Photographer Noah Wetzel recently completed a high-stakes project in Spain, capturing a wingsuit pilot flying through a total solar eclipse. The production took nine months of planning, testing, and precise calculations. Working from over a mile away, Wetzel had only 84 seconds of totality to execute the shot.
The technical requirements pushed the limits of standard photography gear. Wetzel used a Canon EOS R5 II with a 600mm lens, relying on a series of wireless flashes hidden along the horizon to illuminate the athlete. Because the pilot traveled at roughly 150 miles per hour, the flash duration itself served as the mechanism to freeze the motion in near-total darkness.
Everything depended on timing. Wetzel had to account for the eclipse shifting across the sky while simultaneously tracking the athletes who were barely visible against the darkened backdrop. He had to reposition his gear between flights to keep the composition accurate, leaving no room for error.
The final image shows the athlete passing directly through the solar ring. It represents hundreds of hours of work, with the success of the shot relying on wireless triggers, flash sync settings, and manual focus adjustments made seconds before the event began. The project stands as a study in how to solve complex logistical problems in a remote environment.