04/09/2024
I struggle to post this photo of totality I took yesterday in Ohio, for it does very little to represent what I saw with my own eyes. The disk of the moon was black, yes, but our home star's corona shimmered in a silvery vale against the baby blue background of the sky. The sky was not dark like in this photo and most others. The corona seemed to have a depth, a layering of magnetic energy. It expanded much wider than seen here, with millions of tendrils attempting to escape the sun's hold.
I almost didn't shoot the eclipse, and I didn't order any special filter because I wanted to experience it as a human, not as an operator of a remote sensing device. But, at the last minute, I grabbed the zoom lens, an older camera (in case I messed up and damaged the sensor), and all the ND filters on hand. I did zero research about setting for capturing totality, which I regretted as I ripped off the filters. This was very much an impulse photograph, which is hilarious, considering it's been on the schedule for centuries.
I'm glad I have this visual cue to remind me of my own personal experience yesterday. But the actual memory in my mind is so much more beautiful, and I've been deeply questioning if I spent enough time just experiencing it. A properly filtered telescope image and some creative compositing could begin to represent the reality of what I saw yesterday, and I'll be on the hunt to make that happen.
For me, the life lesson here was very simple: If you think it's worth doing, do it. Make the effort—even if the inertia of life makes it difficult. You won't regret it.
