With less than a month to go before the 2024 total solar eclipse, astrophotographers Andrew McCarthy and Dan Stein have released a gigapixel image of last year’s annular solar eclipse.

The stunning image was a collaboration between the two talented lensmen. The picture was taken in Utah and is a whopping 1.69 gigapixel image which can viewed in its zoomable entirety here.

“What’s unique about it is it was captured using a combination of white unfiltered light and a hydrogen-alpha telescope,” McCarthy tells PetaPixel.

“So it’s detailed enough to actually see atmospheric details on the Sun. You can see prominences and spicula in the solar chromosphere when you zoom in.”

The picture, entitled Ring of the Gods, required extensive planning, precise positioning to be centered in the path of the eclipse, and exact coordination between McCarthy and Stein.

“Once it was captured, the most challenging part was the massive file size. At 1.69 gigapixels my computer was at its breaking point, and crashed constantly during editing,” McCarthy explains.

“The photo itself is fairly simple outside of that, using a very straightforward HDR blend with some masking to combine the various filtered shots with the unfiltered landscape mosaic.”

The photo duo used “a lot” of cameras while in the Utah desert and ended up with thousands of photos to create the panorama.

According to Stein’s Instagram page, McCarthy “crafted the insanely high-resolution image of the Sun using his h-alpha solar telescopes.” Meanwhile, Stein captured a mosaic of the landscape in the foreground and the pair processed the image together.

“Dan’s incredible landscape photography expertise next to my experience photographing the Sun in h-alpha gave us the skill set needed to make something unique, unlike any landscape photo I’ve ever seen,” McCarthy says.

McCarthy reveals that it was quite easy to composite the two shots together since Stein’s photos contained the white light of the Sun for reference. But it still took five months from capturing the image to completion.

“Combining the light from multiple telescopes using multiple filtration methods can create some wonky results, and we wanted the final image to be flawless, and so detailed it could print up to the size of a building and still look great,” adds McCarthy. “I think we reached that goal.”

To buy a copy of the print, head to McCarthy’s website.

More of the photographers’ work can be found on Stein’s Instagram and McCarthy’s Instagram.

Image credits: Andrew McCarthy and Daniel Stein.

The Photography & Video Show 2024 is just around the corner at the NEC in Birmingham, U.K., where the biggest photo and video brands will be showing off their latest and greatest products.

From Saturday 16 March to Tuesday 19 March, attendees can expect to get hands-on with gear from the major camera manufacturers including Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Lumix and OM-System. Some of the U.K.’s biggest photo retailers will also be present, including Wex Photo Video, CameraWorld and London Camera Exchange, offering discounts and trade-ins.

In addition, the event will host more than 350 live talks and demos from brands, professionals and content creators across the four days.

Standard entry tickets cost from £14.95 and can be purchased from The Photography and Video Show website.

The Photography & Video Show 2024: What’s on?

The Photography and Video Show 2024 will be hosting more than 250 brands, allowing visitors to see and even try out the latest photography, filmmaking and production tech (and even some as-yet unreleased gear!).

Manufacturers in attendance include:

• Canon
• Sony
• Nikon
• Fujifilm
• Lumix
• OM System
• Blackmagic Design
• Insta360

You can also expect stands from lens and equipment manufacturers, as well as software providers and major retailers. A full list can be found on The Photography and Video Show 2024 Exhibitors list, but a few of the big names include:

• Adobe
• Capture One
• Sigma
• Laowa
• Tamron
• Neewer
• Godox
• Benro
• Manfrotto
• Vanguard
• Ilford
• Wex Photo Video
• CameraWorld
• London Camera Exchange
• Analogue Wonderland

The Photography & Video Show 2024: Who’s on?

There will also be more than 350 live talks and product demonstrations taking place, from some of the biggest names in the industry. Talks will cover tips and techniques for shooting and post production, as well as touching on major topics influencing the industry going forward, such as AI. Head to the website for the full speaker list.

Some of the key speakers will include:

• Maternity and newborn photographers, Kelly Brown and Donatella Nicolini 
• Wildlife photographer, Matthias Klum
• Landscape legend, Joe Cornish 
• Getty Royal photographer, Chris Jackson
• Adobe masters, Scott Kelby and Julieanne Kost
• Music photographer, Scarlet Page

More from Tom’s Guide

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This is an interesting video from landscape photographer Mark Denney. It’s a discussion on “great” photographers – specifically, great landscape photography. And why many of us will never become one. The thing is, though, that’s ok.

He also talks about the traits of the greats. Things we can apply to our photography, our approach and our mindset. Ways we can constantly push ourselves to improve and become greater, even if we may never achieve greatness.

What makes a great photographer?

Well, it’s difficult to quantify, but one thing is clear. It’s not just about the quality of their work. Of course, it needs to meet a certain standard on some level or another. But there are countless thousands of other photographers out there making work that’s just as good from a technical standpoint.

That is just one trait. Another aspect, as Mark points out, is their dedication. The relentless pursuit of improvement in one’s craft and abilities. The best photographers are constantly pushing themselves to get better.

