I was invited to take photos of a rocket launch at a private launch facility in the Mojave desert in Southern California by Evolution Space, a space startup. The team moves the 21 feet tall rocket from the workshop to the launch tower before sunrise. The flight turned out to be their first space flight, reaching 125 km, and a top speed to Mach 5.2. Congrats team!

I processed a photographic and a balanced HDR photo from a JPG exposure, blended them, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/4.0, 41 mm, 1/4 sec, ISO 6400, Sony A7R II, FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS, HDR, 1 JPG exposure, _DSC8840_hdrj1pho1bal1d.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2023 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

Last September we spent a weekend at Balls 29, a big experimental rocket launch event in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada - the same place where Burning Man takes place. About 300 people camped in the middle of the playa (dry lakebed). In the middle because it is easy to drive to a rocket after launch to retrieve it. The playa is big, very big -- the sun is very low at sunrise, and is casting long shadows.

I processed a photographic and a balanced HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/8.0, 16 mm, 1/250 sec, ISO 200, Sony A6000, SEL-P1650, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC6775_hdr1pho1bal1h.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

We joined a rocket launch event at the Snow Ranch, located in Central Valley of California, 2 hours east of the San Francisco Bay Area. The ranch owner graciously offers their land for monthly rocket launches, organized by LUNAR, the Livermore Unit of the National Association of Rocketry. This high power rocket called Mighty Thumper was launched from a distance, and had a perfect flight. The payload was a little parachute man, who floated down from the sky. See launch video at bit.ly/3ijtcAw.

I processed a balanced and a photographic HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/7.1, 210 mm, 1/800 sec, ISO 200, Sony A6000, SEL-55210, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC0019_hdr1bal1pho1e.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

We spent the last weekend of September at Balls 29, a big experimental rocket launch event in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada - the same place where Burning Man takes place. About 300 people camped in the middle of the playa (dry lakebed) so that it is easy to drive to a rocket after launch to retrieve it. The playa is big, very big -- the sun is very low at sunrise, and is casting long shadows.

I processed a photographic and a balanced HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/8.0, 16 mm, 1/250 sec, ISO 200, Sony A6000, SEL-P1650, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC6775_hdr1pho1bal1g.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

We spent the a weekend at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to attend Balls XXX, the biggest experimental rocket launch event in the world. The camp is in the middle of a dry lakebed, also called playa, the same place where Burning Man takes place. The playa is big, about 200 sq mi (520 km2). After launching rockets we drove to the edge of the playa and jumped into the Frog Pond, a natural hot spring. It was fun riding at the back of the pickup truck at high speed.

I processed a balanced and a photographic HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, carefully adjusted the color balance and curves, and desaturated the image. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/6.3, 55 mm, 1/2000 sec, ISO 200, Sony A6000, SEL-55210, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC4745_hdr1bal1pho1e.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

Thank you for visiting - ❤ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, get beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

A week ago we went to the Black Rock Desert for the Mudroc rocket launch event. It was very windy on Saturday; not many rockets were launched because of that. One high altitude rocket took off and landed way out west. I caught the owner carrying his rocket back to to the camp shortly after sunset.

I processed a balanced HDR photo from a RAW exposure, and carefully pulled the curves.

-- © Peter Thoeny, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, NEX-6, _DSC8930_hdr1bal1d

We spent the last September weekend at Balls 29, a big experimental rocket launch event in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada - the same place where Burning Man takes place. We camped in the middle of the playa (dry lakebed). At sunset we drove to the Mad Max camp at the edge of the playa -- see other posts on that.

I processed a realistic, a photographic, and a paintery HDR photo from two RAW exposures, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/8.0, 16 mm, 1/125, 1/500 sec, ISO 250, Sony A6000, SEL-P1650, HDR, 2 RAW exposures, _DSC7318_9_hdr2rea1pho1pai5k.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

The 16th resupply mission to the International Space Station by Northrup Grumman's Antares rocket.

~ Jennifer Aniston :p

Last November I was invited to take photos of a big rocket launch by a space startup company at Friends of Amateur Rocketry, a private rocket launch facility in the Mojave Desert in California. The team worked through the night to get the rocket ready, first in the shop, then at the launch pad. Manny removes the straps one hour before launch, which was scheduled for 6:49am.

