Features

PetaPixel's Features are in-depth, heavily researched stories designed to answer the most important questions on a topic. Where we flex our journalistic muscle, expect to find the best storytelling and original reporting the photo industry offers.
A split image showing a solar eclipse. on the left, a silhouette of a bird flying in front of the eclipsed sun with a bright corona; on the right, multiple birds flying around the darkened sun with a glowing halo.

How a Photographer Captured His Spectacular Dream Eclipse Photo

Canadian nature photographer Liron Gertsman captured one of the best total solar eclipse photos PetaPixel has ever seen. Gertsman's remarkable wildlife photo, The Frigatebird and the Diamond Ring, was years in the making and the culmination of research, hard work, practice, scouting, and a pinch of luck. After all, while you can control a lot, you can't control the weather.

Jeremy Gray -- April 8, 2024 -- Total solar eclipse, Patten, Maine

My Solar Eclipse Experience Gave Me So Much More Than Photos

It's the morning of April 8, 2024. My camera equipment is packed in their bags, and vital Sun rotation information and eclipse timing information are scratched in a notepad. Somehow, despite years of notice about this historic total solar eclipse, the first to hit my home state of Maine since 1963 and the last until 2079, I'm committing the cardinal sin of photography: I'm trying to photograph a once-in-a-lifetime event with nebulous plans and no scouting.

Godox V1 Pro Showcase -- featured image

The Godox V1 Pro Flash Offers Double the Light in Half the Space

The recently released $329 Godox V1 Pro is a round-head design speedlight that brings some subtle, and not-so-subtle updates to the already popular V1 system. The new flash adds features like an improved battery and charging system, the ability to take up to 100 continuous shots at full power, and it also has a detachable sub-flash for fill light use that effectively makes the system two lights in one.