Finding the Words to Describe an Experience So Magical Yet So Fleeting

There's no frame of reference, no comparison or simile that can convey how much it felt like everything changed in the blink of an eye and yet just as quickly went back to normal. I've always appreciated Cosmic events and kept an eye to the sky, but this experience was something else entirely. While I wasn't in an area of totality, I was definitely left feeling impressed by our ability to witness such a scale of celestial movement.

How We Experienced the Eclipse

We didn't book a hotel or even really plan out our trip until the night before we knew traffic would be hell. But we were lucky enough that the totality range would be within an hour or two's drive from us if we left early. We lucked out and found a small town just an hour North of Columbus, Indiana with a school football field for Eclipse viewing games and play space for the kiddo. Plenty of open field to relax, bake in the Sun, and see the magic.

I Overpacked

I knew I didn't want any chance of missing the magic, so I had multiple tertiary cameras and then my Fuji for running gun shooting and my big Canon R5c for EC calypse shooting. I'd already ordered a 20-stopend filter and elected to go with my Cheapo kit Tamron 70 to 300 mm zoom lens for the telephoto shots. Unfortunately, this lens is not great, and the results weren't great. It looked Tac sharp in my Monitor but didn't really come out that way. But none of it matters; the moment of totality was what truly mattered.

The Moment of Totality

It's possible I've never experienced such a moment of pure Euphoria and presence in the moment as I felt when day became night in the middle of the day. The entire crowd gasped as it felt like the world was ending, a field full of people having their breath taken away simultaneously. Magic, pure magic, otherworldly. Even I can only imagine how our ancestors must have felt witnessing celestial movement on an unimaginable scale in a moment so fleeting.

You wonder if it ever really happened at all. But being there in that moment with my family, a moment I never wanted to end, is something I'll always treasure. The gods blessed us with about three full minutes of totality those three minutes felt like an eternity and yet also felt like a blink. It was over before I knew it, but I would have given anything to linger there for just a little longer.

Living in that Moment

It feels like my mind cannot process such a state for the world to exist in. But even now, as I replay the moment of totality in my head, I'm still on Cloud 9, still processing the experience. It's a reminder that sometimes the most magical moments are the ones we least expect.

