[JoelA]

All,

Artemis I is scheduled for a 1:04 AM launch on Wednesday.

We live about 50 miles from the launch pad, so it should be easy to see the trail. This is a huge rocket. We have a unobstructed view near the house.

I have a nice selection of lenses from fisheye to 300 mm everything is manual. Camera is K-1 II

Question: What exposure might be best? It is going to be a very bright flame against a black night sky. Exposure length? f/stops? I'd love to get a longer shot of the trail, so that leaves short burst bracketing out. I'll have the camera on a tripod with a weight.

Many thanks for any hints!

Joel

[steephill]

https://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av043/LaunchPhotographyGuide.pdf

[Bob 256]

If you're after the flame, you have to be very careful not to burn out the image. I would assume you're talking about a time exposed shot similar to those of fireworks. That means you'll control the exposure with ISO and aperture. You can probably get by with a fairly low ISO which will improve image quality, but you might find that for the flame, you will still be using a higher aperture (mid to upper f-stop range). One way you could get a feel for what you need, is to use a road flare and shoot it at a distance while someone walks with it across the field (or turn the camera with a stationary flare). Keep in mind that the exposure will depend on the distance and the rate at which it goes across the field. You're better to underexpose and then boost in post processing rather than get an over exposed shot which can't be saved.

Best of Luck in getting that great shot!

[robgski]

If you are not very proficient at night shooting, I encourage you to practice for a few nights prior to the launch. That should allow you to get a nicely exposed starry sky, then it's up to you to decide if you want a long continuous exposure of the rocket, or interval composites ,etc.

Good luck, I look forward to seeing your images.

[Just1MoreDave]

I like to use the "extra" cameras for events like this, to experiment with different ideas. The PDF in post #2 suggests settings that would be OK even on older DSLRs. Try a long exposure, low ISO and wide angle on the oldest camera, while keeping the best lens and settings for the best model.

I have a mountain that's 55 miles away from my house and I can tell you from practice that focus is just a bit less than the infinity setting. The moon should be up so you can prefocus on that in magnified live view, but possibly crack the focus ring just a hair off of that.

[DeadJohn]

We live about 50 miles from the launch pad

At that distance emphasize the rocket arc rather than rocket details. Expose for the sky background and don't worry if the rocket trail is perfectly exposed. That approach will let you take some practice exposures prior to launch.

Yucky complication: the rising Moon. The moon will be rising at 20 degrees above the eastern horizon at scheduled launch time. You might need to adjust your composition or exposure length to avoid bright moonlight washing out the photo. Or use a longer lens to limit your field of view, perhaps sacrificing part of the rocket's arc in order to avoid getting the moon in frame. If you can visit your planned photo site 25 hours prior to launch the moon will be in roughly the same position and brightness as it will be at launch time.

The arc will look best if you live north or south near the Atlantic coast. If you are inland west of the launch pad you might get more of a vertical arc than a wide arc, and will be aiming more directly into the moon.

If you are at all familiar with photo processing, use raw DNG mode so you can tweak your exposure settings and white balance later. A single 5 minute exposure would show the arc in a single frame but you can't go so long while the moon is up. As a more complex alternative, set your camera for 30 second exposures in high-speed continuous shutter mode (in order to minimize gaps between frames) then combine them (with photoshop-like software or in-camera if your specific model offers that).

At 50 miles a 35mm FF lens (24mm APS-C) should keep the top of the arc in frame, especially since the rocket will be moving away as it climbs. You can lookup the vertical FOV angle for a lens then do some trigonometry to estimate how many miles altitude you'll cover from 50 miles away to verify the arc fills a reasonable part of your image. Right Triangle Calculator

The attached photo is not mine. The photographer states they were 24 miles from the launch site. The linked article mentions camera settings and other tips Night Photography: Rocket Launch! - Photo Masters Workshops

[UncleVanya]

The attached photo is not mine. The photographer states they were 24 miles from the launch site. The linked article mentions camera settings and other tips Night Photography: Rocket Launch! - Photo Masters Workshops

One thing he doesn’t do is explain how the foreground was lit. I’m guessing a flashlight given his remote location.

[JoelA]

Wow!!!

