Totality

Totality was created from a photograph I took of totality during the 8 April 2024 solar eclipse viewed in Moose River/Jackman, ME using digital effects from Paint Shop Pro® and Smart Photo Editor®. The moon and the sun’s corona during totality are depicted in as close to their actual colors as possible. The black color of the moon represents awe and mystery since no words or images can fully describe the experience of totality; no matter how precise scientific explanations are, a sense of intrigue remains during totality. The white color of the corona represents peace and hope as the solar eclipse allowed everyone present to forget the divisiveness and violence that plague the world. The landscape is flooded in an abundance of red representing love and joy, both attributes that are badly needed today. At the same time, the sky is filled with an abundance of tan/gray to represent unity to commemorate the large number of people who came together for a common purpose, demonstrating there is still hope for healing in this torn world.

The scattered splotches of greens, blues and purples and bleaching of the trees were added to depict the Bailey’s Beads effect in which surreal shadows are cast as the moon makes its final move to eclipse the sun in totality in which the only sunlight reaching the area passes through the moon’s topographical features. The wavy section of reds in the upper right hand corner represent the very distant horizon to the north that had retained a dark orange-red color during totality because of the solar maximum during this eclipse. Last, the extruding blocks were added to represent the multi-dimensional sensory experience totality elicits when physically present.