See photos of this event on FB at bit.ly/3xdBlNH

I processed a balanced and a realistic HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/5.6, 56 mm, 1/13 sec, ISO 6400, Sony A6000, SEL-55210, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC8353_hdr1bal1rea1h.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

Thank you for visiting - ❤ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, get beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

Tomorrow we will be driving on the playa of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to attend Mudrock, a three day rocket launch event organized by AeroPac. My son will launch his new 9 feet tall rocket to (hopefully) get his level 2 certification for high power rockets. We are looking forward to this!

You can drive on the playa (dry lake bed) at high speed. It is quite safe, there is no police around, and you can see other moving vehicles by the huge dust cloud they cause. The playa is gypsum, a compressible and very fine-grained material.

I processed a balanced HDR photo from a RAW exposure.

-- © Peter Thoeny, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, NEX-6, _DSC7879_hdr1bal1e

I am preparing for a presentation about hobby rocketry in the USA, so I looked through my large photo collection. I took this blue hour shot of the Balls camp in September 2015. It is a big experimental rocket launch event in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada - the same place where Burning Man takes place. About 300 people camped in the middle of the playa (dry lakebed), so that it is easy to drive to a rocket to retrieve it after launch.

I processed a balanced and a paintery HDR photo from three RAW exposures, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/5.6, 55 mm, 1/50, 1/13, 0.3 sec, ISO 100, Sony NEX-6, SEL-55210, HDR, 3 RAW exposures, _DSC7907_8_9_hdr3bal1pai5f.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2023 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

We spent the last weekend of September at Balls 29, a big experimental rocket launch event in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada - the same place where Burning Man takes place. We camped in the middle of the playa (dry lakebed). At sunset we drove to the Mad Max camp at the edge of the playa -- more on that later. You can drive very fast on the playa, and you can see cars for miles because of the big dust cloud. The playa ground is soft; driving on the playa feels like driving on snow.

I processed a photographic, balanced, and a paintery HDR photo from two RAW exposures, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/7.1, 120 mm, 1/125, 1/500 sec, ISO 100, Sony A6000, SEL-55210, HDR, 2 RAW exposures, _DSC6755_7_hdr2pho1bal1pai5h.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

I followed the Space-X rocket and saw the moon in the southern portion of the sky. If you've seen the video already you will have noticed this part. But, as you can also see, the booster rocket continued to break off and disintegrate into the upper atmosphere while the payload continued to fly higher into space.

This was a frame grab from HD video, using my Samsung A35 smartphone. Be sure to check out the video if you haven't seen it yet. It's on my YouTube channel and it's only a minute and forty-five seconds long.

A sub-orbital rocket launched from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia as seen from Williamsburg, VA (80 miles away!)

June 16, 2025: Falcon 9 Block 5/SpaceX launch from Vandenberg AFB as seen from Newbury Park, California. #flickrfriday #one

Last September we spent a weekend at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to attend Balls XXX, the biggest experimental rocket launch event in the world. The camp is in the middle of a dry lakebed, also called playa, the same place where Burning Man takes place. The playa is big, about 200 sq mi (520 km2). After a rocket come down on a parachute you walk or drive to it, guided by GPS or a directional antenna. A man retrieved his rocket on foot after a successful launch. This desert is named after the black rock behind the person.

I processed a balanced, a photographic, and a paintery HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/8.0, 210 mm, 1/4000 sec, ISO 400, Sony A6000, SEL-55210, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC4835_hdr1bal1pho1pai5i.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying several Starlink satellites into orbit on July 27, 2024. This image was shot from Vero Beach.

A week ago we attended high power rocket launches at Friends of Amateur Rocketry, a private rocket launch facility in the Mojave Desert, California. On Sunday I was invited to take photos of a test launch by a commercial rocket startup, currently in stealth mode. The rocket had a Q size motor, the trust could easily lift two cars. We were watching close by from 300 feet (100 m), safely in a bunker.

