This week I dealt with something we’ve all been frustrated by at one time or another: delays.
Whether it is waiting for a flight, appointment or sporting event we’ve all been there. A delay isn’t something you would normally associate with photography, but that all depends what you are trying to shoot.
In this case I was trying to catch a rocket launch, not exactly something common here several hundred miles away from the nearest launchpad. In certain circumstances a launch can be easily visible from most of the east coast inland to the southern Appalachians. The high elevations of WNC are particularly helpful when trying to catch a twilight launch. The sun hits the rocket up in the atmosphere before it rises locally, which can lead to a beautiful phenomenon. Unfortunately, there is only a 20-30 minute window before sunrise and after sunset where this is a possibility.
This past Wednesday a launch was scheduled for 7:10AM, right in the perfect window. So, I got up early and headed out to a high elevation spot facing east to try and see it. I grabbed my telescope on the way out and used it to snap a quick picture of the crescent moon. Strong winds of 20-30MPH kept me from getting a clear focus shot, but given the circumstances it was a nice view.
I then checked my phone to find out that the launch had been delayed 15 minutes. Unfortunately this put it just past the window for me being able to see it. This is somewhat frustrating since launches within the window are rare, generally happening only a few times a year at most. Until recently they almost never happened, but the increase in number of launches thanks to SpaceX has made them much more regular albeit still uncommon.
So there I was with no launch to view. Sometimes this winds up in a quick pack and head home, but since it was a nice morning I decided to hang out for sunrise. The show I didn’t get from a rocket launch I got from Mother Nature. Thanks to a mix of jet contrails and high clouds the sky lit up brilliantly. Often, the best part of any sunrise or sunset is 20 minutes before or after. This was one of those cases.
I watched the scene unfold which culminated in the sun peeking over the horizon. You can easily pick out the crescent moon in these photos as well.
So this week if you wind up getting delayed take some time to look around as I’m certain you’ll find something beautiful while you wait.
Have a great week and I’ll see you on the trail……
