several hundred frames that will be donated to scientific research at the Eclipse Mega Movie team. I went through the process of being pre-qualified, so that I could contribute files that meet their requirements, and do so quickly, so that I could participate in the making of a movie of the sun's corona as the eclipse moved across America. I was proud to represent South Carolina, and had the privilege having my photographs accepted for use, and of seeing my name in the credits of the movie.
So was this all worth it? Heck yes!!! The next reasonable shot for most of us here in southern US to see another total solar eclipse comes in a short 7 years if we are willing to travel to somewhere between Texas and Maine. I am making plans to be in the shadow again in April. 2024. Before then, I hope to take in at least one lunar eclipse as well. And maybe a partial or annular solar eclipse if possible. Of course I will want to shoot them. The bug has bitten.
I hope that some cool science happens as a result of the Mega Movie project, but I am back to doing wall art again. Anyone want a nice and large gallery wrap or metal print like the one pictured above to remember this once in a lifetime special event? If so, let me know, and I can hook you up.
Clear Skys!
