Shuttle Launch Photography

Last modified: June 03, 2007

Taking pictures of a shuttle launch is no science, it's an art :-)  Problem is to get the exposure right. At all of my eight shuttle launches I had photo equipment with me - somewhere between one and five cameras. I have taken pictures from the shore, from the "normal" Causeway site, the VIP and the press site, both during the day and at night. By now I can give you almost guaranteed values for proper exposure, as well as some common "don'ts".

General advice:

• If it's your first launch, and you are likely not coming again, don't take any pictures. Serious. Sorry to disappoint you, but you can buy better pictures than yours will ever turn out to be. However, you can not buy the memories of a shuttle launch.
  My first launch was viewed through the viewfinder and the pics didn't work out, even though chances are my gear is better than yours. I never did that again and was happy about it. I know you will not listen. But don't blame me if you miss the launch.
  
  

• If you have a tripod, bring it along. If not, see above advice.
  
  

• With a day launch, some of the best pictures are taken after the shuttle is gone. The exhaust fumes often create spectacular cloud formations which are more impressive than a shuttle lifting off (admit it, you have seen pics of a shuttle launch before, but not necessarily one of a cloud like below).

There are generally two kinds of pictures you can take: during the day, you can shoot the shuttle lifting off the pad. At night, you can also shoot the shuttle light trail (time lapse image). The values mentioned below are good for any viewing site - if you want we can get into a discussion about the physics behind this.

All images shown without cropping, as they were recorded on 35mm film.

STS-59 20mm from shore (Canon T90, Canon FD 20-35L,  Kodak Royal Gold 400)	STS-93 from VIP site 600mm, 1/125s, f11 (Canon EOS-1N, Canon EF 300L-IS/4, EF2xTC,  Agfa Optima 400)	STS-93 20mm / 8.5 minutes from VIP site (Canon T90, Canon FD 20-35L,  Agfa Ultra 50)
STS-65 600mm from Causeway (Canon T90, Sigma 600/8 mirror,  Agfa Optima 400)	STS-99 from VIP site 800mm, 1/250s, f11 (Canon EOS-1N, Canon EF100-400L-IS/5.6, EF2xTC,  Agfa Optima 100)	STS-88 About 6 minutes, 24mm from Causeway (Canon Elan IIe, Canon EF24/1.4L,  Agfa Ultra 50) horribly over-exposed very bad flatbed scan
	STS-101 from Press site Canon A1, Canon FD 28/2.8 Kodak Gold 100

General Rules

• NASA launches only in good weather. So don't worry about fog, high winds shaking your lenses, lightning storms or other fun things. The worst that can happen is a moderately overcast sky.
   
• Chances are you will have to wait for the launch for a few hours. A Causeway pass says to arrive 1-4 hours in advance. Most sensible people arrive 4 hours before launch. Since NASA is no longer flying pure science missions but only docking missions, the launch windows are very short (around 9 minutes), but even so you will be in the baking Florida sun for four hours. Be prepared with water and other consumables! Don't forget that the traffic jam after a launch will have you stranded with no way out for another two hours.
   
• After 9/11, the security precautions have reached an absurd level, especially for the VIP site. You are very limited in what you can bring with you - basically, anything you can carry in your hands, no big backpacks or bags. This is in stark contrast to pre-9/11 days.
   
• Print film is usually more forgiving than slide film. A shuttle launch picture will challenge the film (or sensor) in very extreme ways, and you are best off getting the best film, or highest latitude sensor you can muster.
   
• If you don't have a VIP, NASA Causeway or other special pass, your best viewing place is here (zoom out to make any sense of it). It's a public piece of land, so nobody will ask you some ridiculous $20 to park, etc. You can also see the launch pad lightning rods from here, which will allow you to aim the camera correctly (just make sure you're pointing it towards the correct launch pad - there are two). Your next best bet is from here, along highway 528/1A. The angle is different, the space is less, and people are typically more. In either case you are well advised to arrive 4 hours before scheduled launch, as these spots get crowded very quickly.
   
