Interesting Photo of the Day: Golden Rocket Trail

With the successful launches of various SpaceX rockets, we’re super excited for mankind’s take on space exploration. In November of 2020, a SpaceX rocket was launched that carried four astronauts to dock with the International Space Station. The successful flight was yet another milestone as it highlighted the maturation of the commercial industry. Photographer Dieter Unrath got lucky as he was able to observe and photograph this important event from Cocoa Beach in Florida:

“Lining for the future.” by Dieter Unrath (Via Reddit. Click image to see full size.)

Unrath took the image with a Canon 6D and a 50mm f/1.4 lens. The image is a composite of three different images. Two of the images are for the rocket trail that he shot at 50mm, f/14, ISO 100, and a 30-second exposure. For the background, he exposed for the stars for 30 seconds at 50mm, f/3.2, and ISO 800.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of color grading to this and a bit of overlaying in Photoshop.”

Without a doubt, the hero of this image is the rocket trail. Without it, we wouldn’t have been able to draw much inference from the image. And although it’s not overdone, it gives a sci-fi feel to the image. If you’re writing a sci-fi book, you could definitely consider this image for the book cover.

Besides the trail, the people on the beach and the stars in the background also convey an important message. With all these advancements taking place, we can now dream that very soon mankind will be ready to explore space more conveniently and hopefully find a new home. It’s almost like the people are waiting in line for their turn to go there.

It’s amazing how the photographer was able to get this meaningful photo during his first time witnessing a rocket launch. He did a fantastic job – we love that the composition isn’t just of a rocket, but of a whole scene. What do you think?

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