Here's some photos of the final Shuttle Launch. I was lucky enough to draw NASA Causeway passes from the lottery and took the plunge to go witness it. (A dream I've always had)
We arrived in Orlando late in the evening, the night before the launch and got into the hotel bed around midnight. The alarm rang at 2am and we were off to the Kennedy Space Center to wait in line.
We boarded the space center bus at 7am and made our way to the Causeway. 17,000 anxious spectators/photographers lined the banks of the causway. Lots of nice cameras on big tripods. I've never seen so much big glass anywhere! A guy next to me, shooting a Canon 7d with a rental 600. I've got my trusty 500f4 w/1.4 tc. We're 6 miles away and the shuttle fills 1/3 horizontal frame.
T-3sec the ignition sparks shower under the main engine
T-2sec flames roar from the engines
T-1sec smoke from the exhaust engulf the shuttle.
I panic....where is it???
Loud speaker says "We have lift off!!"
The suttle starts nosing out of the exhaust cloud.
The shutter starts clicking....not too fast, I don't want to fill the camera memory!!!
The shuttle clears the exhaust cloud and click....I have my keeper!
Posted by Richard Olsen on July 10, 2011 at 10:02 AM
The shuttle accelerates into the sky and the exhaust flame grows quickly. The flame is out of the frame!!!....roll to vertical!!..I loose the shuttle!!!!...pan back to the ground, over to the launch pad then follow the exhaust cloud back to the shuttle....click click click. The confusion cost me 2 frames, 2 heart beats and added lots of tension and gray hairs.
Posted by Richard Olsen on July 10, 2011 at 10:07 AM
The last photo is just as the shuttle is entering the clouds as it rockets to the sky. I was amazed at the raw power that is displayed in the exhaust flame. I'd read on the internet before the launch that the flame is actually brighter than the sun. Just as the Shuttle enters the cloud, the loud rumble of the launch reaches us from 6 miles away. An experience of a lifetime!!
Posted by Richard Olsen on July 10, 2011 at 10:11 AM
We had lots of haze obscuring the shuttle, with clouds partially blocking the sun. Conditions were tough photographically.
I used John Mumaw's suggestion to Phillip to reduce the haze which helped a lot....Thanks John!!!
Posted by Lance Burch on July 10, 2011 at 11:45 AM
Very cool. I never got see one (and I grew up 3 hours away!). I like the last one best I think. The diagonal exhaust plume leads your eye to the shuttle and points to the darkening blue above.
The first one is a classic look at the shuttle for me Richard and the second one is super sweet and I am not sure I can choose a favorite of those two! This must have been spectacular to witness!!! Thanks for sharing it with us
I'm so pleased that you were able to witness this historic event. And you did an excellent job of capturing it, too!
Glad to hear that technique worked for you here. Every one of these was a treat to view, Richard!
Discussion
18 repliesWe arrived in Orlando late in the evening, the night before the launch and got into the hotel bed around midnight. The alarm rang at 2am and we were off to the Kennedy Space Center to wait in line.
We boarded the space center bus at 7am and made our way to the Causeway. 17,000 anxious spectators/photographers lined the banks of the causway. Lots of nice cameras on big tripods. I've never seen so much big glass anywhere! A guy next to me, shooting a Canon 7d with a rental 600. I've got my trusty 500f4 w/1.4 tc. We're 6 miles away and the shuttle fills 1/3 horizontal frame.
T-3sec the ignition sparks shower under the main engine
T-2sec flames roar from the engines
T-1sec smoke from the exhaust engulf the shuttle.
I panic....where is it???
Loud speaker says "We have lift off!!"
The suttle starts nosing out of the exhaust cloud.
The shutter starts clicking....not too fast, I don't want to fill the camera memory!!!
The shuttle clears the exhaust cloud and click....I have my keeper!
I used John Mumaw's suggestion to Phillip to reduce the haze which helped a lot....Thanks John!!!
That was certainly worth a trip to Florida.
Thanks for sharing.
Glad to hear that technique worked for you here. Every one of these was a treat to view, Richard!