Most Americans stopped for a few minutes to look up last summer, for the rare chance to see the sun eclipsed by the moon. Woodbury resident Jonathan Hunt and his family were no different. Woodbury Eclipse Party 2017, the photo Hunt took of his family watching the skies, was completely spontaneous and took third place in the Events category of Woodbury Magazine’s annual Focus on Woodbury photo contest.
“I wanted to take the opportunity to capture the excitement of my family enjoying this significant event,” Hunt says. “The picture was taken with my phone, not the most advanced camera. We had a moment where we were all looking at the eclipse and the photo opportunity just presented itself.”
Hunt saw from an early age the important role that photography can play in a family’s life. “My parents were quite involved in taking photos and then transferring them to slides that really captured their travels and experiences. It was fun to review the pictures and hear the accompanying story,” Hunt says.
Although his winning photo perfectly captures what Hunt loves about photography, he says that isn’t always the case with his photos. “I really enjoy taking pictures to document the energy and emotion of the moment,” Hunt says. He adds with a laugh, “With that said, I infrequently take pictures that I would say entirely capture those criteria.”
For eclipse day, “the lead-up to the event was exciting,” says Hunt. “From purchasing the special glasses to creating a pinhole viewing box, we had weeks of fun preparing for the eclipse.” The excitement is evident on the faces of Hunt’s wife, Marcy, and three children, Megan, Hannah and Erin.