I processed a realistic, and a balanced HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/6.7, 230 mm, 1/1500 sec, ISO 400, Sony A7 II, Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC7669_hdr1rea1bal1e.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

We spent a weekend at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to attend Balls XXX, the biggest experimental rocket launch event in the world. The camp is in the middle of a dry lakebed, also called playa, the same place where Burning Man takes place. The playa is big, about 200 sq mi (520 km2). The night sky is very clear because there is no light pollution, you can see the Milky Way and millions of stars with your bare eyes.

I processed a photographic and a balanced HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/2.8, 12 mm, 8 sec, ISO 3200, Sony A7 II, Rokinon 12mm F2.8, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC0258_hdrj1bal1ori1d.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

Last weekend we attended high power rocket launches at Friends of Amateur Rocketry, a private rocket launch facility in the Mojave Desert, California. I was invited to take photos of a test launch by a commercial rocket startup on Sunday. On Saturday many student teams launched their rockets, and did static fire tests of rocket motors. This is the smoke trail of a high power rocket seen straight up. Winds aloft quickly convert the straight line into a wiggly line.

I processed a balanced and a photographic HDR photo from a RAW exposure, merged them selectively, and carefully adjusted color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/6.3, 55 mm, 1/1000 sec, ISO 200, Sony A6000, SEL-55210, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC1977_hdr1pho1bal1f.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

I was invited to take photos of a big rocket launch by a space startup company at Friends of Amateur Rocketry, a private rocket launch facility in the Mojave Desert in California. The team worked through the night to get the rocket ready, first in the shop, then at the launch pad. I calculated that the sun would hit the rocket at 6:50am in the morning with a 1º margin, and the team adjusted the launch time accordingly. The sun hit the rocket during the 20 sec automated countdown.

The rocket took off with a big roar; we could feel the sound in our tummy. We were a mere 300 ft (100m) away from the launch area, safely in bunkers. This rocket had an S-size solid motor, producing 8 tons of thrust at liftoff, and 20 G acceleration. It reached 188,000 ft, about 6 times higher than the cruising altitude of commercial aircraft, and flew up to 4 times faster than sound.

I processed a photographic and a realistic HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

See photos of this event on FB at bit.ly/3xdBlNH

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/6.3, 82 mm, 1/3200 sec, ISO 1000, Sony A6000, SEL-55210, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC8451_hdr1pho1rea1i.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

We spent the last weekend at Balls 29, a big experimental rocket launch event in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada - the same place where Burning Man takes place. About 300 rocketeers gathered to launch high power rockets. At night it's time to relax and socialize. We took along a comfy antique chair from home to shoot portraits on the playa of the Black Rock Desert lakebed, which is about 200 sq mi (520 km2). Our friend Tony poses with his rocket at moonrise, while glancing at the night sky.

I processed a balanced and a realistic HDR photo from two RAW exposures, blended them selectively, carefully adjusted the color balance and curves, and desaturated the image with a higher contrast except for the person. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/2.8, 12 mm, 1/15, 1/20 sec, ISO 800, Sony A7 II, Rokinon 12mm F2.8, HDR, 2 RAW exposures, _DSC2601_2_hdr1bal1rea1k.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

Thank you for visiting - ❤ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, get beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

This weekend we will join a high power rocket event at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. My son will launch his new 9 feet tall rocket, we are looking forward to this!

A year ago I was at the same event. At that time a very cool rocket called "Light Show" was launched with hundreds of LEDs. The LEDs slowly change the colors. On this shot, the owner signs off this rocket before launch. The flight was initially good, but the parachute did not deploy, so the rocket came down ballistic like a missile with a hissing sound. It buried deep into into the ground near the flight line. Failures happen, that's part of rocketry.

I processed a balanced HDR photo from a RAW exposure.

-- © Peter Thoeny, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, NEX-6, _DSC7092_hdr1bal1c

I was invited to take photos of a big rocket launch by a space startup company at Friends of Amateur Rocketry, a private rocket launch facility in the Mojave Desert in California. The team worked through the night to get the rocket ready, first in the shop, then at the launch pad. Manny removes the straps one hour before launch, which was scheduled for 6:49am.

