How we captured the eclipse and eclipse watchers — and created a memorable Page 1

The Sun-Times’ Ashlee Rezin, photo editor, and Brian Ernst, director of digital operations, planned the paper’s coverage of the solar eclipse in April. Here’s how they did it.

Preparing for an otherworldly event

For weeks, our small but mighty Photo Desk at the Sun-Times had been planning for the April 8 solar eclipse. It was a rare event. We won’t see another one from the United States until 2044.

Do all of the photographers have safety glasses? Does everyone have filters to protect their cameras? Where will each of us be going so that various parts of the city are represented?

And — I was knocking on wood daily — what if there is cloud cover over Chicago, like there was in 2017? At one point, I even considered driving to Strickler Planetarium in Bourbonnais, near Kankakee, because meteorologists were predicting clearer weather there.

All that planning can take the fun out of the job. I was acutely aware that we’d only have one opportunity to get it right.

“Let’s just get this over with. I can’t wait until it’s over!”

Luckily, we all stayed in Chicago, where the sun shined brightly.

While colleagues were in the Loop, at Adler Planetarium and spread across the city, I went to Marquette Elementary School on the Southwest Side, where Chicago Public Schools invited the media to an eclipse viewing party with students and staff.

The moment I saw the glee and wonder on the kids’ faces, all my nerves evaporated.

Some were screaming with delight. Some sprawled out on their backs on the sidewalk and didn’t look away. One boy was wearing a jacket with the NASA logo. Most kids chattered with their friends and pointed at the sky.

Their smiles were infectious.

Even now, I laugh when I remember being startled by a teacher’s booming voice over my shoulder to a less-than-responsible student: “Why would you take off your glasses?!?”

That was the first and only time I knew of a student taking that risk.

It was a privilege to witness that rare event with those children. And being able to share their joy — and mine — with Sun-Times readers was truly an honor.

Ashlee Rezin

Shooting a monumental, four-hour event — one second at a time

At its peak, the sun was 94% covered from where I stood on the balcony of Chicago Public Media’s offices at Navy Pier.

The typically loud birds landed and fell silent as the sky took on an eerie shade. The usually vibrant view was muted and gray. The small sliver of sunlight that remained through my solar glasses reminded me: I’m supposed to be recording this.

As the director of digital operations for the Sun-Times, I have the privilege of overseeing most of the photos and videos you see.

When unique events such as solar eclipses come across the assignment desk, several departments come together to tell Chicago’s point of view. These events showcase what the Sun-Times is all about.

To have the option for both video and photo, I shot one frame per second over four hours, constantly fighting the rotation of the Earth to keep the sun and moon in frame. I learned my lesson that motorized astrophotography equipment has its advantages over my manual tripod, but I stand by the shaky charm of my painstakingly edited time-lapse.

Minutes after the 2:07 p.m. Chicago peak for eclipse viewing, I was able to hand off video to our audience team, while photos rolled in from the folks we had stationed around the city. The planning had paid off, but the utter surprise came when our Front Page Editor Bryan Barker got a hold of my images and cleverly put together the cover for the next day’s paper. Moonstruck, indeed.

Brian Ernst