Thank you so very much to each of you for the coaching. I am just amazed at the expertise here and the willingness to share. It is appreciated more than you ever know.

I did some practice last night (or early this morning).

The forecast is saying partly cloudy to cloudy here in central Florida at launch time.

Let's just hope the clouds are minimal and there is a safe launch.

Joel

[UncleVanya]

Wow!!!

Thank you so very much to each of you for the coaching. I am just amazed at the expertise here and the willingness to share. It is appreciated more than you ever know.

I did some practice last night (or early this morning).

The forecast is saying partly cloudy to cloudy here in central Florida at launch time.

Let's just hope the clouds are minimal and there is a safe launch.

Joel

Agreed!

[DeadJohn]

Wow!!!

Thank you so very much to each of you for the coaching. I am just amazed at the expertise here and the willingness to share. It is appreciated more than you ever know.

I did some practice last night (or early this morning).

The forecast is saying partly cloudy to cloudy here in central Florida at launch time.

Let's just hope the clouds are minimal and there is a safe launch.

Joel

I hope you check the forum one more time before going out to photograph. I just saw this article https://www.space.com/artemis-1-moon-rocket-night-launch-visibility-map

"The agency says the fiery plume of the SLS moon rocket will be visible for up to 70 seconds". That's less time than I expected. One 60 second exposure will be good. Listen to the NASA livestream (if you're photographing from somewhere with good internet signal) or find a radio broadcast to know when it launches, then start your photo a few seconds later since the initial liftoff will be below your horizon.

[JoelA]

Thank you! I had not seen that.

We have the NASA live stream running.

It's really cloudy here inland. I'm not optimisitic on a great shot. Forecast is clouds overnight.

The posted trajectory out over the Atlantic is pretty normal for anything big (and untested!)

For better or worse, I'm going to go with the 20mm f/4.0. Guess is that we'll have an orange sky if these clouds persist. With the K1 - II file size, if I'm lucky enough to get a trail there will be plenty of room to edit. If it ends up being wide angle orange then so be it.

Bringing a small shovel to set the tripod into the sand. Just to try to minimize chance of sway.

Shooting both jpeg and raw.

If I get anything I'll just post the jpeg out of the camera in the morning.

BTW...much excitement here in our little neighborhood as we have several rocket designers who are on pins and needles as much as this photographer.

Live from Orlando

[VictorDA]

So... Did you get any pics? We want to see

[JoelA]

Yes, clouds got in the way. Really so in the way that there is just one tiny sliver of the rocket trail.

Seeing that it was cloudy I went with the SMC-M 20mm f/4 since it was obvious that it was going to be a guess as to if / where the rocket would be visible and I wanted to get as much of the sky as possible. Exposure was 'bulb' @ f/22 ISO 100. Used an ancient K-Mart tripod and planted the feet several inches in the ground to make it extra stable.

The image attached is the .jpeg out of the camera. I'll play with the raw file over the next week or so to see what if anything can be salvaged.

Many thanks again for the coaching yesterday!

Hoping for clear sky next time.

Joel

[UncleVanya]

Yes, clouds got in the way. Really so in the way that there is just one tiny sliver of the rocket trail.

Seeing that it was cloudy I went with the SMC-M 20mm f/4 since it was obvious that it was going to be a guess as to if / where the rocket would be visible and I wanted to get as much of the sky as possible. Exposure was 'bulb' @ f/22. Used an ancient K-Mart tripod and planted the feet several inches in the ground to make it extra stable.

The image attached is the .jpeg out of the camera. I'll play with the raw file over the next week or so to see what if anything can be salvaged.

Many thanks again for the coaching yesterday!

Hoping for clear sky next time.

Joel

That’s disappointing - but you did get something which is more than most people got. Thanks for sharing the expertise with us.

[JoelA]

All,

We had a lovely launch of SpaceX Falcon Heavy this evening.

These are shot from Orlando. K-1 II with a Pentax A 70-210 f/4.0 zoom. Manual everything. Launch was five minutes past sunset. Then it was quickly getting dark. Just kept cranking up the ISO!

We had a great sunset trail and then a huge smoke cloud at the top. Then the boosters racing home.

I'll add a few more tomorrow.

JoelA