See photos of this event on FB at bit.ly/3xdBlNH

I processed a balanced and a realistic HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, carefully adjusted the color balance and curves, and desaturated the image. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/5.6, 56 mm, 1/13 sec, ISO 6400, Sony A6000, SEL-55210, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC8353_hdr1bal1rea1i.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

Today we are rocket launching with R. The whole world is wondrous when you're 6 years old.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtVBCG6ThDk

Last September we spent a weekend at Balls 29, a big experimental rocket launch event in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada - the same place where Burning Man takes place. About 300 rocketeers gathered to launch high power rockets. At night it's time to relax and socialize. We took along a comfy antique chair from home to shoot portraits on the playa of the Black Rock Desert lakebed. The playa is big, about 200 sq mi (520 km2). Our friend Tony poses with his rocket at moonrise, while glancing at the night sky.

I processed a balanced and a realistic HDR photo from two RAW exposures, blended them selectively, carefully adjusted the color balance and curves, and desaturated the image with a higher contrast except for the person. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/2.8, 12 mm, 1/15, 1/20 sec, ISO 800, Sony A7 II, Rokinon 12mm F2.8, HDR, 2 RAW exposures, _DSC2601_2_hdr1bal1rea1h.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket last night at 7:51 PM. It carried the first of a new generation of GPS satellites into orbit.

On the first January weekend we drove to the Snow Ranch, located in Central Valley of California, 2 hours east of the San Francisco Bay Area. The ranch owner graciously offers their land for monthly rocket launches, organized by LUNAR, the Livermore Unit of the National Association of Rocketry. Tony launches his famous piñata rocket, where candy rains down from the sky, to kids delight.

I processed a photographic and a balanced HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/6.3, 210 mm, 1/2000 sec, ISO 200, Sony A6000, SEL-55210, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC9303_hdr1pho1bal1i.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

We attended high power rocket launches at the Friends of Amateur Rocketry launch site in the Mojave desert of California. My son works at the Naval Postgraduate School in the rocket propulsion lab. The Navy team launched two high power rockets to test a guidance system for fins. This is one of them, just clearing the launch rail.

I processed a balanced and a photographic HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/8.0, 61 mm, 1/2500 sec, ISO 125, Sony A6000, SEL-55210, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC8156_hdr1bal1pho1d.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

We just spent a weekend at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to attend Balls 30, a big experimental rocket launch - the same place where Burning Man takes place. The camp is in the middle of a dry lakebed, also called playa. The playa is big, about 200 sq mi (520 km2). You need the GPS coordinates to find the camp - because of the curvature of Earth you can't see the camp unless you are about 5-8 miles close. You can drive fast on the playa, the ground is soft, it feels like driving on snow. We passed this RV in a distance when we left the camp. Vehicles produce a lot of dust and are easy to spot, so it is safe to drive in daytime on the playa that has no roads.

I processed a balanced and a realistic HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/8.0, 68 mm, 1/3200 sec, ISO 400, Sony A6000, SEL-55210, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC4855_hdr1bal1rea1g.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

Thank you for visiting - ❤ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

We spent 3 days and nights at a rocket camp in the middle of the Nevada desert. Balls is the biggest rocket event, happening every year in September in the Black Rock Desert - the same desert where Burning Man is taking place. What an experience! It was super cold, we had frost in the morning.

The rockets are mainly experimental, with home built air frame and motors. People seeing this for the first time are surprised and ask if these big rockets are legal. Yes, all sanctioned by the FAA. In fact, the FAA issues a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), advising pilots to avoid this area from surface to unlimited.

In this photo, two rocket engineers carry their rocket to the launch pad. This is an unusual sight, most people transport their rocket with the car to the launch pad. For safety, and depending on the size of the motor, the launch pads are 500 feet, 1000 feet, and 1500 feet away from the camp.

I processed a balanced and a photographic HDR photo from a RAW exposure, merged them selectively, and carefully adjusted the curves and color balance to pop the scene.

-- © Peter Thoeny, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, NEX-6, _DSC9775_hdr1bal1pho1c.jpg

Nope, it's just the effects of a rocket launched from Vandenberg AFB. I went out to take some shots of the crescent moon, and suddenly saw this. Cool, isn't it?

