A total solar eclipse is not just a spectacle in the sky — its magnificence is also reflected in the eyes and faces of those who watch the rare event unfold from the ground. To capture views of the eclipse’s effect on the awed crowds below, we sent photographer Dylan Schwartz to Madras, Ore. to create the time-lapse video you can watch above, which shows scenes from the town’s Solarfest.

Schwartz and an assistant arrived at 5 a.m. on Monday to set up their equipment on top of the Central Oregon Agricultural Research Center. In the fields below him, many of the 30,000 attendees from Solarfest gathered to watch the eclipse.

Schwartz used four separate cameras so that he could record wide shots of the entire scene. Schwartz and his assistant began recording at 7 a.m. PT, through the start of the partial solar eclipse just after 9 a.m. and culminating in the brief minutes of the total solar eclipse at 10:20 a.m. As the moon crossed in front of the sun and the light rapidly changed, Schwartz adjusted the cameras’ settings to those he would usually use for night photography.

The resulting composite video shows both the sweep of the full scene and the power of individual moments. Watch above. — Josh Raab