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You can catch up on the AMA here:

Awesome shots! Welcome to the forum, I look forward to seeing more of your work here in the future!

Thanks so much for being here today and asking Autumn and Nate such awesome questions!

Thanks for joining!

Question from socials: How do you balance experiencing a place firsthand with capturing it through your lens?

Thanks so much for being here!

Question from socials: How do you pack and fly with gear?

Question from socials: What's your go-to camera for shooting eclipses?

Another question from socials: How do you deal with clouds on special eclipse events?

Let's start off with a question from socials: Where are you planning to be for the eclipse this year?

We’re excited to have Autumn and Nate in the community for this live AMA today. This is a great time to learn and connect with Autumn and Nate on their work, ask questions about how they got to the level they are at today and any tips or tricks you’d like to know about travel, landscape, conservation, eclipse and astrophotography. Please be patient as Autumn and Nate will be typing out responses as questions come in.

Autumn Schrock and Nate Luebbe are photographers who love nature, traveling, the outdoors, conservation photography, capturing epic landscapes, moonscapes, eclipse and astrophotography. You can check out some of their work on their Instagram pages. In the lead up to the total Solar Eclipse on April 8th we wanted to hear from Autumn and Nate about how they approach capturing Eclipses. Autumn and Nate will be happy to answer any questions you have about nature, conservation, travel and astrophotography, lighting, gear and editing.

The Live AMA will be happening in this thread: https://community.alphauniverse.com/live/topic/12/

On Monday, April 8, 2024, the wildly anticipated total solar eclipse will be visible across the United States. Crowds will flock outdoors to witness it and Sony photographers will snap away to save the moment…but it’s not as simple as just going outside with your camera. There are a few things to do in preparation to ensure you get safe and successful shots. We caught up with Sony Brand Ambassadors Nate Luebbe (@NateintheWild) and Autumn Schrock (@autpops) to get some of their quick tips for preparing to photograph the total solar eclipse. Nate and Autumn are photographers who love nature, traveling, the outdoors, conservation photography, capturing epic landscapes, moonscapes, eclipse and astrophotography. Read their five tips below and ask them your questions during a LIVE AMA on the Alpha Universe Community Forums on March 28 from 3-5pm MT. 1. Decide On The Right Location For Eclipse Photography If you want to get a good shot of the solar eclipse, you obviously have to think about where you’re going to photograph it from. Nate and Autumn have a resource recommendation for choosing the best location. “We love using PhotoPills for lining up where the sun will be,” says Nate. “This one might be tough since it’s happening more or less directly overhead, so getting a foreground element is a little more complicated. But PhotoPills is what we use to decide on the right location.” Autumn adds, "It allows you to see exactly where the sun will rise and set, where the Milky Way will be in the sky at any given place and time, and even where the eclipse will happen. I highly recommend it for all of your planning needs." 2. Plan Out Your Shot List Throughout the course of the eclipse, there are many different phases and compositions you can capture and create. The entire event happens very quickly, so trying to decide what you want to shoot in the moment is not going to set you up for success. Nate and Autumn note that you should plan out which shots you want to capture in advance so you’re ready to go when the time comes. Autumn says, “I ask myself, ‘How can I create something and use my skills and my art to show something that will make people who can't see it from where they are in other parts of the world?’ So for me, I'm definitely thinking about capturing the diamond ring effect. I’m also really excited about all of those nuances of the eclipse and capturing all of the cool intricacies of the corona like solar prominences and Baily's beads. She continues, "Solar prominences are large gas components that extend outward from the Sun's surface. During an eclipse like this, you can see these red masses protruding out from behind the moon. Unlike solar prominences, Baily's beads only occur during a total or annular solar eclipse. When the moon and sun line up, bits of light shine through the moon's features to create a beaded effect. The diamond ring effect, when only one bead is left, is most commonly sought after for the dramatic natural flares it inevitably provides while photographing it." 3. Pack The Right Lenses With your shot list ready, you want to make sure you have the proper lenses to be able to create your planned compositions. It’s a good idea to bring a telephoto lens to capture the phases of the eclipse, and a wide lens to capture the landscape if it’s possible. For this eclipse, Nate and Autumn plan on packing the Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master, Sony 400mm f/2.8 G Master and the Sony 600mm f/4 G Master. Previously Autumn says she’s used lenses like the Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master and Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master. 4. Get A Good Solar Filter Looking directly at the sun is dangerous for both your eyes and your camera. Nate and Autumn both talk about the importance of having a special solar filter to protect your Sony Alpha, as well as a pair of eclipse glasses to protect your eyes when you aren’t looking through the camera. “With a DSLR, you could literally blind yourself pointing and shooting at the sun just because the lens magnifies it. It was like looking at the sun through a telescope,” Nate explains. “Thankfully, with the mirrorless camera, you don't have to worry about it blinding you, but it could still definitely fry the camera. At totality there's no need for it, but prior to totality you will still need a good solar filter, even with a mirrorless camera.” “And don’t forget to put that solar filter on the front of your lens,” adds Autumn. “I’ve heard before of people putting it in the rear drop-in filter, and the sun can literally melt your lens if you put it there. So definitely make sure you put it at the front of your lens.” 5. Don’t Forget To Enjoy It (& Be Flexible)! Just like in life, in eclipse photography, sometimes not everything goes exactly according to plan. That's where Nate and Autumn say to make sure you also take the time to enjoy the event and to be flexible. You can't control the weather and the cloud cover, and you don't know exactly what is going to happen at that moment. All you can do is prepare the best you can, shoot what you can, observe what you can, and hope you're able to get some good results. If nothing else, at least a good memory! “Just being able to get up close and really see exactly what is going on is really exciting for me,” says Schrock. See more of Nate & Autumn’s work on Instagram (@nateinthewild) and (@autpops). Learn more tips and tricks from them in their AMA here.

We had a great AMA with Caroline Jensen recently and so we wanted to focus our next photo challenge on flower photography! We'd love for you to share some of your floral photos and tell us a bit about how you captured them and what, if any challenges you might have encountered while shooting. Each contributor will earn points towards our community ranks!

Autumn Schrock @autpops and Nate Luebbe @NateintheWild are photographers who love nature, traveling, the outdoors, conservation photography, capturing epic landscapes, moonscapes, eclipse and astrophotography. With the total Solar Eclipse happening on April 8th, what better time to have an AMA with Autumn and Nate to learn their approach to capturing it! So please join us on March 28th from 3 to 5pm MST and Autumn and Nate will be participating in a text based AMA here on the forums. If you’d like to ask questions ahead of the event, post in this thread and our forum moderators will make sure that they’re posted for Autumn and Nate to answer during the event. Take this opportunity to also ask questions about gear, travel preparation, moonscapes, and so much more. If you can’t make it to the live AMA, never fear! The event will become a forum topic once it is finished, so you’ll be able to read all the questions and answers afterwards. We hope to see you there!

We've had some great AMA's here on the forums! Below you'll find all of the past AMA's in one place so you can learn from our wonderful guests! @Matt Hernandez's AMA: @Ryan Ditch Photo's AMA: @Suzi Pratt's AMA: @niahrosephoto's AMA: @Drew_Geraci's AMA: @Kesha's AMA: @Hannah's AMA: @CarolineJensen's AMA: @autpops and @NateintheWild's AMA: @Cristina Mittermeier's AMA: @Katie Steckly's AMA: @Hannahshoneycomb's AMA: And make sure you stay tuned for news of our next AMA!