Earlier this year when I read the following in the news,

On August 21st 2017, for the first time in 26 years, a total solar eclipse will occur in America — “The Great American Eclipse” as it has been dubbed by its enthusiasts.

I started making plans to be in the path of totality to view and photograph the eclipse first hand. I made hotel reservations, purchased protective eclipse glasses, and invested in an eclipse filter for my longest telephoto lens. I decided on a  hotel that is several hours away from the path of totality,  but I wanted to visit and photograph other locations in that general area. I chose a hotel in  Kings Mountain, North Carolina,  west of Charlotte that would allow me to go into Charlotte for a photo shoot downtown, on Sunday.  I always try to go to bigger cities’ downtown on Sundays for the easier driving and parking.  I planned to drive over to South Carolina in the area north of Greenville, where I felt that the higher altitudes of the foothills and mountains would be cooler and less overcast.

Several days before the 21st, I made a trip to that area to scout out locations to be ready for the day of the eclipse.  I visited several state parks including Caesars Head and Table Rock that were at higher altitudes. However, everywhere I went, the park rangers and others were predicting huge crowds for eclipse day. I finally decided to just go to areas within the path of totality where I had planned to go anyway and ended up in Belton, South Carolina, on the day of the eclipse.

I love photographing early twentieth century railroad depots because they represent so much of the history of an area. Here is one of my shots of the Belton Depot from the day of the eclipse.

For many more railroad related photographs, please take a look at my Trains gallery at allenforrest.com.

The Belton Standpipe is a historic and interesting structure nearby.

After shooting photos of the railroad depot and standpipe, I setup my eclipse-shooting gear in front of the depot, and got the following shots (from beginning to end) of of the eclipse. I was a little disappointed in my photographs, but this was my first attempt at shooting eclipse photos.

For more  of my eclipse photos as well as some of my sunrise and moon pictures, please take a look at my new “Solar System and Beyond” gallery on my photo website.

Many thanks for taking a look!