Capturing the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse in Maine
Earlier this week, many of us witnessed something pretty cool. The total solar eclipse.
To be honest, even as a photographer I didn’t set out to take any pictures of it. But since I live a stone’s throw away from the path of totality in Maine, I figured I would take a quick drive with the dog and see what I could see.
I headed up to the Rangeley, ME area, but it appeared as though every other person in the country had the same idea so rather than fight traffic, I just pulled over to the side of the road and set up shop. After speaking with a few of my new roadside neighbors, I grabbed the camera, tripod, and a BUNCH of filters and did my best.
At the moment of totality, I was simultaneously taking pictures with a remote, watching the eclipse, and thinking about how I could get epic shots….RATHER THAN JUST BEING PRESENT!!!
After all was said and done, I got home and quickly offloaded my memory cards.
Even with amazing images, I beat myself up pretty good about how I approached the day. A few hours earlier I hadn’t even thought about taking pictures. Then I made the decision and committed. Then I felt like I didn’t experience the moment of totality like I should have and that I “missed out”.
And this is what my brain does. It twists special moments into negative narratives rather than just letting me enjoy myself and stay grateful that I captured something I never thought possible.
[There is a point to this story, I swear.]
You see, when we go online and see all the other people living amazing lives, experiencing amazing experiences, and doing all the things we love or desire, we immediately compare ourselves to them and often feel inadequate. That’s what happened to me. After seeing fellow photographers’ shots, I didn’t get an image that I felt was creative or “good enough”….I also didn’t feel the awe and inspiration that others felt, so I must have done something wrong. I wasn’t an artist. I wasn’t a good photographer. I wasn’t paying enough attention to this amazing experience.
In fact, I did nothing wrong except forget to be grateful for where I am in Life and all the good things I have.
This happens a lot when potential clients feel like they can never live up to what they see on my social media. That they will never be a model, or that they don’t have the right clothes, or are too fat, or too gray, or [insert endless excuses here]. They put off getting portraits because of what they see online. And what if I told you that I hear these excuses from EVERYONE I photograph, including models?
The fact is, today is the youngest you will ever be again.
The people around you love you for exactly who you are, no matter what you may be feeling right now.
When you’re gone, no one will ever say “that would have been a better picture of her if she had lost 5 pounds”
So I want you to take a break right now and list out 3 things you are grateful for. Anything. Read that list over and over for 5 minutes, concentrating on the feeling you get as you think about how great each item is. For 300 whole seconds, I want you to Live in Gratitude and see how that changes the rest of your day.
I’ve started doing this little practice and no matter how dark my day has been (eclipse or not!), I can ALWAYS find 3 things that I am grateful for.
The moral of this story is to just get out of your head – there is an awesome world happening all around you right this very moment, and if you take a second to slow down and look at it, I think you’ll like what you see.
PS. Oh, and that picture that I didn’t think was good enough has been “liked” over a thousand times and shared hundreds of times online. And for that I am grateful.