Traveling to an Area of Totality

If you've only ever experienced an eclipse away from totality at some point in your life, make an effort to travel to an area of totality for one of them. The difference is quite literally night and day between full totality and just being able to view part of it. I'm still grateful for the experience, even though it's left me with a newfound appreciation for the importance of planning and preparation.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enfinding the words to describe an experience so magical yet so fleeting that nothing else you've ever done compares to is difficult there's no frame of reference there's no comparison or simile that conveys how much it felt like everything changed in the blink of an eye and yet just as quickly went back to normal I've always appreciated Cosmic events and kept an eye to the sky I took my film camera downtown for the 2017 eclipse and while I wasn't in an area of totality I was definitely left feeling impressed by our ability to witness such a scale of celestial movement and appreciated how something has seemingly concrete and simple as Shadows something we experience and take for granted every day of Our Lives can be affected and altered by an event such as this but I still hadn't experienced the real magic we didn't book a hotel we didn't even really plan out our trip until the night before we knew traffic would be hell but we're lucky enough that the totality range would be within an hour or two's drive from us if we left early we lucked out and found a small town just an hour North Columbus Indiana with a school football field for Eclipse viewing games and play space for the kiddo plenty of open field to relax bake in the Sun and see the magic I over and yet underpacked I knew I didn't want any chance of missing the magic so I had multiple tertiary cameras and then my Fuji for running gun shooting and my big Canon r5c for EC calypse shooting i' had already ordered a 20 stopend filter and elected to go with my Cheapo kit Tamron 70 to 300 mm zoom lens for the telephoto shots I don't have much telephoto or astrophotography gear unfortunately I think it's time to invest despite the overpacking I forgot to grab a step up ring for my ND filter to adapt it to the lens but thankfully I could just rest the filter on the lens being sure to turn the camera off and cap the lens between shots unfortunately this lens is not great the results weren't great it looked Tac sharp in my Monitor but didn't really come out that way but that doesn't matter none of it matters the moment of totality the moment everything went dark it felt like nothing else mattered at all it's possible I've never experienced such a moment of pure Euphoria and presence in the moment as I felt when day became night in the middle of the day the moment the entire crowd gasped as it felt like the world was ending a field full of people having their breath taken away simultaneously Magic pure magic otherworldly even I can only imagine how our ancestors must have felt witnessing Celestial movement on an unimaginable scale in a moment so fleeting you wonder if it ever really happened at all being there in that moment with my family a moment I never wanted to end the gods blessed us with about three full minutes of totality those three minutes felt like an eternity and yet also felt like a blink it was over before I knew it yet I would have given anything to linger there for just a little longer I could only dream of living in that Lial State forever it was clearly still daytime but it was also night even now it feels like my mind cannot process such a state for the world to exist in we visited some other neat places around town including a lovely park to continue our commune with nature and to get some fatherson photography bonding action going on despite the fact that I was already exhausted sore and sunburnt and and we had the shadow of a possibly doubled or even tripled drive time home due to returning traffic from up North I was still on Cloud9 still processing The Experience still replaying the moment of totality in my head if you've only ever experienced a an eclipse away from totality at some point in your life make an effort to travel to an area of totality for one of them the difference is quite literally night and day between full totality and just being able to view part of it I'm still an all Remember To Be Kind Rewindfinding the words to describe an experience so magical yet so fleeting that nothing else you've ever done compares to is difficult there's no frame of reference there's no comparison or simile that conveys how much it felt like everything changed in the blink of an eye and yet just as quickly went back to normal I've always appreciated Cosmic events and kept an eye to the sky I took my film camera downtown for the 2017 eclipse and while I wasn't in an area of totality I was definitely left feeling impressed by our ability to witness such a scale of celestial movement and appreciated how something has seemingly concrete and simple as Shadows something we experience and take for granted every day of Our Lives can be affected and altered by an event such as this but I still hadn't experienced the real magic we didn't book a hotel we didn't even really plan out our trip until the night before we knew traffic would be hell but we're lucky enough that the totality range would be within an hour or two's drive from us if we left early we lucked out and found a small town just an hour North Columbus Indiana with a school football field for Eclipse viewing games and play space for the kiddo plenty of open field to relax bake in the Sun and see the magic I over and yet underpacked I knew I didn't want any chance of missing the magic so I had multiple tertiary cameras and then my Fuji for running gun shooting and my big Canon r5c for EC calypse shooting i' had already ordered a 20 stopend filter and elected to go with my Cheapo kit Tamron 70 to 300 mm zoom lens for the telephoto shots I don't have much telephoto or astrophotography gear unfortunately I think it's time to invest despite the overpacking I forgot to grab a step up ring for my ND filter to adapt it to the lens but thankfully I could just rest the filter on the lens being sure to turn the camera off and cap the lens between shots unfortunately this lens is not great the results weren't great it looked Tac sharp in my Monitor but didn't really come out that way but that doesn't matter none of it matters the moment of totality the moment everything went dark it felt like nothing else mattered at all it's possible I've never experienced such a moment of pure Euphoria and presence in the moment as I felt when day became night in the middle of the day the moment the entire crowd gasped as it felt like the world was ending a field full of people having their breath taken away simultaneously Magic pure magic otherworldly even I can only imagine how our ancestors must have felt witnessing Celestial movement on an unimaginable scale in a moment so fleeting you wonder if it ever really happened at all being there in that moment with my family a moment I never wanted to end the gods blessed us with about three full minutes of totality those three minutes felt like an eternity and yet also felt like a blink it was over before I knew it yet I would have given anything to linger there for just a little longer I could only dream of living in that Lial State forever it was clearly still daytime but it was also night even now it feels like my mind cannot process such a state for the world to exist in we visited some other neat places around town including a lovely park to continue our commune with nature and to get some fatherson photography bonding action going on despite the fact that I was already exhausted sore and sunburnt and and we had the shadow of a possibly doubled or even tripled drive time home due to returning traffic from up North I was still on Cloud9 still processing The Experience still replaying the moment of totality in my head if you've only ever experienced a an eclipse away from totality at some point in your life make an effort to travel to an area of totality for one of them the difference is quite literally night and day between full totality and just being able to view part of it I'm still an all Remember To Be Kind Rewind\n"