Early morning launch of SpaceX Starlink group 4-17. Launch was on schedule. Captured from Port Canaveral Beach, FL Canon 5DM4 with Sigma 14mm ART 266s f/14 ISO 100. Post-processing in LRC, PS CC, and Topaz Sharpen AI.

SN-16 at Starbase, Texas. Amazing lighting on this rocket with the setting sun behind!

A Black Brant IX sounding rocket was launched from Wallops Island, VA just past midnight on January 9, 2022. The rocket launch was photographed from Lancaster, PA, USA about 155 northwest of the launch site.

SpaceX Falcon 9, delivering 21 Starlink satellites into low earth orbit.

My son and I decided to attend the launch of Starship 5, which was scheduled form Sunday October 13. This SpaceX mission was historical: The objective was to catch the Super Heavy booster on return with the Mechazilla arms, nicknamed "chopsticks". The booster slowed to a near hover and did a horizontal slide maneuver to line itself up with, and rest on two massive "chopstick" arms on the launch tower. It was an amazing feat many considered impossible!

I processed a balanced and a photographic HDR photo from 3 RAW exposures, blended them into a composite image, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/6.3, 375 mm, 1/640 sec, ISO 1600, Sony A6400, Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3, HDR, 3 RAW exposures, _DSC8608_10_21_hdr1bal1pho1f.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2024 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

Today we are driving to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to spent a weekend at Balls 30, a big experimental rocket launch - the same place where Burning Man takes place. Can't wait!

This photo is from last year. About 300 rocketeers gathered to launch high power rockets. At night it's time to relax and socialize. We took along a comfy antique chair from home to shoot portraits on the playa of the Black Rock Desert lakebed. The playa is big, about 200 sq mi (520 km2). Our friend Tony poses with his rocket at moonrise, while glancing at the night sky.

I processed a balanced and a realistic HDR photo from two RAW exposures, blended them selectively, carefully adjusted the color balance and curves, and desaturated the image with a higher contrast except for the person. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/2.8, 12 mm, 1/15, 1/20 sec, ISO 800, Sony A7 II, Rokinon 12mm F2.8, HDR, 2 RAW exposures, _DSC2601_2_hdr1bal1rea1l.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

We spent a weekend at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to attend Balls XXX, the biggest experimental rocket launch event in the world. The camp is in the middle of a dry lakebed, also called playa, the same place where Burning Man takes place. The playa is big, about 200 sq mi (520 km2). The night sky is very clear because there is no light pollution, you can see the Milky Way and millions of stars with your bare eyes.

I processed a photographic and a balanced HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/2.8, 12 mm, 15 sec, ISO 3200, Sony A7 II, Rokinon 12mm F2.8, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC0018_hdr1pho1bal1j.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

A 10 minute exposure of the Antares rocket on Friday night from Wallops Island.

Thank you for visiting - ❤ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, get beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

Last month we spent a weekend on the playa of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to attend Mudrock, a three day rocket launch event organized by AeroPac. My son carries his 9 feet tall high power rocket after its successful maiden flight.

Update: Here is a video compilation of this launch.

I processed a balanced HDR photo from a RAW exposure.

-- © Peter Thoeny, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, NEX-6, _DSC9742_hdr1bal1e

We spent the last weekend of September at Balls 29, a big experimental rocket launch event in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada - the same place where Burning Man takes place. About 300 people camped in the middle of the playa (dry lakebed), so that it is easy to drive to a rocket to retrieve it after launch. We were at a launch pad 1500 feet away from the camp. The warmer air at the ground makes the camp appear to be floating on a lake.

I processed a realistic and a balanced HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/6.3, 210 mm, 1/3200 sec, ISO 200, Sony A6000, SEL-55210, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC7550_hdr1rea1bal1i.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

We spent a weekend at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to attend Balls XXX, the biggest experimental rocket launch event in the world. The camp is in the middle of a dry lakebed, also called playa, the same place where Burning Man takes place. The playa is big, about 200 sq mi (520 km2). The night sky is very clear, you can see the Milky Way and millions of stars with your bare eyes because there is no light pollution. We arrived on Friday night, and I took this shot at around midnight when most people already went to sleep. Look at this shot fullscreen to enjoy.

