Total Lunar Eclipse over the Volcano: A Photographer's Journey with Tokina Lenses

Total lunar eclipses are among the most fascinating celestial phenomena and a thrilling challenge for photographers to capture. These "Blood Moon" events occur when the Sun, Earth, and Moon align, causing Earth's shadow to completely cover the Moon and turn it a deep reddish hue. The total phase can last up to nearly two hours; in fact, the September 7-8, 2025 eclipse had a totality of about 82 minutes – the longest duration since 2022. This particular eclipse was widely visible across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, giving roughly 85% of the world’s population a chance to witness it. It was also the first total lunar eclipse visible in my country in seven years, the last having occurred in 2018. Naturally, I was determined to make the most of this rare opportunity by capturing the event in a unique way.

Planning for the Eclipse at Mount Damavand

To create a memorable astro-landscape, I chose an exceptional location for the eclipse: the north slopes of Mount Damavand in Iran, a majestic stratovolcano that rises to 5,609 m (the highest volcano in Asia). We place to an altitude of around 3,000 m in this wild, pristine area to scout a composition where, at the peak of totality, the eclipsed Moon would balance on one side of the sky and the Milky Way on the other, with Mount Damavand's silhouette in between. A week before the eclipse, I conducted an exploration trip to find the perfect spot (see Image 1 below). The effort paid off – the chosen vantage point offered a crystal-clear view of the sky and an expansive landscape foreground. During the maximum totality, the volcanic peak lay roughly along the line of symmetry between the red Moon and the bright Milky Way band, aligning the heavens with the Earth in one frame.

Selecting the Tools: Tokina Lenses and Gear

Capturing an event that combines a dark landscape with bright celestial objects requires both careful planning and right tools. In astrophotography, the camera lens is arguably the most critical tool to translate one's vision into a compelling image. Based on my past eclipse projects (in 2011 "longest eclipse of the century", and in 2018), I decided to try a different approach this time by using Tokina lenses with wide and normal focal lengths instead of telescopes or super-telephotos. Three Tokina lenses formed my core kit for this night, each offering a unique perspective:

• Tokina opera 50mm F1.4 FF – a fast normal lens often regarded as "the secret weapon of astro-photographers". The 50 mm focal length has a long history of optical refinement, yielding excellent image quality even wide open. With its bright f/1.4 aperture and advanced optical design, the opera 50mm excels at low-light capture and produces tack-sharp stars with minimal aberrations. It also allows flexibility in framing; for instance, one can shoot multiple overlapping images and stitch them into a wide-field mosaic or panorama, which is exactly what I planned for one of my shots.

• Tokina AT-X 107 f/3.5-4.5 DX Fisheye (10-17mm) – an ultra-wide fisheye zoom lens that I consider an essential for mountainous photography. Originally introduced in 2006 as one of the first fisheye zooms for DSLRs, the Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye remains a beloved creative tool. It's compact and lightweight – ideal for carrying on strenuous hikes – yet delivers a uniquely wide 180° field of view at 10mm. The fisheye perspective opens the door of creativity, enabling striking compositions that capture the entire sky and landscape in context. Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye produces excellent image quality, with good color rendition and center sharpness. Its extreme wide angle and close focusing let me get very close to foreground subjects for dramatic angles, while still including the vast night sky. For this project, it was the perfect choice to create an all-sky star trail scene and to capture behind-the-scenes moments of our team under the eclipse.

• Tokina atx-m 11-18mm F2.8 X (Fuji X mount) – a newly released ultra-wide zoom that quickly became "the new gem" in my bag. This lens provides a 16.5-27mm equivalent focal range (on APS-C) with a constant f/2.8 aperture, combining broad coverage and speed – ideal for capturing the sweeping night sky and landscape in one shot. Despite its wide field, Tokina engineered it with advanced optics to suppress chromatic aberrations and minimize coma at the edges even at f/2.8, which is crucial for sharp stars across the frame. I was impressed by how tack-sharp and low-distortion my images were with this lens, and how well it handled the high-contrast scenario of a bright Moon against a dark sky. The atx-m 11-18mm is also remarkably compact and light, so it didn't weigh me down during the long night. This lens was mounted on one of my camera body to shoot a time-lapse, where its ultra-wide view and fast aperture were invaluable for recording the entire eclipse sequence with the Milky Way and mountain in view.

In addition to the lenses, I used sturdy tripods and a Kenko SKYMEMO star tracker for one of the setups. The star tracker allowed me to counteract Earth's rotation by slowly pivoting the camera, effectively keeping the stars fixed in the frame over long durations. With the location set and equipment ready, I was eager to let each lens shine in capturing different aspects of the eclipse night.

Panoramic Eclipse Nightscape with the Tokina opera 50mm

Mythical Mountain Nightscape: A panoramic view of Mt. Damavand under the eclipsed Moon and the Milky Way. The Moon, during totality, hovers above the volcano's eastern shoulder while the Milky Way arches over its western side. A strange emerald airglow is visible on the far left horizon, and on the far right, the distant glow of Tehran's city lights reaches up into the sky. To capture this beautiful celestial ballet, I used the Tokina opera 50mm F1.4 FF lens (with a Cokin P820 diffuser filter attached to give a gentle glow to the brightest stars and the Milky Way). The camera (a Nikon D750) was mounted on a panoramic head, and I took nine overlapping frames, each a 5-second exposure at ISO 3200, covering the entire scene. These frames were later stitched together into the final panorama. The result is a high-resolution nightscape that combines a stunning landscape with the drama of the Blood Moon and our home galaxy in one image.

