Friday, June 29, 2018

SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS-15, 5:42am June 29, 2018


Fuji X-T20, Rokinon 10mm lens. 261seconds @ f/22. ISO 200
Taken at Exploration Tower in Port Canaveral, Florida.
My daughters and I got up, up, and away, way before sun up to see a night launch, more-or-less, of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket this morning. The sky was just beginning to lighten before sunrise, and, on top of that, the 4min 21sec photo gathered light to make that awesome deep, blue sky. (This is actually MUCH better than the dull, black background of a dark night launch.)
The launch was SpaceX's 15th International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission. SpaceX launched a Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Launch Complex 40. This Dragon spacecraft will deliver supplies, equipment and science investigations to the ISS.
The engine noise hits fast when you are this close to the launch site.  We live about forty miles south of here, and when we watch from our front yard, the noise hits us down there about two minutes into the launch.
Rocket launches never, ever get old! If they ever do, I'll move, knowing I NEED a different place to live.
This was my first second stab at making this photo look good. I'll try again and upload that if I can improve it. I have removed the original photo from this post, and replaced it with this much better adjustment job.
Truth is, an exposure that long that includes a lit-up, white building WILL have the building's exposure blown out.
This is where shooting RAW files helps.  In Lightroom and Photoshop I was able to pull back most of Exploration Tower's building details from what initially appeared to be blown-out highlights. Sweet.

Thursday, June 21, 2018

Ryckman Park Sunset (probably about number 3000 by now)

At Ryckman Park, Melbourne Beach, Florida
(Photo Details: Fujifilm X-T10 with Rokinon 10mm (15mm 35eq), f/8, 1/various-s, ISO200, RAW, hdr of five images)
Chronic pain can sure rob a fella of the desire to get out and walk around in this beautiful world.
When I was young I dreamed of living near the beach, a big lake, some kind of "big" water.
Well, here I am near the Atlantic Ocean for the past twenty years or so.
Here in Palm Bay, in Brevard County, Florida, "big" water is easy to find.
Pain-free days, pretty much nonexistent.
So, when I can get the pain beat down a bit, the urge to be out with my camera comes on me very strong.
After several months of more-or-less being house bound, I've finally lately been up to getting out.
Photographically, I'm VERY rusty.
Fortunately camera operation is kinda like riding a bicycle, so, out I go.
Ryckman Park (pronounced RIKE-man park according to old-time locals I've met.) , about 20-25 minutes from my home, and located on the Indian River Lagoon in Melbourne Beach, Florida, is one of my very favorite go-to places.
Here, I can always get great sunsets if the sky provides, but even if the sunset is so-so, like this one, then, Hey!, who cares, it's still a gorgeous place and a gorgeous view.
There's no down side to going to Ryckman Park, even if I don't take a  single photograph.  The evening view is always balm for the troubled soul.