Space Shuttle Mission: STS-128 Launch
No Post Processing. This is exactly what we saw out there. Shot hand held at 300mm from a boat ~11 miles away on Mosquito Lagoon. This is the closest public viewing site outside of the Kennedy Space Center. This is closer than all the free public (land based) viewing sites in Titusville.
The long exposure i wanted to get was impossible. it would have been amazing too, there was a big black cloud above the pad the whole time. So I settled on a range of exposures and guessed what it might look like with the rockets ablaze. Again, very difficult to shoot and with the boat moving the whole time I had to rely heavily on the built in IS. My other regret, in hindsight, was not swapping lenses (to the Sigma 17-70mm) to get a shot of the sky as the shuttle moved behind the cloud and lit up the entire sky like it was daytime. I hope someone was able to make this picture...it was breathtaking.
Here is our video of the event: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmvKQpoTWuI
And here is the official NASA video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwD7Xu7Mks4
From NASA: Discovery Readies for Station Resupply Flight
Space shuttle Discovery will carry the Leonardo supply module to the International Space Station during STS-128, along with a new crew member for the station, Nicole Stott.
Commanded by veteran astronaut Rick "C.J." Sturckow, the STS-128 mission crew will deliver refrigerator-sized racks full of equipment, including the COLBERT treadmill, an exercise device named after comedian Stephen Colbert.
Stott will take the place of Tim Kopra, who moved into the station during STS-127. Pilot Kevin Ford and Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester, Jose Hernandez, John "Danny" Olivas and Sweden's Christer Fuglesang round out the crew.