Category: Florida

First Attempt at Airshow Photography

5/22/2022

In this slow return to photography I have decided not only to take photos of nature, but I also want to try other styles. With this in mind, I decided to attend my first airshow. I confess that I had never encouraged myself to go to one of these events and I don't know specifically the reasons for not having done it before.

Shooting aircraft in flight is not as easy as one might think. There are many technical aspects to learn and master in order to achieve impressive photos. So I decided to do some research on the subject and watched countless videos on You Tube to get a solid foundation and prepare for the big day.

I confess that I took a lot of photos and as expected, the vast majority of them did not turn out as expected. I definitely have a lot to learn about this new form of photography. At least I was able to capture several that were more or less decent and I share one of them below.

I hope you enjoy it.

F-22 Raptor Taking Off For The Skies

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My First Rocket Launch Photo

5/7/2022

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It's been quite a while since I've taken a new photograph. I'm going through a transitional period in my life and priorities have changed a lot. I've been focusing in my family, work and trying to balance everything around life's obligations and responsibilities. Photography has taken a back sit in this new ride I'm on. Nonetheless, the passion for it still there and this is the proof.

I'm fortunate to live about 35 miles south of Cape Canaveral in Florida so we get to witness a lot of rocket launches. The idea of going out to try to catch one of those have been on my mind ever since relocating to this area but it wasn't until a couple of days before writing this post, that I finally decided to go out and try it for the very first time.

Space X has been having quite a busy year and they happened to have the Starling Group 4-17|Falcon 9, Block 5 mission on schedule for May 6, 2022-05:42 EDT, so I decided to give it a shot. I prepared all my gear the night prior and picked a local beach to attempt to photograph the mission. Early next morning I headed to the beach and upon arrival there were quite a few people there to witness the event. I found a lifeguard chair on the beach and immediately used it as part of the composition. Since it was quite dark, I had no choice but to hope that the rocket trajectory will pass over it to make it as if I had planned the shot that way. I assure you, I did not.

As a bonus this rocket launch amazed me by creating what is known as a “space jellyfish." For the space jelly’s flight to be visible, a launch must take place near the time of sunrise, or during the twilight hours as the sun’s rays enter the upper atmosphere at a horizontal angle. The sunlight interacts with ice particles left behind the rocket's contrail and create a bluish-illuminating effect over the clouds referred to as "noctilucent clouds."

I hope that you like the outcome as much as I do. Let me know what you think!