Photographers team up with acrobatic pilots for these epic solar eclipse photos

I feel like the recent total solar eclipse was the most photographed ever. As the photos keep coming in, some of them truly stand out from the crowd. Today, we bring you some of them.

Kevin Coleman and Pete McLeod, two skilled Red Bull aerobatic pilots, teamed up with photographers Dustin Snipes and Mason Mashon. Their collaboration resulted in a series of breathtaking images showing the totality and airplanes in the same frame.

The team met at Sulphur Springs, Texas, where the eclipse cast its shadow around 1:40 pm. It lasted for only four minutes, so meticulous planning and flawless execution were crucial. There was no time to waste!

The planning

Dustin and Mason dedicated months of preparation to this project, conducting several rehearsals, capturing multiple flyovers, testing various illumination solutions, and developing a capture plan. All of this led up to the day of the eclipse, where they made precise calculations to determine the perfect angle for positioning the pilots.

Dustin commented:

“I loved being able to solve these ‘impossible shots’ with our team and create something that no one has seen before. To get the planes, the sun, the moon, and the lights all within one exposure was an extreme challenge, one I haven’t faced yet.”

The shoot

To make the planes visible during the eclipse and counteract the darkness, the team installed a reflective wrap on the wings to help illuminate the aircraft. The pilots flew in a tight formation, maintaining an elevation of 1500 feet and a distance of only four feet apart from each other, to align the sun, the moon, and both planes in a single frame. Luke Aikins, a member of the Red Bull Air Force team on the ground, received instructions from the photographers. he then directly conveyed them to the pilots to create a series of stunning images.

“Normally, this would be a manageable manoeuvre,” Kevin Coleman commented. “But when you have the darkness from the eclipse, a flight angle that needs to be perfectly lined up with the sun, and only four minutes to take the shot while moving at 180 mp/h, it makes it incredibly challenging.”

As I mentioned, the team had only four minutes to do the whole thing. The pilots did only three quick passes, and photographers had to act fast.

“This is one of the hardest photos that I’ve ever tried to capture,” Mason said after the shoot.

“There are known settings to capture an eclipse, but when you need to figure out the height of the planes above ground level to frame and scale them perfectly with the eclipse, during totality, it’s a totally different game.”

After the shot was done, Pete commented:

“Unlike the high adrenaline and aerobatics I’m used to, this project is all about exact precision and planning. It’s all about teamwork to make this happen so it’s been incredible to be a part of it.”

The photos

This project was as challenging for the photographers as it was for the pilots. But the breathtaking result shows just how important it is to have a clear vision, plan ahead, and to communicate and collaborate with the right people. Enjoy the photos below and make sure to follow Dustin’s and Mason’s work.

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