By CHRIS O’MEARA
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Chris O’Meara is a Tampa-based staff photographer who has worked for 39 years documenting major events, including space launches along Florida’s Space Coast.
Here’s what he had to say about this extraordinary photo.
How I made this photo
I made this photo from a remote camera. We used a Sony Alpha 9 II camera with a 24-70 mm F 2.8 lens.
We used a device called a MIOPS, which is connected to the camera via a USB-C cord. The MIOPS has several settings, one of which is used to trigger the cameras using the sound from the rocket’s engines.
Orlando staff photographer John Raoux and I spent several hours over multiple days working on constructing, testing and placing the cameras in several sites around the launch pad.
We also had four cameras inside the launch pad perimeter fence that we connected to an ethernet port that would send the images back to our Expedite program, so we could retrieve these images very quickly.
New York photo editor Sydney Schaefer downloaded those images so we could concentrate on our handheld manned cameras.
Why this photo works
I feel the image works for its historical value – the United States had not sent astronauts to the moon since 1972 and this was a test of a new rocket by NASA. This photo along with our other images will be used over and over until Artemis III, which is scheduled to launch in 2027.
That will be another test for Artemis IV, which will carry astronauts and will land on the moon.
The photo also shows the nature side of the launch complex which has many different types of wildlife in the area.
The nesting birds being “disturbed” and taking flight when the rocket lifted off.
The time of day, the setting sun was perfect, helping to silhouette the rocket and exhaust smoke.
The launch window was two hours, starting before sunset and extending into what would have been considered a night launch. We had to ensure the camera setting would have been able to handle both situations.
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