Achi news desk-
It was a big moment for Montreal urban astrophotographer AJ Korkidakis: a solar eclipse right in the middle of his hometown.
In addition to his unique lens on city life, the 35-year-old has been photographing the sun, moon and stars for years.
“The likelihood that there will be a total solar eclipse anywhere in your lifetime is not very high,” Korkidakis admits. “The fact that I had the opportunity to photograph a total solar eclipse from the heart in the center of the city [of Montreal], it was crazy. It seems like such a gift and so unlikely.”
According to him, the astronomical event, which will be held in the Montreal area until 2106, is an extraordinary “pinnacle” of his astrophotography career.
“[It’s] Really a major achievement for what I’ve been able to achieve so far because it’s just such a rare shot,” he tells CTV News. “It’s something I’ve been planning for years, obviously, scanning locations, trying to figure out the right spot, thinking about how I can shoot it.”
A glimpse of the total eclipse captured by Montreal urban astrophotographer AJ Korkidakis in Montreal on April 8, 2024. (AJ Korkidakis)
Monday’s eclipse was far from his first behind the camera — nor was it his first total eclipse.
He traveled to Oregon, USA, in 2017 to witness the celestial event in the desert.
“It’s always an amazing thing, but to stand in downtown Montreal and make it happen was a whole other level of surreal,” Korkidakis said. “How the lights of the building came on when it was dark and cold and stormy, and everyone was standing around. It was so cinematic and crazy.”
The photographer says he deliberately chose a very Montreal location to view the eclipse: Rene-Levesque Boulevard, right in the heart of downtown.
“A lot of people, I think, who were in their office jobs only had 20 minutes to come down and see everything go down,” he recalled. “After these people came down very quickly and they all experience this thing together and then a few minutes later, they all went back to their work. It was like a weird flash mob almost.”
Korkidakis, who sells prints of his photographs with all profits going to the Animal Rescue Network, says he plans to keep chasing the skies as long as he can.
Check out AJ’s eclipse photos here:
