Last night, at 7:20:03 on the dot, a Delta II rocket was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base about 100 miles up the coast from us. It was carrying an Italian satellite destined to observe, photograph and report on the Mediterranean basin.
As is custom in my house, I went outside and tried to photograph this most tricky object: a rocket as it escapes the surly bonds of earth.
Not entirely happy with the results, then again this was a night launch. Sometimes they’ll launch a rocket just after sunset, which means that while we’re standing around in the dark, the rocket’s exhaust cloud is being hit by sunlight (because of its altitude), which makes for a brilliant color show, as it was in this September 2005 picture I snapped with a crappy point-and-shoot:
Alas, I have yet to take a V-Berg launch picture where all elements (my DSLR camera, tripod availability, weather and time of day) combine to make for a good shot.
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