Years of planning led him to finally fusing his interests in photography, astronomy, and flight in order to capture the complete eclipse in an original manner.
“I pondered whether I could genuinely see the moon’s shadow sweep across the Earth’s surface at 2,000 mph if I climbed high enough. Carmichael tells My Modern Met, “That’s what I really wanted to see. “And as a photographer, I pondered whether I could really capture this lovely passing time in our nation from a different angle. As a professional photographer, that’s a lot of pressure because this was the most photographed moment in history.
The photographer carefully examined the eclipse’s course and discovered that Southwest Airlines has a route that would put him in the ideal viewing location from Portland to St. Louis.
Carmichael gambled once in a lifetime and bought a ticket in the hopes of getting a window seat. Southwest doesn’t have assigned seats, so he had even planned to offer someone money if they would give up their window seat.
Luckily, it didn’t come to that. When he explained his mission to the Southwest flight crew, not only did they ensure he’d get a great seat, but the captain actually went outside the plane to clean the window for a crystal clear shot. During the flight itself, the pilots circled a few times to provide all passengers with a spectacular view.
When it came time for the moment of totality, Carmichael was ready. He shot over 1,200 photos in two minutes and managed to perfectly capture the total eclipse over Snake River. It’s an image that Inc. calls “history’s most amazing photo.” A 10-foot laser-crystal c-print of 108 now hangs in Twitter’s New York offices.
So how did it feel to take the photo of his dreams? “In photography, it’s very rare for something you envision to manifest itself, let alone to turn out even better than you had hoped. I had visualized this moment for years, risked a lot flying across the country on the off-chance this could work out, and hadn’t slept in days leading up to this moment. So after I looked through all the photographs, I put my camera away, took a deep breath, and celebrated by ordering a drink and had a giant smile for the rest of the flight. I had never felt more relieved, grateful, and excited in my life. Against all odds, it came together. It felt meant to be—and literally changed my life.”
