Eclipse Day

Reflections & Ramblings: Volume Forty

I. 

Last night before bed I took the time to apply for a workshop at the home of Alec Soth that is happening in July. Alec Soth is one of my favorite photographers. He is a Magnum photographer who has influenced my understanding of both the art and craft of photography, and also how I approach my own photography. He gave me a confidence a while back to simply shoot the sorts of photos that I enjoy taking and looking at because he helped me understand what makes a good photograph perhaps more than anyone else. 

He has mentioned the incredible amount of applications he has received from people all around the world. But I thought I’d throw my hat in the ring myself. I am certainly not the sort of person they are looking for at a workshop like this, but I had to try. Even if it was to simply have him or his team of interns or assistants look at any one of my photos. 

I do like to imagine that in some timeline of my life I do get accepted into this workshop, and I do go to his house for a few days to discuss photography and art and life, to pet his dog, and play ping pong with other photographers and artists. And that is a nice thought for me. 

II. 

The 2024 eclipse was today. The last time we had an eclipse here in Nebraska was in 2017. Sarah and I were in our first year at Boys Town, everything still felt pretty fresh and new. I still had my old Pentax K-5 and a 55-300mm lens. I literally taped some of the cardboard glasses to the front of the lens with some Scotch tape. I barely had any idea what I was doing, but I still snapped a few photos that I thought were neat. It documented the fact that I saw it, at the very least. 

Fast forward almost seven years and you’d think I’d be more prepared for today. In some ways I am. I know my camera like the back of my hand, and I know which lens and which settings to use and all that. The problem is that once again I did not have a solar filter so that I can safely take a photo of the sun without damaging the sensor inside my camera. 

So I made a plea last night on social media asking if anyone local had any glasses. As luck would have it, my cousin had a couple pairs of glasses left, along with a cover to go over a lens of a camera. It was a circle that said that it was for covering the cameras of a smartphone, but it happened to fit perfectly over the diameter of the lens of my camera. I didn’t even have to tape it this time. I just popped it onto the front of my lens. 

The photos I took turned out better than in 2007. You can definitely tell the photos were shot through a cheap piece of plastic, but they did the trick. I didn’t want to shell out money for a solar filter only to use it for one day. 

III. 

It was a good day for my son Ezra to start Spring Break. We started off the day by driving out to my cousin’s house to pick up the glasses and lens cover for the eclipse, then we popped over to my favorite coffee shop together. I purchased some beans and some lattes, one for me, one for Sarah, and even one for him. He got an iced caramel latte. I can’t tell if he says he likes it because he wants to please me, or if he actually likes it. He drank the whole thing right down, though. So maybe I should take him at his word. 

For lunch Sarah and I took Ezra to our favorite Thai restaurant in Omaha. We go there almost weekly (sometimes more than once a week), and so I figured this was a good opportunity to have Ezra try something he knows we love so much. And so he came along and tried a simple meal while Sarah and I had our typical curries we order each time we’re there. 

We zoomed out from lunch to go set up in the front yard and watch the eclipse. I loved Ezra’s excitement about the whole thing. I’m really glad he wasn’t in school because it was so neat to experience it with him. He kept asking, “How is it that not everyone outside and watching this right now?! This is amazing!” 

I love his sense of wonder and excitement about these sorts of things.

IV. 

After my last post my cousin wrote me and told me how some of the details I shared reminded him of some of the details in the new Apple TV documentary about Steve Martin. I do love Steve Martin and I have known about his career fairly well, despite not living in the era when he was still doing standup. I’ve seen many of his movies, and enjoyed each one of them. I love going back and listening to or watching old stand up routines of his. Mostly because so many of his bits I heard in bits and pieces from my dad as I grew up. My sense of humor was in part shaped by Steve Martin through my dad. 

I really did enjoy the documentary and I am glad I took the time to watch both halves in the same day. It’s a rare documentary with two separate parts. One is “Then” and the other is “Now.” The way I wrote my last post mimicked some of the ways they told Steve’s story in the documentary. There are a few parts I’m still thinking through that have kind of jostled my spirit a bit. I think I’ll need to come back to those things. Maybe I’ll elucidate about them here later. 

V. 

Ezra and I ended the evening by watching the new Godzilla x Kong movie. It was pretty much what I was expecting it to be. But Ezra really enjoyed it and it was fun to have such a fun-filled day with him yesterday. I’m trying to soak up these moments with him. It’s a good think my heart is so spongey these days.