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.

Watching Totality from the Smoky Mountains

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.

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.

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

What I Learned About Eclipse Gear

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.

That lesson stuck. When I shot the 2024 eclipse I went out with a 100-500mm and it made all the difference. I wrote up the full setup in my guide to photographing a solar eclipse, including the camera settings for the partial phases versus totality and the solar filter rules that keep you from cooking your sensor.

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Capturing the Great American Eclipse of 2017 was worth every hour of the drive, and it is the reason I went back out for the 2024 eclipse. If you get the chance to stand inside the path of totality, take it. You can see when the next solar eclipses are in my eclipse photography guide, though anyone in the US has a long wait for the next one without getting on a plane.