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The magic of forced perspective photography can make even the most impossible feats seem real. Photographer Albert Dros demonstrated this with an amazing image of a recent total solar eclipse in Chile. He captured his model, Bart Lablans, “holding” the eclipse once it had reached its totality.
If the picture of Lablans reminds you of the of travelers who seemingly push, lean on, or hug the Leaning Tower of Pisa, it’s supposed to. “This image was inspired by all of the ‘cheesy’ photos tourists normally make with landmarks,” Dros tells My Modern Met. “I figured it would be funny to do something like that with the eclipse. Also, this image makes me think of the so-called ‘Spirit Bomb' in the anime series Dragonball Z!”
The fleeting celestial sight required that Dros and Lablans act fast. “We only did this pose just quickly during the solar eclipse, that’s why it's not 100% perfect,” Dros recalls. “I initially just wanted a model next to the setting eclipse on a hill. We planned this on the location only a few hours before.” When it came time to shoot, he used gear capable of capturing great astrophotography. “I used my Sony A7RIII [camera] with 100-400GM lens and 1.4tc,” Dros explains, “making it an effective focal length of 560mm.” Afterward, he cropped the shot in post-production.
No matter how spectacular an image might be, Dros says that nothing beats witnessing the sight in person. “The solar eclipse event, in general, was simply amazing. Seeing totality, experiencing it, is simply unreal. Not any photo (including mine) does justice to the real thing.”
Photographer Albert Dros captured an amazing shot of a model “holding” a solar eclipse in its totality—in addition to other awe-inspiring images from the night.
