https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/april-8-2024
Not sure if you've ever been to a total eclipse before, but most experts will tell you to forget about photographing it unless you truly know what you're doing, especially if you're experiencing an eclipse for the first time. Reasoning being, fussing over a camera might lead one to miss it completely in the moments it matters most.
Back in 2017, which was my first, I had set up a camera, although I knew I wasn't going to capture the eclipse itself. Instead, I ended up capturing the experience and energy of the moment. While I didn't capture the eclipse itself, I did capture the darkening of the overall atmosphere which was really cool in itself.
We'd travelled to Oregon, had plans on where to view it that fell through, as the nearby state park was closed to traffic at the time to reduce damage due to the incoming flux of travellers. When we told the motel owner and how we wondered where we'd go next to view it, he did something rather incredible. It's a small hotel in a small town of Spray, Oregon, and he had about 15 guests in total. He invited all of his guests out to his own home property high up on a plateau, and what we had was an amazing intimate experience with 15 people sharing the amazing moment. Had the best possible view too, and I remember peering out at the edge of the plateau and seeing fields of tents down below. The property was a small farm, and I had remembered reading that sometimes animals can react to the change in light. I think about the only thing I remember hearing were a bunch of crows, but other than that, the animals on the farm were rather calm.
This year, the plan is for Ohio. The plan is to view it from a friend's rooftop.
