Flying the eclipse: Horacio Llorens in Mallorca

Ten-time Acro World Cup champion Horacio Llorens nailed the shot when the eclipse passed over Spain in Mallorca, flying a paramotor through the Sóller valley as the Moon covered the Sun during the island’s total solar eclipse.

A five-person team spent more than a month preparing to capture the shot. With photographers positioned high on the Serra d’Alfàbia, Horacio flew between the ridge and the setting Sun as totality approached.

The result: the silhouette of a paraglider crossing the narrowing Sun, framed by the Serra de Tramuntana and Mediterranean beyond.

Totality arrived at around 20:31, with the Sun just two degrees above the horizon, and lasted 1 minute 36 seconds.

The team included:

• Marc Marco, a photographer who previously shot Horacio Llorens and Tom de Dorlodot flying at night above the pyramids
• Allen Candela, camera operator and film-maker, responsible for the video record of the action
• Enrique Jimeno, in charge of tracking the pilot’s position in flight and of knowledge of the terrain.
• Sebastián Astorga, camera support and mountain logistics.

The team worked from the ridge of the Serra d’Alfàbia while Horacio flew in the valley between the observers and the setting sun.

“Seeing the eclipse from the sky was incredible,” says Horacio. “I watched the shadow coming closer little by little, until the sky went completely dark, the temperature in flight dropped several degrees and the air turned strangely turbulent.

“I would have loved to see totality, but a cloud on the horizon stole that moment from us. Nerves were right on the surface, with the whole team giving everything. It felt like the final of a World Cup, with my pulse racing.”