This panorama truly demonstrates the advantage of using a fast 50 mm lens for astro-landscape work. The possibility on shooting at f/1.4 with great optical results allowed me to keep exposure times short, freezing the stars without significant trailing, while still gathering plenty of light. Just look at how this lens capture the weak airglow as a bonus! The Tokina opera 50mm's optical quality paid off – even wide open, stars remained sharp points with minimal aberrations. The diffuser filter added a soft halo around brighter stars and the Moon, enhancing the ethereal atmosphere of the scene. By creating a multi-shot panorama, I effectively overcame the limited field of view of 50 mm and achieved a very wide composition with high detail. The Milky Way's structure is clearly visible, and the volcano and foreground retain enough illumination to be discernible.

Star-Tracked Time-Lapse with the Tokina atx-m 11-18mm F2.8 X

Earth's Rotation Time-Lapse: I aimed to portray the passage of time during the eclipse by creating a time-lapse that shows the rotation of the Earth relative to the stars. To do this, I utilized the Kenko SKYMEMO star tracker, aligning it so that the camera's movement was synchronized with the sky's apparent motion. This way, over the course of a few hours, the sky stay relatively fixed in the video frame, while the landscape appears to rotate – a striking inversion of our usual perspective. The Tokina atx-m 11-18mm F2.8 X was the ideal lens for this, as its ultra-wide field captured all the key elements: the blood-red Moon, the towering Damavand peak, and the broad sweep of the Milky Way overhead. To highlight the Moon's movement, I also created a magnified inset of the Moon within the video frame. In the inset, one can clearly observe the Moon's travel through Earth's shadow: it enters the umbra, reaches deep red peak totality, and then slides back out, returning to its usual brilliance.

The resulting time-lapse is fascinating to watch. As the eclipse progresses, you can see how the lighting of the scene dramatically changes: when the Moon enters Earth's umbral shadow and totality begins, the sky becomes much darker and the Milky Way suddenly pops out with clarity, as if someone turned up the night sky's contrast. The stars intensify in brightness during totality, and the landscape itself is bathed in a dim red light. Once the Moon starts to emerge from the shadow, the process reverses – the Milky Way fades slightly in the increasing moonlight and the foreground brightens again. This interplay of light vividly shows why a full Moon usually washes out faint stars, and how its temporary darkening during an eclipse reveals the cosmos in full glory.

Ultra-Wide Star Trails with the Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye

The fisheye lens was essential for this ultra-wide scenario: At 10mm, its 180° field of view (diagonally) easily included the ground, the peak of Damavand, and the sky from horizon to horizon. Despite the extreme field, the Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye's optical performance is solid: star trails are smooth and continuous, and the lens's color rendition is excellent, so the slight color differences between the Moon's trail (reddish during eclipse, white otherwise) and the stars are preserved. The lens is also very small and lightweight, which made it easy to use everywhere.

From a storytelling perspective, this image serves as a time capsule of the entire night. It illustrates not only the cosmic motions above (through the star and Moon trails) but also the human element below – our presence witnessing and capturing the event. One can imagine us periodically moving about: checking focus, adjusting settings, maybe cheering quietly when the Moon turned deep red. The Tokina fisheye lens enabled me to include "the whole story" in one frame, and it certainly earned its keep as an "excellent capturing essential" for such adventures. Whether for dramatic nightscapes or expansive daytime panoramas, this lens continually proves its versatility and creative potential.

This time-lapse captures everything that unfolded on location during the total lunar eclipse night, as seen through the Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye lens. It was created by combining 630 consecutive 20-second exposures at ISO 200, shot at 10mm focal length and f/4.5 on a Nikon D300s. The ultra-wide fisheye perspective reveals the entire scene in motion, from the Moon's gradual darkening and brightening to the dynamic of photography activities beneath the night sky.

Conclusion

This total lunar eclipse project was a rewarding blend of astronomy, adventure, and photography. By carefully planning the location and leveraging a trio of Tokina lenses – each with its own strength – I was able to capture the event from multiple perspectives: a high-detail panorama, a dynamic time-lapse, and an all-encompassing star trail composite. The Tokina opera 50mm F1.4 delivered stunning sharpness and light-gathering for the panoramic nightscape, the Tokina atx-m 11-18mm F2.8 proved its worth as a new go-to lens for wide-field astro work (especially with its fast aperture and minimal aberrations), and the AT-X 10-17mm Fisheye once again opened up a unique creative view of the night. Together, these tools helped translate the magic of the eclipse night into images and footage that I hope inspire others to look up at the sky – and maybe to grab a camera for the next cosmic event. After all, when the heavens put on a show, there are endless ways to capture the story, especially with the right glass in hand.