Commented footage of the space shuttle launch

Ascent is a commented montage of carefully selected videos of the launch of space shuttle, made by the Glenn Research Center. A DVD and a Blu-ray were produced but are apparently yet to be distributed reliably, so meanwhile the DVD ISO can be downloaded on this unofficial website.

The document is 45mn long, and presents outstanding footage taken during launch of missions STS-114, STS-117, and STS-124, from some of the 125 cameras used to ensure vehicle safety. Views include close ups of the ignition and of the launchpad at 400 fps, mid range footage, and up to footage taken from over 30km away (with the equivalent of a 4000mm lens). The comments give abundant detail about what is happening on the picture as well as the camera involved (lens, film, speed…).

As mentioned this video is 45mn long, but I’ve found it so captivating that I hardly noticed the length. If you only have 8mn available though, this other montage shows the launch from the cameras attached to the solid rocket boosters (SRB) with the recorded sound, from ignition, up until separation, then down to landing in the sea.

An image in the rain

A typhoon passed over Japan a couple of days ago, causing, at least in Tokyo, no more trouble than some serious rain and a couple of broken umbrellas. It was also an opportunity for photographers to catch some interesting scenes. This image in particular grabbed – as in, took and refused to give back – my attention.

Vertical version - 90度回転

With the kind permission of its author, Héctor García (aka. kirai / kirainet)

A real gem.

I have to disagree with the author when he argues the result is marred by the unbalanced composition (see the description on the Flickr page). I think on the contrary it makes the scene more vivid, more intense and in a sense, more fragile, bringing back the movement and life the high shutter speed froze away. It would have been so less interesting if it was perfectly aligned and balanced.

On a side note, also notice how the lines draw the attention on the model as the vanishing point is out of the frame. If it was within it, the feeling would be very different as the attention would drift toward the end of the street.

Last but not least, look at this light! Look at the warm reflections, the rim on the arm, the scattering through the drops…

This is exactly the sort of light I was referring to when I chose the title of this blog.

Update: Kirai made the following video out of some of the shots taken during that session.