You’re not great, but it doesn’t matter

You’re not a great photographer. If you were, you probably wouldn’t be reading articles and watching videos like these. But it’s ok that you’re not a great photographer. I’m not a great photographer, either. We don’t all need to be up there with Ansel Adams.

But that doesn’t mean we should slack, either. The pursuit of that greatness, whether we attain it or not, is what drives us as photographers. It’s what keeps us creating. It keeps us improving.

Mark offers several tips and things to ask yourself in his video. Things that can help us adopt the habits of some of the great photographers. Things that will help us on our journey.

Experimentation without the fear of failure

What makes your heart sing? Most people don’t know what truly drives their passion when it comes to photography. You have to experiment. Perhaps a specific genre isn’t your passion because you’re not very good at it yet. Afraid to push your limits?

You need to lose that fear. You don’t have to show everything you create to the world. Have the freedom to experiment and try new things without the fear of failure. Don’t feel disappointed when something doesn’t work out. Use that failure to learn and get clues to improve for the future.

Unrelenting focus on post-processing

This is going to be a contentious one. I’m not the biggest fan of post-processing. I have nothing against it and others are happy to do as they wish. I’d just prefer to do as little of it as possible myself. At least digitally.

When it comes to film, I love spending time in the darkroom. When you have your own darkroom, you kind of shoot with a final result in mind. You know that you can mess with it in the darkroom to get it where you need it.

We have that with digital, too, of course, using apps like Lightroom, Capture One and Photoshop. But the process, for me, is so much more enjoyable with film.

But whether you use a lot of post-production as a general rule or not, you need to understand it. You need to constantly be learning new techniques to provide you with more options when it comes to digital post-production. Some day, an image might rely on that technique you never use.

Become a student of composition

Composition is a wonderful thing. And like post-processing, the “rules” of composition are something you should know and understand, whether you choose to follow them or not. While called the “rules”, they’re guidelines.

Things like the rule of thirds, the golden ratio, etc. A photograph doesn’t have to conform to one of these. But the reason they’re so popular is because photographs that do conform to one of the “rules” often tend to work.

Composition is as much of an art as photography itself. You don’t have to follow the rules. However, understanding them and why they work is vital to understanding how to break them. At least, it is if you want to do it effectively.

Share what you’ve learned

This is another one that’s going to be quite contentious. Some people (still) believe that knowledge should be kept secret, worried that they’re “training up the competition”. Others, like Mark and myself, believe that knowledge should be freely shared.

I never understood the mindset of keeping principles and techniques secret. Most photography setups are easy enough to recreate from the reflections and shadows in the photographs themselves. Fully recreating a photograph becomes something of a technicality when you become proficient.

And even if you’re not, hitting up social media and the few photography forums that are still around will yield lots of educated guesses from other photographers on how it might have been lit. Basically, if they want to figure it out, they will. Nobody’s work is anything special in that regard.

But teaching the principles. The understanding, the reason why certain techniques work, that actually educates people. That helps them to become better versions of themselves. Not copies of you. Teaching somebody else will help you understand it better, too.

Why do you own a camera?

Ultimately, really improving your photography and standing out boils down to a simple question. What kind of camera owner are you?

Do you just want to be able to grab good-looking memories with an expensive camera? To produce images that inspire feelings and emotions in you and your family as they remind you of that time? There’s nothing wrong with that.

Or do you want to push yourself to bring the visions you see in your head to life? Do you want to see a scene in your mind and then be able to set that up in front of you, knowing you can create anything you want to? And evoke any emotion you desire from random viewers?

The latter is a lifelong pursuit. It’s impossible for one person to learn, do, and try everything in photography. The more we do it, the more we want to experiment, learn and pursue the ever-elusive greatness.

There was shock last night when major picture agencies started recalling a Mother’s Day photograph issued by Kensington Palace amidst claims it was manipulated. And this morning, things took another turn when the Palace tweeted a personal apology from Kate Middleton for the confusion.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day,” the message read. It was signed “C” for Catherine to show that it was a personal message from the Princess.

A royal source added that the image was an amateur, family photograph, that the family wanted to offer an informal picture for Mother’s Day, and that the Princess made minor adjustments. The source added that the Wales family spent Mother’s Day together and had a wonderful day.

Kensington Palace has not shared the original image.

The picture was released at 9 a.m. on Sunday, which was Mother’s Day in the UK. But throughout the day, questions were raised on social media and on the internet over whether aspects of the image had been edited.

By the evening, major picture agencies including Reuters, Associated Press, and Getty had made the picture unavailable and issued kill notifications. The agencies cited an “editorial issue” and “post-publication review” amongst the reasons. Agency Associated Press issued the most detailed description, saying that “at closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image. No replacement will be sent.”

The picture of Kate in Windsor was taken by Prince William and it is the first time that Kate has been seen officially since undergoing abdominal surgery on January 16. Last week, a paparazzi picture showed her in a car alongside her mother Carole. She is not expected to resume public duties until after Easter.

Town & Country Contributing Editor Victoria Murphy has reported on the British Royal Family since 2010. She has interviewed Prince Harry and has travelled the world covering several royal tours. She is a frequent contributor to Good Morning America. Victoria authored Town & Country book The Queen: A Life in Pictures, released in 2021.