Mama always told me not to look into the eye’s of the sun

But, mama, that’s where the fun is

 

Blinded by the Light – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band in February 1977

Introduction

Yesterday, we all shared something that is powerful and rare. Unless you live on another planet, I’m sure you know I’m talking about the 2017 total solar eclipse that ripped across the US from West to East at between 2400 and 1700 miles per hour.

I was one of the lucky ones that happen to live near the path of totality. We were able to spend a few hours yesterday staring at the sky, eating fresh figs straight from the trees, and experiencing one of nature’s wonders.

The 2017 Eclipse

We were in Englewood, TN, about 1 hour south of our house in Knoxville. Our friends have several acres of land with all kinds of goodness growing in trees and on plants. While Jett and Melinda’s Mom harvested the bounty,  Toni, Melinda, her Dad and I looked to the sky.

Although I didn’t quite have the necessary photo equipment to nail great pictures, what resulted will always remind us of this fantastic day we shared.

The Eclipse Videos

As shown in the video below, the excitement was contagious as the eclipse occurred. Darkness, loudness, coolness, and other rapid changes were experienced by all of us.

The Eclipse Photos

The best eclipse photos I took were with my Sony Alpha II, with a 200 mm sports lens. I was unable to take any photos before totality because I didn’t have a metallic filter. Here is my favorite picture, just after totality.

Figure 1 – The eclipse just after totality. This is a 6000 by 4000 pixel image taken at 1/320 sec at f/3.5. Just moments after this, the light was blinding.

Below is a collection of photos that show our day. We had a great time.