Crescent Darkness Approaches - 2024 Eclipse

Mount Orford, Canada. This photo was taken as the sun eclipsed toward totality but many minutes before. The only way to get this photo was to take 2 exposures and mix them together showing the cascading light off the crescent shaped sun as the moon overtook it. The darkness in the upper part of the image, a result of the darker exposure heralds the coming dark of totality. Many people opted to make fake images and put the eclipse low on the horizon. Do not be fooled, at 3pm in the afternoon that is not possible especially for people in the zone of totality. The sun was so high I had to go vertical to capture it and include the landscape on my 17-40mm landscape lens. Also in a landscape lens the sun will appear a lot smaller so you cannot possibly zoom in to make it larger and get it over the landscape due to its height in the sky. I enjoyed taking these so my viewers could see the actual sky placement of this celestial phenomenon. I tried to make them as true to what my eyes saw as possible. Let me know what you think :)

Sunlight cascades from a bright sun high in the blue sky, casting rays onto a partially frozen lake surrounded by a forest and mountains. A lone figure, possibly a photographer, stands on a rocky outcrop by the water's edge, providing a sense of scale to the expansive landscape.