Streaking into space: Photo of the Week, June 16-22, 2024

When a rocket takes off on the Space Coast, chances are countless locals are standing in their yard or driveway, heads upturned, some with phone in hand to capture a mediocre shot of the launch.

When the person shooting the launch is FLORIDA TODAY's veteran photojournalist Craig Bailey, it's assured there'll be dozens of shots worthy of oohs, ahhs and in many cases, wows.

In this week's delicate yet powerful Photo of the Week choice, a SpaceX Falcon 9 climbs skyward in daylight, carrying the SES ASTRA 1P satellite into space.

Bailey claims "there’s actually not a lot to this photo." But for those of us snapping those "meh" phone pics and aspiring photogs alike, shots like those Bailey brings home beg the question: How did you capture that image, especially given the sun's intensity?

Take note: "It’s a 30-second exposure of the Falcon 9 launch using a very low ISO setting and a neutral density filter," Bailey said. "It basically darkens the image to the point where you can do this sort of thing in the daylight."

For these kinds of photos, bright sunlight is your enemy, he added.

"Clouds help cut the intensity of the light but too many clouds can ruin the effect," Bailey said. "So it’s always a gamble (correction: educated guess) as to whether or not the shot will work.

"Sometimes you get lucky."

Lucky. And on top of that, you get one memorable photo.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: 'Sometimes you get lucky': Photo of the Week, June 16-22, 2024