Excitement Rising

People across Spain and Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca - must feel the tension in the air lingering. That excitement of what is about to happen tonight, before sunset... That once-in-a-lifetime event of a total solar eclipse.

Just wow...

Because it is WOW. All the hours,minutes and seconds BEFORE are the best. And of course the peak of excitement, during the total eclipse, showing a dark sky, planets and a couple of the brightest stars - together with the intriguing, awe-inspiring, calm, cold-bluish white corona just standing there, not very high above the horizon...

The image above, from the Antalya Eclipse of the sun, just 3 seconds before totality took place (with the corona then showing). The light level at this stage, while things still looked almost normal - but the light levels were sickly dull. I had placed glowing sticks in the sand, as a (light level) reference during exposures. They already are shown very visible - indicative of how dark it was (without being dark like during totality).

Well, and the exposure of 1/2 seconds, also tells the story of how low the light level had already sunken. (At totality seconds later - the exposure it went down to 1 second, with all the same settings fixed, such as ISO and aperture).

Glitter in the waves gone; 5-6 seconds before totality

One aspects is already different in the photo: the glitter reflections of the sun in the waves, already had disappeared 3 seconds before totality. The disappearance happened 5-6 seconds before totality.

39 seconds before totality

The visual look to the bare eyes at the beach of Lara, Antalya - was exactly like normal. But your sense picket up a strange conflict... Normally you get blinded by the brightness of a light colored beach. However, 39 seconds before totality, you are absolutely not blinded. Instead there is this weird sense of "gray light". As if the colors start to loose their shine.

The "Ash-gray Light"

at 39 seconds before totality, you still see the strong glitter of the sun in the waves. But things are not truly all normal - as the senses struggle with something odd. I mean, if you are in awareness. There is something what feels in a subtle way like "There is something wrong with your eye sight". As if you look through a haze. Not like a fog or hsze in a traditional meaning - but more like an invisible filter which takes away that strong light and the brilliant colors your normally see.

But the beach still looks like normal to the naked eye. So, does the glitter on the waves.

The "Ash-gray" light minutes before Totality, are one of THE strangest sensations / phenomenas parallell to a Solar Eclipse. It isn't something that is totally obvious. But once you do get aware - it becomes extremely weird to your inner senses in comparison what the eyes still see as "everything is normal" (Remember; your eyes also compensate for the lower light levels making things look normal or "the same").

But they are not... the same.

Additionally; the light at the horizon 39 seconds before totality isn't warm yellow-orange yet. That warm light (marking the transition area of the shadow of totality moving across earth) starts to kick in at around 25 seconds before totality.