We traveled to Spring City, Tennessee to view the Great American Eclipse, August 21, 2017. It was really cool to share this experience with travelers from several different states, as we stood on a hillside overlooking the Tennessee River Valley near Watts Bar Lake.
We were side by side with a family from China; their photographer son and I shared camera settings and results back and forth throughout the eclipse. I was expecting it to be photographically challenging, and it was; even more so than I'd anticipated.
They had said it was going to get dark at totality but I had trouble believing it was REALLY going to get dark. Well, it did-so dark that I had to ask Jeff for his phone light so I could see to change my camera settings! Stars popped out and the lights of the town below came on. Totality lasted such a short time (2 minutes and 38 seconds) and then suddenly the diamond ring appeared and everything rapidly starting getting light again. Such a completely awesome experience; totally worth the 7 hour drive!
My social media description of the experience:
"Words literally fail me. There is absolutely no way to describe the awesomeness of experiencing a total solar eclipse. It's fun to look back at the pictures as they captured the way it looked but they cannot convey the feeling of being there. That is imprinted in my heart forever."
