Solar Eclipse 2017

What an experience August 21, 2017 was. The Great American Eclipse was hyped up for sure, and it did not disappoint.  Our planning began a couple weeks before, initially thinking of traveling to Clemson, SC.  I rented a long lens but waited too long to get a solar filter.  Amazon and B&H were selling outrageously priced filters the week before.  Luckily, Aperturent came through and told me they had a solar filter come available for rent and I jumped on it.  A couple days prior to the Eclipse, my office decided to close and get as many people as we could up north to see totality.  So, we planned on carpooling to Clarkesville, GA about 70 miles north and had our sights set on a series of soccer fields.

Our first car left at 8:15am and headed north, and it took about 1.5 hrs to reach Clarkesville.  The sky was clear and nobody was around.  Because the second car was about an hour behind, Leslie from our group spotted another series of fields further north at Rabun, which would give us another half minute of totality.  We decided to race up there and see if that spot was better.  The traffic got very thick as we approached Rabun Arena.  Fortunately the giant covered outdoor arena was virtually empty, so we pulled right under the shade and the rest of the group joined us.

Right on time, the Moon started to cross in front of the sun.  With my lens and filter I could see sun spots and the sharp outline of the Moon.  This initial process was very slow, and the drama did not start until very close to total eclipse.  We sweated through one small cloud which obscured the sun about 10 minutes before totality but it passed just in time.  The light dimmed slowly, and then completely disappeared in an instant.  TOTALITY.  All of us were completely awed by what had happened.  We had a 'sunset' on all sides during totality, a very eerie sight.  Two and a half minutes went by very quickly, and then the brightness returned.  An awesome thing to witness!  Earlier this year I saw the Northern Lights for the first time and this was just as powerful.  The 4.5 hour, 100 mile detour drive home was completely worth it.

Images shot with: 1)Fuji X-T2, 55-230mm, Solar Filter 2)Fuji X-E2, 16mm

Chile | Atacama Desert

The first stop on our Chile / Argentina trip was in one of the driest places on Earth, the Atacama Desert. The day after Thanksgiving, we left Atlanta for our overnight flight into Santiago, Chile. We then took another quick flight up north into Calama, and finally a shuttle about an hour to the tiny, dusty town of San Pedro de Atacama. Little more than a few streets and adobe buildings, San Pedro caters to the tourists that flock here for excursions into the desert. Even though the town was tiny, it was buzzing the entire time we stayed here. We stayed at Hostal El Anexo, which was just a few minutes walk into town, and right behind a French bakery.  Our host was very nice, and gave us some tips on which excursions to do.  By the end of our first night, we had some booked.  Also by the end of the night, it felt like all of the moisture had already left our bodies.  Dry noses, eyes, skin.  It seemed like we could not drink water fast enough!

Over the course of four days, we were able to explore quite a bit of what the Atacama Desert has to offer.  We rented bikes and rode through Death Valley, where a bike malfunction almost left us stranded.  Death Valley was stark and beautiful, like a different planet altogether.  Moon Valley was equally stark, but at sunset it transformed into a fiery landscape.  We took a full day tour up to see the high altitude lakes, which was one of the highlights of this entire trip.  Don't let the photos fool you into thinking it was hot...it was freezing cold and the wind was ferocious.  Late one night, we joined a night sky star 'tour' where an astronomer pointed out constellations, planets, and galaxies.  The sky is so clear down there, which is a huge reason why some of the world's best observatories are located near San Pedro.

The Atacama Desert was absolutely breathtaking.  Blazing hot during the day, freezing cold at night, and surrounded by raw, natural scenery.  Next stop: Valparaiso!