Totality

After a three hour drive to Paris, Arkansas, I parked the car behind a roadside bar and awaited the moon to orbit in between the Sun and the Earth. I’ve experienced multiple solar and lunar eclipses but this was by far the best In a total coverage of the Sun.

I used the iPhone 15 Pro Max to capture the moment, shot in RAW and full magnification behind an old DSLR lens filter. Well, the neutral density filter was not strong enough so I just used the special-filter glasses for better results.

While the others grabbed beer being served at 1PM on a Monday in small town Arkansas, I was setting up the tripod and watching the moon make its journey in between myself and the Sun. I lit my pipe and relaxed as the shadow slowly moved from the south. The sky turned cobalt blue, then purple and finally it was dark. Off to the west the sky glowed as if the sun were setting as it should but that won’t happen for another 7 hours.

My eyes were darting back and forth from the astrological event above me and to the tripod to push the camera button as the slow shutter perfectly adjusted to the low light in the sky around the moon perfectly and even captured some solar prominences.

The sky remained dark for a few minutes, the wind stopped and the temperature dropped. Everything was surreal and quiet except for the chatter of my companions. Can we not enjoy the moment in reverence?

Seven frustrating hours later I arrived back home to relax and wonder at what we had witnessed. Then it was my turn for a beer at the pub and thought it was appropriate to sing ”Eclipse” and “Brain Damage” by Pink Floyd. What a great misadventure today was.