How I spent the Solar eclipse in August 2017
Yes, it has been a year and one day already since the total solar eclipse happened here
in Oregon.
I wasn't preparing anything gear wise, I just had all my usual stuff. I didn't plan on
buying anything special for the event from the beginning. No special filters, no new
lens, no teleconventor, light buster or anything like that. Basically what I had was this:
Sony A7ii with 70 - 200mm f4 (main camera)
Sony a 6500 with 10 - 18mm F4 (timelapse)
Sony a 6300 with 24-70mm F4 (2nd timelapse or backup)
Mt Jefferson - Olallie Scenic Area
From the very beginning I was pretty clear about my location. I wanted to go to Jefferson Park and had a specific shot in mind of Mount Jefferson and the eclipse glowing in the background. In case the weather turned out to be bad then I was thinking to go to Painted Hills or even more towards Eastern Oregon. Unfortunately, a few weeks before the event there was a huge fire around Mount Jefferson and the whole section of Pacific Crest Trail was shut down. I kept hearing that there was going to be a lot of traffic and hoards of people traveling from all over the country. Knowing that and being pretty busy at work, I just said "okay I'm not going anywhere, I'll be watching it from Portland". Luckily I changed my mind. I really wanted to see the totality. It was Sunday afternoon it was the last possible moment. I jump in the car and start driving towards a location I randomly picked a few minutes beforehand. The location was a specific spot on the Pacific Crest Trail right above Olallie Lake. It's actually a few miles north of Mount Jefferson. The composition wouldn't be there as I originally planned, but at least I had a good chance of seeing the totality! Of course I was not the only one with this idea in mind. Apparently there were people camping for that reason a week prior to the eclipse. Cars were parked along the road as far as 2 miles from the lake. I was really lucky to find one last camping spot. I set my campsite, did some scouting, took a night time-lapse of the Milky Way and the next morning I started hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Roughly two miles above Olallie Lake there was a little cliff where you could see the whole area and be just the right amount of distance away from the crowds. The only thing I forgot was those special solar eclipse glasses. I was lucky enough to run into a couple from Boston who were able to lend me a pair of glasses for the event. The show was great. I'm so glad that I changed my mind and went for it. All the birds went quiet, it got a little bit colder suddenly, all the dogs start barking and the drunk people cheering, haha.
Anyway that's my story behind the solar eclipse of August 21st, 2017. If you ever have opportunity to see a total eclipse, don't hesitate...go see it! It really is awesome and a unique experience.
Sincerely Pavel.
Mt Jefferson from PCT
Solar Eclipse above Mt Jefferson - August 21st 2018
Beginning of totality
Total eclips (crop)
Olallie Butte