© Joshua CrippsNikon Z 7 in DX crop mode, with the AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens attached using the Mount Adapter FTZ. Focal length at 500mm Photo by: 750mm equivalent in DX mode We spoke with Joshua Cripps about an image he created during an annular solar eclipse in the Dubai desert. He was already going to be in the Middle East in mid-December 2019 and when he found out there would be an annular solar eclipse and he decided to extend his trip to photograph it. Joshua says he spent a “crazy amount of planning” the shoot. He used the PhotoPills app to plan the location aspects of the shot including the shooting position he would be in as well as the position of the man and camel. He says, “Ultimately [what] made my decision was the sun’s height at totality. From the UAE, the sun would only be about 6° above the horizon during totality. This meant it would be far easier to get a subject into the shot with the eclipse.” Once he knew where he wanted to be for the eclipse, Joshua says, “The next step was determining what that subject should be. Since the path of totality swept right through the Empty Quarter, an endless expanse of sand dunes, I wanted something representative of that region and landscape. I came up with a list of possible subjects, including Arabian horses, camels, falcons, and Arabian oryxes.” He eventually settled on a camel—being a domesticated animal—as it allowed him more control along with the farmer. Joshua says that finding a suitable spot for the camel and farmer to stand was tedious. “That process was painstaking because I had a very specific vision for how I wanted the shot to turn out: I wanted the camel and the man standing on a sand dune encircled by the eclipse. He planned everything down to the specific GPS coordinates for where he would be standing to shoot and the spot for the subjects. The location where the image was created was about seven kilometers from Tal Moreeb, near the Liwa Oasis in the Empty Quarter desert. Tal Moreeb is one of the highest sand dunes in the world and is found in the United Arab Emirates. “In order to have this specific proportion between the size of the camel and the size of the sun we h