2017 Great American Total Solar Eclipse 

Sarasota, Florida U.S.A.

Latitude 27.341274 Longitude -82.82267

2 pm to 4 pm Eastern Standard Time

August 21, 201

80% coverage of the sun by the moon

While photographing the 2017 eclipse on Lido beach in Sarasota, Florida a gentleman from Ireland came up to show me his watch and asked, what do you think is going on”? The minute and hour hands were moving on their own spinning freely on the face of his watch.

Two women walked along the beach each with a Cheerios cereal box with two holes cut into the narrow end of the box making it a pinhole viewing device for safe viewing of the eclipse.

A woman from Argentina wanted to know if that was a fisheye lens.  “Yes”, I answered.  “I thought so, I learned about that in a photography class I took”, she said.

Two women from South America sat down on a towel beside me.  After awhile they asked, “has it started or is it finished”.  I answered, “it’s about 75% complete”.

A man who had been walking in the surf came up and asked, “Can I take a look”?  “No, I am working” I answered.  “I see, ok” he replied and walked back into the surf.

Having seen images of other total eclipse’s I was eager to see the corona around the sun. Lesson one in photography, often what you think you’ll photograph won’t happen. So it was with this eclipse, no corona.  The second lesson of photography, stay put and accept what’s before you, move beyond looking and SEE.  I realized I was standing at the water’s edge with the sky above and within this stage set a celestial drama was playing out.  The poetry of earth, ocean, sky, sun, and moon seemed good enough to me.  So I made the images you see here.

2017 Solar Eclipse, Sarasota, Florida

2017 Solar Eclipse, Sarasota, Florida

2017 Solar Eclipse, Sarasota, Florida

2017 Solar Eclipse, Sarasota, Florida