STS-130 Space Shuttle Launch

WalterS

Last week while in Daytona Shooting the races I was able to attend the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery. It was a goal of mine to be able to shoot atleast one space shuttle launch before the end of the program and all the starts seemed to align just right. Below are some photos from the launch. These were shot from the Banana Creek Viewing are unless otherwise noted.

You can view more photos of the launch at this link. http://scriptunasimages.smugmug.com/Galleries/Events/STS-130-Endeavour-Launch

#1 Canon 30D and 10-22


#2 Canon 40D and 70-200F2.8L IS


#3 Canon 30D and 10-22


#4 Canon 7D and 500L + 1.4x


#5

#6


#7


#8


#9 For the first launch attempt I was at the Turn Basin, near the Press Site.

DaddyO

Really enjoying these photos. How excellent to be on site and at night to
get these. With all the cameras & lenses used you were certainly ready
& the images easily display that talent. Must have been a serious effort
to prep all that gear, dial it in, and at the ready for your firing time.
Obviously you enjoyed every minute of it. Well done.

Nice touch with the foreground flash illumination and composition.
Sweet.

I can only imagine what you must have been thinking when trying to dial
in what you knew was going to be a very intense column of light behind
that launch vehicle.

D0rk Angle

Very awesome. #3 and #2 (followed closely by #1) are my favorites of the bunch. Never been to see a live launch, and looking more like I never will.

WalterS

DaddyO wrote:

Really enjoying these photos. How excellent to be on site and at night to
get these. With all the cameras & lenses used you were certainly ready
& the images easily display that talent. Must have been a serious effort
to prep all that gear, dial it in, and at the ready for your firing time.
Obviously you enjoyed every minute of it. Well done.

Nice touch with the foreground flash illumination and composition.
Sweet.

I can only imagine what you must have been thinking when trying to dial
in what you knew was going to be a very intense column of light behind
that launch vehicle.

Thanks, it definitely took alot of preparation getting everything just right but it was well worth it. Knowing that I had only one shot at it made it just that much more worse, so happy everything turned out well.

I may be able to attend the launch in May so I am looking forward to that!

rwells

Good job on these!

I'm sure you'll have fond memories of these for many years to come.

GSPeP

Great job

I like them all.

WalterS

Thanks Randy and Peter!

Gary752

Awesome shots of the shuttle lifting off! I wish I could get some time off to go back to Florida for a shuttle launch! Back in the early to mid 90's I lived just south of Ocala Fla., and would watch the shuttle start to lift off on TV, then run outside and look to the east and would see it as it rose up over the horizon (night launches). It was amazing to watch, even from that far away, cause it would light up the sky and any surrounding clouds. The most memorable launch was when they took off to the north. I was able to watch it well after the booster rockets seperation.

GaryB

WalterS

Thanks Gary, it is quite the spectacle. When I was younger and we would frequently visit the Daytona Beach area I always remember watching from the beach and a couple times we headed down and wathced from Titusville. I can still remember those launches even though I was probably only 8 or so. Since the 90's I had not seen a shuttle launch until this one due to either scrubbs and the massive delays due to the foam problems. Recently I was able to hook up with someone from Nasa through a friend and she was able to get me some passes to view from up close. It was a goal of mine to photograph atleast one shuttle launch before the end and I am so happy that I was able to. Now im planning to make the last three launches hehe.

BroPhoto wrote:

Awesome shots of the shuttle lifting off! I wish I could get some time off to go back to Florida for a shuttle launch! Back in the early to mid 90's I lived just south of Ocala Fla., and would watch the shuttle start to lift off on TV, then run outside and look to the east and would see it as it rose up over the horizon (night launches). It was amazing to watch, even from that far away, cause it would light up the sky and any surrounding clouds. The most memorable launch was when they took off to the north. I was able to watch it well after the booster rockets seperation.

GaryB