BulgariaSat1 by SpaceX - Pad Streak

Achievement Unlocked: Attempt a Pad Streak With a direct nod to those who blazed the trail before me, I present my attempt to pull off a rocket streak using a pad camera, during the day. With apologies to anyone I'm forgetting to acknowledge in this tag-fest, the first time I saw this kind of shot was Bill Ingalls' fabulous pad streak of a Soyuz. Alan Walters' pad streaks are amazing, and John Studwell and Bill Jelen have joined the party as well. Ben Cooper is doing next-level streak imagery; specifically, the landing streak he did is the stuff of legends. And, it was Bill Jelen aka Mr. Excel who, after successfully capturing a pad streak last launch, brought an extra camera to my house the other night with the specific suggestion that I try the streak. (The camera is actually Jared Haworth's camera that he leaves in Florida for We Report Space to, well, report space.) So, here it is. This is actually 2 frames, both of them 20-second exposures shot through a 10-stop ND filter. I'm using 2 frames to bring out some of the detail that was obscured in the first (the launch) frame; by the time the second exposure fired, much of the cloud had dissipated. Initial edits were done in Lightroom, the composite was done in Photoshop and then final edits were done (again) in Lightroom. Again, my thanks to my photographic colleagues who I am so fortunate to learn from, and imitate. (Photo by Michael Seeley / We Report Space) — at Launch Pad 39-A.

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BulgariaSat1 by SpaceX

At 3:10pm (ET) on Friday, June 23, 2017, Elon Musk's SpaceX successfully launched the #BulgariaSat1 satellite atop a "flight tested" or previous flown #Falcon9 rocket. Shortly after launch, the first stage of the Falcon9 was again successfully landed, this time on the "Of Course I Still Love You" drone ship, positioned 300 miles off shore in the Atlantic. (Photo by Michael Seeley / We Report Space)

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BulgariaSat1 by SpaceX - Remote Camera Set Up

Photo taken during the early morning of June 23, 2017 as the media was escorted to LC39A to set remote cameras. The BulgariaSat1 satellite is set to be launched later today at 2:10pm on Friday, June 23, 2017.   (Photo by Michael Seeley / We Report Space)

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BulgariaSat1 by SpaceX - Remote Camera Set Up

Photo taken during the early morning of June 23, 2017 as the media was escorted to LC39A to set remote cameras. The BulgariaSat1 satellite is set to be launched later today at 2:10pm on Friday, June 23, 2017.   (Photo by Michael Seeley / We Report Space)

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BulgariaSat1 by SpaceX - Remote Camera Set Up

Photo taken during the early morning of June 23, 2017 as the media was escorted to LC39A to set remote cameras. The BulgariaSat1 satellite is set to be launched later today at 2:10pm on Friday, June 23, 2017.   This is the rocket, stadning upright on the pad, as the sun rises to the right of the frame. (Photo by Michael Seeley / We Report Space)

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BulgariaSat1 by SpaceX - Remote Camera Set Up

Photo taken during the early morning of June 23, 2017 as the media was escorted to LC39A to set remote cameras. The BulgariaSat1 satellite is set to be launched later today at 2:10pm on Friday, June 23, 2017.   This is the #sunsrise, seen over the Turning Basin from the parking lot of the Kennedy Space Center Press Site. You can see a sliver of white behind the trees; that's the Falcon9 sitting on the pad at LC39A, approximately 4 miles away. (Photo by Michael Seeley / We Report Space)

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BulgariaSat1 by SpaceX - Remote Camera Set Up

Photo taken during the early morning of June 23, 2017 as the media was escorted to LC39A to set remote cameras. The BulgariaSat1 satellite is set to be launched later today at 2:10pm on Friday, June 23, 2017.   This is the rocket, stadning upright on the pad, as the sun rises to the right of the frame. (Photo by Michael Seeley / We Report Space)

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