Eclipse Stars

Total Solar Eclipse 2017 Pictures: Great American Eclipse

My girlfriend and I took a once in a lifetime trip of viewing the full totality of the eclipse on Monday August 21st, 2017.

We rented a cabin on Airbnb in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Our cabin was in the direct path of full totality which offered a little over 2 minutes worth of totality.

The cabin had a fantastic view of the mountain range which we could see the moon cast a giant shadow over once totality hit.

Great Smoky Mountain Range Sunrise
Great Smoky Mountain Range Sunrise

The eclipse began at approximately 2pm, requiring us to use solar filter glasses in order to observe the gradual movement of the moon as it crossed in front of the sun.

Moments Before The Eclipse
Moments before totality

Once full totality hit we removed our filters and could hear folks cheering in the forest around us. It was truly a magical moment and I would 100% drive 10 hours to experience it again.

Eclipse Stars
Photo of the Eclipse with stars composited in.

To spice up the photo a bit for Instagram I added in stars around the photo.

For photographing the eclipse I used my Canon 100mm Macro lens which was a mistake since I couldn’t zoom in that much to fill the frame of my photo. After the eclipse I picked up a cheap 300mm EF lens for occasions like this next time.


Capturing the beauty of the Great American Eclipse of 2017 was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you have a chance to capture a full eclipse in the future I highly recommend it. Don’t miss out on these unforgettable events and make sure to have your camera ready!

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3 comments on “Total Solar Eclipse 2017 Pictures: Great American Eclipse”

  1. So Cool, glad you shared this amazing experience. It must have been so awesome to see it all and be there. Great travel photo’s and story line too. Thanks