I processed a balanced HDR photo from a RAW exposure, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/2.8, 12 mm, 30 sec, ISO 1600, Sony A7 II, Rokinon 12mm F2.8, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC0013_hdr1bal1i.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

We spent the last weekend at Balls 29, a big experimental rocket launch event in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada - the same place where Burning Man takes place. A big rocket is launched every few minutes.

The majority of the rockets are experimental, people often mix their own solid propellant. With this, about 1/3 of the launches fail, sometimes spectacularly. For safety, the bigger the motor, the farther away the launch. Big rockets ascend up to 200,000 feet and more, which is 6 times higher than the cruising altitude of commercial aircraft. The fastest rockets reach Mach 5 (5 times the speed of sound, 3800 MPH, 6100 km/h), and pull up to 80 g.

This launchpad is 2000 feet away from the rocket camp. The rocket CATOed, rocketeer speak of catastrophic take-off. One frequent point of failure is the nozzle of the motor. It looks like it blew out, you can see the ring about half way down. If you zoom in you can see grains of solid AP (ammonium perchlorate) fuel scatter all around.

I processed a balanced and a realistic HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/8.0, 210 mm, 1/1600 sec, ISO 200, Sony A6000, SEL-55210, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC7080_hdr1bal1e.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

We spent a weekend at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to attend Balls XXX, the biggest experimental rocket launch event in the world. The camp is in the middle of a dry lakebed, also called playa, the same place where Burning Man takes place. The playa is big, about 200 sq mi (520 km2). After a rocket come down on a parachute you walk or drive to it, guided by GPS or a directional antenna. A man retrieved his rocket on foot after a successful launch. This desert is named after the black rock behind the person.

I processed a balanced, a photographic, and a paintery HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, carefully adjusted the color balance and curves, and desaturated the image. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/8.0, 210 mm, 1/4000 sec, ISO 400, Sony A6000, SEL-55210, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC4835_hdr1bal1pho1pai5j.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

Thank you for visiting - ❤ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, get beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

We are just back from the desert, no internet, and no shower for three days. Exhausted but happy. We spent this weekend on the playa of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to attend Mudrock, a three day rocket launch event organized by AeroPac.

You see the camp below. In the back at the end of the two mountain ranges is Gerlach, the last town you pass before you enter the dry lakebed.

This is a frame grab of a GoPro camera mounted on my son's 9 feet tall rocket. This was the maiden flight of the high power rocket, and also my son's level 2 certification attempt. The flight was flawless, so he passed, and got certified. Yay!

Update: Here is a video compilation of this launch.

I processed a smooth HDR photo from one exposure.

-- © Peter Thoeny, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, HDR, 1 exposure, GoPro, l2-gopro23smo1e

Falcon 9 booster B1062, launched for the 20th time, with the shortest time between launches -- 21 hrs. and 24 minutes. This single 1st Stage has launched 8 astronauts and more than 500 satellites - totaling 261+ metric tons to orbit in under 4 years. Hope all this space junk burns up on re-entry.....

Thank you for visiting - ❤ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, get beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

Last weekend we spent three days in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to attend Aeronaut, a rocket launch event organized by AeroPac. Someone launched a really big rocket, far away for safety. The O-size motor could easily lift a car. The rocket had a CATO (Catastrophe At Take Off) and exploded at the launchpad. Burning motor parts flew through the air. That is what the safety distance is for. Failure is part of rocketry.

I took a photo with a tele-zoom lens and I processed a balanced HDR photo from a RAW exposure. A mirage can be seen behind the cars.

-- © Peter Thoeny, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, NEX-6, _DSC4090_hdr1bal1d

I was invited to take photos of a rocket launch at a private launch facility in the Mojave desert in Southern California by Evolution Space, a space startup. The evening before we had a launch party with employees and investors. He is an engineer at the company.

I processed a balanced and a photographic HDR photo from a JPG exposure, blended them, carefully adjusted the color balance and curves, and desaturated the image. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

-- ƒ/1.2, 50 mm, 1/250 sec, ISO 1600, Sony A7 II, Canon 50mm f0.95 "Dream Lens", HDR, 1 JPG exposure, _DSC8407_hdrj1bal1pho1b.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2023 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography