THE IDEA:
The idea of shooting the eclipse had been spoken about amongst ourselves all year but none of us wanted to think about it. Our studio has been so busy with commercial work this year that we all were thinking on a project by project basis to not get overwhelmed but the idea for the eclipse felt like it was always looming. Chris would turn around to me and say “this whole eclipse thing just stresses me out” and the feeling was mutual. We both wanted to shoot something that hadn’t been done before but also didn’t want to overthink it. With any project like this, I can always rely on Chris Burkard to coordinate a plan and come up with something incredible but it had remained a gray area for a long time as we were trying to figure out what to do.
THE DECISION:
We were actually on a job for airBNB in Oregon near Smith Rock. I could tell Chris was eyeing the rock formation in the background of our photographs (the Monkey’s head) and that’s where the “what ifs” started formulating. We used the app, Photopills, to track what the sun’s movement would be on eclipse day and found that it would be rising directly over the monkey’s head. The eclipse was to start just after 9AM and reach totality around 10:15AM meaning the sun would be pretty high in the sky. The reason this area was so special was that it would allow us to put a subject in front of the eclipsing sun because the high rock formation had a sheer drop straight down to a river bed below. Essentially it gave us the ability to be shoot straight up at a subject while allowing the eclipse to be in the background. I knew Chris was set on this location instantly and the next question was what would the “subject” be?
Over the last 2.5 years of working and traveling with Chris I’ve found there to be one main thing that he chases when photographing: uncertainty. What started in traveling to harsh places to find perfect waves has transitioned into a broader theme of seeking out remote places and showcasing their beauty which inevitably means jumping into a project head first not knowing the end result. That same idea of jumping into uncertainty was applied to this project as well. We had first discussed simply having someone stand up on the ridgeline but Chris proposed having a high liner walking a line in front of the eclipse… I instantly was skeptical that we could make it happen, honestly I thought that it would add too many variables: positioning of the line, the position of the athlete, all while taking into the account the moving sun. Chris assured me the if we could make it happen it’d be worth it, if we just did something where we could calculate all of the variables we’d walk away disappointed. We made the decision to move forward and reached out to Ryan Robinson and Garrison Rowland, two professional highliners, to work out the logistics of setting and walking the line.
THE EQUIPMENT
The next step was figuring out what gear we’d need to make it happen. A lot of reference photos we were seeing of the solar eclipse were composited from bracketed images but our goal was to capture the shot in camera. For this reason we decided to shoot on the Sony a7rii and utilize their uncompressed RAW format which allows you to capture images in uncompressed 14-bit raw. This would allow for higher dynamic range and better shadow recovery when exposing for such a bright subject as the eclipsing sun. The next step was lenses. The plan was to have myself, Chris, and Ryan Valasek shooting a different focal length so we decided on the following set ups:
- Sony a7rii
- Sony 100-400mm f4-5.6
- 2x extender
- Equivalent focal length: 100-800mm
Russell Holliday:
- Sony a7rii
- Sigma 500mm f4
- Equivalent focal length: 500mm
Ryan Valasek:
- Sony a7rii
- 24-70mm 2.8
- 70-200mm 2.8
- Equivalent focal length: 24-200mm
Haida solar filters:
100x100mm 20 stop ND
150x150mm 20 stop ND
Gitzo Mountaineer tripod — for heavier lens setup (500mm)
Gitzo Traveler tripod — for lighter lens setup (100-400mm)
The goal was to have the entire team capturing something different whether it be a different focal length or a different position.
We were utilizing 20 stop ND solar filters to be able to shoot the eclipsing sun before it reached totality. For the smaller lenses we used 100x100mm Haida filters and for the bigger lenses (Sigma 500mm) we used 150x150mm Haida filters. We used gaff tape to tape each filter to the lens hood and cardboard to block out all ambient light; the cardboard and filter were attached to the lens hood so that we could easily remove the filter once totality was reached and throw it back on as the sun began to appear again. It was definitely a little jerry rigged but hey.. If it works it works!!
THE PREP
We left our home of San Luis Obispo CA at 5pm and arrived in smith rock at 6AM the day before the eclipse to do a trial run at sunrise. The all night drive consisted of snacks, coffees, and watching about 15 episodes of the Office; whoever was driving would just listen along haha. The next morning Chris, Ryan V., and I were scouting angles from below as Ryan R. and Garrison were up top figuring out the rigging. Although the line was not up, we had a general idea of how to frame it up and found some preliminary positions. We wouldn’t know if they were exactly right until eclipse day. That night, Ryan and Garrison started the rigging at around 1AM and spent the night up top after finishing.
THE CRUX
The next morning we rolled up around 7AM and started prepping cameras. We didn’t want to sit in one spot and wait for totality, we wanted to track the entire process which required us to be on the move. The trajectory we planned on taking lead straight into the river which raised the question, “would we have to cross the river?” As the saw the sun begin to peak over the rocks we knew it was game time. Shooting at different focal lengths meant that each of us would be seeking out new vantage points at different times so we stayed in close contact via walkies while Chris communicated with the highliners to direct their position or form. We began to watch the moon cover the sun little by little. As we moved closer and closer to the river I knew one of us was going to have to cross it to capture the tighter angle during totality. The river was probably around 10 ft. in front of us so I took off running with all my gear parallel to the river bank looking for anywhere remotely shallow enough to cross. Even the shallowest area looked questionable but I went for it using my camera/tripod to check the depth in front of me. I made it across, soaking wet up to my chest in all my clothes and took off sprinting back towards the correct position, knowing I had about 5 minutes before the sun would reach totality. Ryan V. followed close behind and made the crossing as well.
“What happened next I will remember for the rest of my life.”
We barely made it and got set up with a few minutes to spare. We all communicated that it was time to pull off the solar filters and prepare for totality, Chris relayed to the highliners that totality was about to occur. I was shooting the tighter angle while Chris shot a wider angle from the across the river and Ryan covered a wide angle from my position. What happened next I will remember for the rest of my life. The entire landscape below went dark, hoots and shouts were echoing through the valley, and I looked from behind my camera to see the total eclipse with my naked eye. I knew seeing and experiencing this eclipse would be cool, but I didn’t know it would be such a life changing event for myself and the crew. Those 2 minutes were a complete blur, my hands were shaking uncontrollably, my heart beating heavily, all while smiling ear to ear and shouting at the top of my lungs like everyone else. I felt like in that moment everyone around was in such a primal state of mind, all we could do was look up and marvel at this natural phenomenon in the same way that humans thousands of years ago would do. After the sun began to appear again and the climax of the event had passed, I began to review the images and reflecting on what just happened. I vividly remember Chris crackling in over the walkie and being like “I don’t even know how to react to what just happened!!” We were all ecstatic.
LESSONS LEARNED
It took some time for all of us to process what had just happened. I feel like everyone at our studio is wired to analyze shoots and ask ourselves, “how can we be better, how can we be more efficient” but in this case we were all just dwelling on how valuable this experience was more so than the photographs. Many of our take aways were not revelations but reminders that if you compromise your approach than the images you capture will inherently suffer. This idea lead us to look out our approach and analyze how it helped us capture what we did.
- Uncertainty is the key to capturing something “different”
- Aiming to capture variation within your images can be more rewarding than searching for “the shot”
- Allow yourself to truly experience the moment, otherwise the photographs are irrelevant
- Sharing the experience with others can be more rewarding than the photograph itself.
WRITTEN BY RUSSELL HOLLIDAY
PHOTOGRAPHER: CHRIS BURKARD
