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New Photograph of the Great American Eclipse Captured From Southwest Airlines Flight, Seat 1A

Never Before Seen Image from Photographer Jon Carmichael Unveiled At Twitter To Commemorate First Anniversary of Solar Eclipse

NEW YORK, Aug. 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- One year ago today millions of people watched in awe of the Great American Eclipse. For the first time in 99 years, the moon’s shadow raced across the U.S. becoming the most-observed and photographed moment in history. An estimated 215 million Americans tuned in for the event, breaking NASA’s online viewing records by 7 times. Today, photographer Jon Carmichael commemorates the first anniversary with the official unveiling of his never before seen image at Twitter’s New York office.

The Great American Eclipse Photographed from a Southwest Airlines Flight
On August 21, 2017, photographer Jon Carmichael flew Southwest Airlines to capture his iconic photo unveiled publicly for the first time today to commemorate the anniversary of the solar eclipse.


Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey said of the image:  “I was immediately struck by Jon’s photo. But, like most things, the story behind it was awe-inspiring. So excited for the world to hear it, and be reminded of that moment we were all looking at the sky together.”

“The last time we had a connection to the heavens like this was during man’s first flight to the moon, on Apollo 8 in 1968, said Mr Carmichael.  “The first, famous Earthrise photo came from that mission, and like the eclipse last year, showed us that we are all a part of something bigger. I wanted my photo to perfectly capture this moment.”

Carter Emmart, Director of Astrovisualization of the Rose Center for Earth and Space and the American Museum of Natural History notes:  “When I saw Jon’s amazing work, under the moon’s shadow, it is evident that you can see how thin our planet’s atmosphere really is, and how close we are to space. This is by far one of the best eclipse photos I have ever seen. In Jon’s photograph, one gets the linkage to space, with greater landscape detail than we get from Earth’s orbit. His image is a ladder to space.”

To capture this rare image, Mr Carmichael mapped out the commercial flight paths around the U.S. and compared them to the moon’s path of totality and determined that Southwest Airlines flight #1368, from Portland, OR to St. Louis, MO, would be his best chance.

He introduced himself to the Southwest flight crew, who gave him seat 1A and did whatever they could to assist, from the Captain personally cleaning his window, to performing a series of five 180-degree turns while under the moon’s shadow to get the shots he desired.

“I was terrified,” Mr Carmichael said. “I worried I would miss this once-in-a-lifetime moment.” Carmichael arrived at the gate armed with all his camera gear and $600 cash. “My biggest fear was not getting a window seat since Southwest doesn’t have assigned seating.”

“At Southwest, we aim to connect Customers to the moments that matter most in their lives.  As soon as our Flight Crew learned Jon’s story, they jumped into action to assist him in capturing the photo of a lifetime,” said Michelle Agnew, Southwest Spokesperson. “We’re proud of our Employees for going above and beyond in making this a moment to remember for our Customer.”  

Jon’s larger-than-life photograph (74” x 115”) will be unveiled today at Twitter’s New York office.  

ABOUT JON CARMICHAEL
New York based Jon Carmichael is a speaker, sport pilot, and photography artist whose career started at age 20. He quickly became one of the youngest high-profile photographers with photos of President Barack Obama, Lady Gaga, the Dalai Lama and others, and has worked with many leading brands including Twitter, Dell, and ESPN. Carmichael’s passion remains in Contemporary landscape and astrophotography. In 2015, well-known photography collector, Sir Elton John, discovered Carmichael’s first artist proofs and has since become Carmichael’s mentor and largest collector. 

Follow Jon Carmichael on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or online at www.joncarmichael.com

MEDIA CONTACT INFORMATION                                                                             
Gareth Edmondson-Jones
GEJ Ink
GEJink@gmail.com
917-399-9355

Tom Dietz
Publicist
tdietz1@gmail.com
303-506-2228

Southwest
Michelle Agnew, Manager, Brand Partnerships & Entertainment
Michelle.Agnew@wnco.com
214-792-4634

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6446e6c1-3420-4085-9946-6d4190b00d41

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