• Now where you are aiming beforehand. Especially if you are at a location where you can't actually see the launch pad, you will not only miss the first few seconds of flight until the shuttle comes to view, but you will be racing to get it into the frame. For that reason it's even more imperative that your camera is ready to go (as explained below) as soon as you've found the shuttle.

Shuttle Liftoff - day launch

• Needless to say, have the camera on a tripod. If your telephoto lens has a tripod mount, attach the tripod to the lens, not the camera body. This will ensure better balance of the setup.
  
  
• Put the camera on fast advance. Depending on focal length, frame rate should be between 3 and 6 fps. Do not run out of film or out of buffer on digital cameras!! The shuttle will clear the tower at about T+7s. Thus, if you start shooting too soon (or too fast), you will run out of film / buffer before you know it, giving you a lot of pictures of steam, but no pictures of the shuttle - like in this picture representing the last frame of a film.
  
  
• If you have a wired remote control, use it. This will avoid camera shake which is particularly bad with long lenses. It will further enable you to actually watch the launch instead of operating the camera.
  
  
• If you want to get a close-up of the shuttle, use the longest focal length lens you can buy, steal, borrow -- and carry. 400mm is a good choice from the VIP site; 1200mm is not enough from the shore for this purpose. If your longest lens is 200mm and you are at the shore or at the causeway, please please watch the launch and buy pictures. Your pictures will make the shuttle look like an insect, and your relatives will ask you from which state you were watching. See above samples to what to expect from a given focal length.
  
  
• Use 100 speed film. I could get into a long discussion why 200 film is a bad idea in general. Slower film will not be fast enough, faster film is often unnecessary. If your lens is "slow", i.e. f5.6 or therabouts, and/or you are shooting around twilight, ISO 400 may be the ticket. Just don't use ISO 200 film (ISO 200 digital is of course ok).
  
  
• If you have a polarizer, consider using it. It gets pretty hazy in Florida during the day, and the polarizer may help you getting a clearer picture. However, note that the polarizer will take away lot of light, typically 1-2 stops, and thus your shutter speed may get too low for this "action shot", especially if you are not using professional grade (fast) glass.
  
  
• Meter pre-launch and expose manually. What I mean: some 5 minutes before launch (or as close as possible, if the weather / light is changing), look what the camera settings would be by pointing your lens at the launch pad. Note the exposure values, then switch to fully manual mode (autofocus off), adjust the aperture / time settings to these values and focus manually. Why? When the shuttle lifts off, it will be very bright and the camera would underexpose the shots. Also, autofocus will not be able to lock onto a cloud of smoke and most cameras will refuse to fire when they can't focus.
  Because we will be shooting with a long telephoto, I would recommend you take an aperture of f8 or f11 depending on how bright the day is, but make sure that the shutter speed is not slower that 1/125s, as otherwise the shuttle will be blurred. Find a good compromise between shutter speed and DOF. The exact proportions are depending on the time of day, season, weather, and your film speed.
  
  
• If your camera can do it, bracket +/- 1 if you are using slide film. Note that most cameras can't "shoot thru bracketing", meaning that if they take three bracketed shots in rapid sequence, they stop and wait for you to release and press the shutter again. Be prepared for this. Practice first (without film).
  
  
• If your lens has image stabilization (new Canon and Nikon lenses) and you are shooting from a tripod, turn the gyro off. Yes, off. Very few lenses can be on a tripod with IS on and not get confused. If you have one of these lenses that can be used with IS on while on the tripod, good for you; most of them don't.
  

• Watch the damn launch with your eyes, not through the viewfinder! That's why you have the cable release, remember?

Shuttle Liftoff - night launch

• Follow above advice, except: use 400 speed film (800 is also ok but unnecessary). If you are using film, you want to use the highest contrast film in a given category. This is typically not what the drugstore is selling. A lower ISO film will typically be more contrasty than a high ISO film. With digital cameras you have no choice, you have just one sensor =)
   
• Remove any lens filters. I know you have expensive glass and want to protect it, especially in the salty and humid FL climate. However, especially at night with the very high contrast of the scene, the two extra glass surfaces will cause nasty refraction. I forgot to do this at STS-93 and am still kicking my butt for it.
  
  
• Close the viewfinder of the camera. On luxury cameras there is a lever for this purpose; on cheaper models you usually can take the rubber cover off and slide a plastic thing located on the shoulder strap over the viewfinder. Otherwise, stray light will be getting into the camera "from behind" and your picture will be hosed.
  

• Set f8 and 1/125 second manual exposure with 400 film. If your film speed is different, adjust aperture or shutter speed accordingly. Don't trust what your light meter says, because it has no idea about the fireworks display that's to come. Ever heard of the "Sunny 16" rule? Use the 1/film-speed time at f16. Well, the shuttle isn't quite as bright as the sun (which would result in a 1/400s on ISO-400 at f16), but it's pretty darn close, esp. from the VIP site. Turn off autofocus! Focus before launch and leave the lens the way it is.
  
  
• If your camera can do it, bracket +/- 1 stop, especially if you are using slide film (but as said above, print film is better). Note that most cameras can't "shoot thru bracketing", meaning that if they take three bracketed shots in rapid sequence, they stop and wait for you to release and press the shutter again. Be prepared for this. Practice first (without film).
  
  
• Start shooting no earlier than T-3s. They start the engines at T-6s, and with the above exposure values, you absolutely need the glow of the exhaust fumes to illuminate the picture.
  
  
• If using film, tell your photo finisher not to cut the negatives / not to cut & mount the slides. Night shots are usually low contrast and you don't want your images to be victim of a misinterpreted negative boundary.
  
• If you have a Point and Shoot and can't resist the temptation of taking a picture, turn the flash off. No way will the flash illuminate an object 3-12 miles away!

Shuttle Time Lapse - night launch

• Digital shooters: I have never done a night launch with a digital camera. I do have some substantial experience with digital night exposure, though, so let me give you the following words of wisdom...
  • Shoot in RAW mode
  • If your camera has a "noise reduction" setting that will take a dark frame of the same duration, by all means turn it on. You will have to wait for a long time to see the result (you'll be on your way home by then), but it's absolutely worth it.
  • If you have a CCD camera (Canon 1D, most P&S cameras, Nikon D1 series, Nikon D100) or the original Canon 1Ds, I'd say you are out of luck for this particular type of photography. These sensors have characteristics that don't very much support this kind of extreme photography.
  • Make sure your batteries are fully charged.
  • Further below, I talk about ISO 50 film. Use the lowest native ISO setting of your camera. For instance, the Canon 1Ds MK2 starts at ISO 100, with a "Low" setting equal to ISO 50. Here, you'd use ISO 100, because the "low" setting comes at the expense of dynamic range, and you'll need all the DR you can get with this kind of photography. Use other tricks to slow down the exposure, such as filters.
  • Consider using film for this. As of 3/2006, I am not convinced that there's a camera that can do better than ultra high contrast, low speed film on this one. The Ultra 50 can definitely out-do the Canon 1D2 and Nikon D2X and D200, and I'd say most likely the Canon 1Ds2 and 5D.
     
• Film shooters: Buy super slow, super high contrast film. For this purpose, I can only praise the Agfa Ultra 50 (print). The what? Yeah, you have never heard of it and neither has your photo store, chances are. That film kicks some major butt, however for special purposes only. As in, not pictures of people, but of the rainforest or - of a night launch. It may take serious search for this film, especially since it's been discontinued in 1999. You can get it for about $20/roll on eBay these days - may be well worth the investment in one roll. If you are seriously planning this trip and really want to get the best possible shot,  organize the Ultra 50 for this purpose. If you can't get it, get something as slow as you can  (Fuji Velvia slide film, which is by now also discontinued, and in general I don't recommend slide film for this purpose; old Kodak Ektar 25 print film which is probably even harder to get than the Ultra 50). No drug store around the corner has the kind of film you will need for this. There is not that much slow film out there to begin with. 100 is too fast already, anything above and don't even bother taking your camera out.
  
• You need a very sturdy tripod. We are talking something that can hold the camera for 8 minutes without a bit of shaking. You may be well advised to hang some extra weight on the tripod - some people attach a bag full of rocks or water bottles on the center column.
  
  
• You will need some sort of cable release, or infra-red with locking capabilities.
  
  
• Remove any lens filters, as stated above! Very important.
  
• You need a wide-angle lens. From the shore, a 28mm lens should do (in landscape mode); from the Causeway, you need a 24mm (which will fit exactly in landscape [horizontal] mode); from the VIP or press site, you will need at least 20mm in portrait [vertical] setting. 17mm in landscape setting is not enough from the VIP site! (a 15mm fisheye is good but will result in a typical fisheye style image).
  
  
• With a time lapse shot, it is imperative that you cover the viewfinder as mentioned above. If you can't close it and there is nothing to slide over, gently hang a t-shirt or something over the back of the camera before starting the exposure, and leave it there while taking the shot.
  
  
• The shuttle will be flying eastbound. The exact arc depends on the desired inclination of the mission: a space station mission (high inclination) will be flying more "to the left" (more to the north) than a plain 28 degrees mission, which will fly straight east. Adjust the frame accordingly. If you are as anal as I am, take a compass or GPS to the site and investigate the precise flight path when setting up.
  
  
• From the Causeway, you may want to use landscape mode as the arc will be "wide"; from the VIP site you definitely want to use portrait as the arc will be very very narrow. This has to do with the different angle at which you will be viewing the launch from the different sites. It's hard to say which mode to use from the shore because it is so long and you can be pretty much anywhere :-)
  

• Set the camera to BULB. That's the setting where the shutter stays open for as long as you hold the release. Because we will be holding it for up to 8 minutes, you need a cable release as you can't hold down the button for that long without shaking the camera.
  
  
• Set the lens aperture to f22, or as slow as it gets. For an 8 minute shot of the launch, on a perfectly clear night, the optimum value would be f32 at ISO 50. On a partly cloudy night, you have much more reflected light and the optimum would be around f64 on ISO 50. Try to get as close to this as possible (because of gear restrictions, I could do only f22 at 50 and it was already too much). If you have a neutral density filter, use it. If you have a 100 speed film, terminate the exposure already after 2-3 minutes. Your light trail will be shorter but better a shorter one that none at all, right?
  
  
• If the sky is overcast, you will not see the full 8 minutes of propelled flight because the shuttle will disappear in the clouds. However, the overall picture will be brighter because of the haze (again we can discuss the physics behind it). So the aperture (f-stop) will stay the same, at a shorter exposure time.
  
  
• If you have a second camera to bracket, use the same exposure and film, but a shorter time interval, or an ND filter. Trust me, you can't under-expose a shuttle launch time lapse image regardless how hard you try.
  
  
• Tell your photo finisher not to cut the negatives / not to cut & mount the slides. If shooting film, I recommend that you take a few "blank" images so that the actual launch photo is somewere towards the middle of the film. This gives the lab even less of a chance to screw it up / cut it up.
  
• Around T-10sec, fire. You want to have the whole propelled flight on film, and the engines start at T-6s. Keep people from tripping over your tripod. You bump into it a bit and the whole shot is hosed. If this happens and you notice, immediately terminate the exposure. This will ensure that at least the streak so far is "straight". Again, chances are your shot is overexposed anyway, so cutting it short doesn't do too much harm. Also, the vast majority of light comes during the first seconds after liftoff, the final minutes are just accessory.
  
  
• At engine cutoff, or whenever the shuttle disappears in the clouds, release.
   
• Here a table of proven values, based on film speed and minimum aperture of your lens. Note that the scale isn't quite linear, due to reciprocity failure of most film. Digital doesn't have reciprocity failure, meaning that doubling the exposure time will indeed double the amount of captured light.
  
  

Good luck, and let me know how your pictures turn out or if you have any further questions!

STS-93 Launch Viewing

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