Shot from Bennett Causeway (US 528) 11 miles away from launch tower. (This is the closest public viewing location without an access pass to the base.)







Booster rocket separation:



Regards,
-tom

[daacon]

Very cool Tom I'll bet it was deafining even at that distance. First couple are great and I did not know that was the closest the public is allowed.

[slowpez]

Thanks so much for posting these. We would have loved to have been there but couldn't manage it and you gave us a great substitute.

[Douglas_of_Sweden]

Number two has fantastic colors!
Was this the launch from yesterday? The last mission for this space shuttle?

[Aon]

A fine view of the launch, thanks for sharing.

[Scottnorwo]

Awesome shots.

[tpeace]

Very cool Tom I'll bet it was deafining even at that distance. First couple are great and I did not know that was the closest the public is allowed.

It isn't really deafening, but you do hear it. The slightly wierd thing is that it takes a little bit of time for the the sound to reach you at that distance. Then after another 10 seconds or so the ground begins to shake.

You can get a bit of sense of sounds in this video I shot (with the K7)

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL-c-2TYPQs[/YT]

Thanks so much for posting these. We would have loved to have been there but couldn't manage it and you gave us a great substitute.

Hope you can make one of the last two (April 19th and June 28th). It really is an incredible experience. Also very cool how many great people I meet in the crowd. lots of serious amatuer photographers show up and we have some great conversations while waiting for the launch. Worth the drive down from SC!

Number two has fantastic colors!
Was this the launch from yesterday? The last mission for this space shuttle?

Yes, these are from Thursday's launch.


Regards,
-tom

[seacapt]

Very cool Tom. Can you still get out on Canaveral Pier to watch launches?

[RobG]

Wish I could have seen one of the shuttle launches in person. Thanks for posting!

[BillM]

Thanks Tom,really like that first shot.Alot more fun to see it covered by you,
MikeR...hopefully others,than some staid 'talkin head' on the telly.

[tpeace]

Very cool Tom. Can you still get out on Canaveral Pier to watch launches?

I believe the pier is open for public. Lot's of folks watch from the beaches near there. They can't see the rocket until it clears the launch pad but they get a nice view once it gets into flight.

For anyone thinking about going to the next launch in April be aware it is scheduled for about an hour after sunset so effectively it will be a night launch. That means it is very difficult to photograph because there is no light on the shuttle which is atop very bright rocket exhaust flames. No way the camera sensor can pick up both.

Here's my suggestion for photographing it if you go:

I usually do a long exposure for the night launches and try to get a light trail of the shuttle's path from the launch tower arching into the eastern sky. You don't actually need to be anywhere near Cape Canaveral for this. Anywhere along the beach from Fort Pierce (about 100 miles away) north should work.

Regards,
-tom

[the swede]

Good pictures, nr 2 is really cool! Thanks for showing us!

[sjwaldron]

Very interesting!

[yucatanPentax]

Those photographs are taken from 11 miles away? miles? Wow.... that's incredible. You did a fine job and I love the colors on #2. The first is a great shot through the atmospheric interference (water vapor, haze) from such a distance!

Yes, people take pictures of things miles away, but generally speaking, large objects like mountains, whatever. These are great shots.

Thank you for sharing them.