Pilots “dance” in the shadow of the largest solar eclipse ever

This eclipse is the largest and most visible solar eclipse (from the United States) in 100 years.

To celebrate the latest celestial event, Red Bull took photos that overshadowed all the others. These unique photos are required of pilots Kevin Coleman And Pete McLeod To fly in a parallel formation just one meter away, and at a height of 457 meters in the sky, while the famous photographers Maysoon Machon And Dustin Snipes They were photographing them from the ground.

“It's one of the most difficult photos I've ever tried to take.” – Mason Machon

There's nothing like it, to be able to prepare and practice. “Normally, this would be a controllable maneuver. But when you have to fly just a few meters from one wing to the other, navigate the darkness of a solar eclipse, and maintain a flight angle that has to be perfectly aligned with the sun, and you only have four minutes to take the shot.” “When you're moving at 290 kilometers per hour, it becomes very difficult,” Coleman said about this particular project. “Everything is one centimeter or two centimeters away and we lose the image.”

Photographing aircraft during a solar eclipse required months of preparation, sorting out the details of the aircraft’s locations, flight paths, distances, and lighting methods in almost complete darkness. In order to make the planes' outlines more clear (due to lighting conditions), the team covered the planes' wings with a special reflective coating.

“This is one of the hardest photos I've ever tried to take,” Machaon said. “There are familiar settings for photographing an eclipse, but when you have to calculate the height of the planes from the ground to perfectly frame the planes with the eclipse, during a total eclipse, it's a completely different story.”

For coordination, Red Bull Air Force Team member Luke Aikins was the intermediary on the ground, helping to communicate between the photographers and the pilots – taking instructions from the photographers and then giving them directly to the pilots.

In the last post on Instagram You can see more pictures.

Snipes added: “Communication was key throughout the shoot. We were constantly discussing what we wanted the final image to look like and what was the best way to position the planes in the ideal position to achieve that.”

Pilots and photographers had a unique opportunity to take advantage of a rare celestial phenomenon and participate in a unique challenge. “Unlike the high adrenaline and stunts you're used to, this project is about precision and planning,” McLeod said. “We did this because of the great teamwork we all did and I feel blessed to be part of this team.”