Z Smit

System Engineer, Programmer, Photography hobbyist, Apple enthusiast, iPhone/iPad geek, Computer nerd and online gamer.

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

Breathtakingly Beautiful

[Aviation @xAviation]

This pigeon was definitely not expecting the plane to accelerate that fast!

[Chauhan @Platypuss_10]

This footage never gets old —
A heavy hail storm made this Rafale pour water off every surface!

[Erik Kuna 🚀 @erikkuna]

This is the shot you can’t get from the press site. This camera was sitting a few football fields from the SLS rocket at Pad 39B for days before launch, baking in the Florida sun, surviving rain, humidity, and whatever else the Cape threw at it. No photographer behind the viewfinder. Just a camera, a sound trigger, and a bet.

The way pad remotes work: you set your camera up days in advance, dial in your composition, lock everything down, and walk away. You don’t touch it again until after the launch. The shutter fires on sound activation
with a @MiopsTrigger smart+ trigger. With SLS, the four RS-25 engines ignite six seconds before the solid rocket boosters, so the camera is already firing before the vehicle even leaves the pad. You get home, pull the card, and find out if you nailed it or if a bird landed on your lens two days ago and left your a present and you got 400 photos of soemthing crappy.

There’s no formula for protecting your gear this close. Some photographers build wooden boxes with doors that pop open. Some use plastic bags and tape. Some do plastic or metal barn door rigs on hinges. I tend to leave mine open just in plastic rain covers because boxes limit my composition and setup time, but that means your cameras are more exposed to the elements and whatever energy and debris comes off the pad. You’re basically gambling a camera body every time you set one.

That’s what I love about this genre. There’s no playbook. You make it up as you go. Every time is an adventure.

📸 credit: me for @SuperclusterHQ - Artemis II pad remote | ~1,000 ft from Pad 39B | Kennedy Space Center

[Mike the Warthog @thyphoidjack]

One of the BEST photos I ever took during my time serving in the SANDF
From the Flight Operations Deck on the American Aircraft carrier USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT
View overlooking her forward flightdeck onto Table Mountain, with her aircraft on display

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

Still no approval

[SpaceX @SpaceX]

Starship stacked for flight. This is planned to be the final launch from Pad 1 at Starbase in its current configuration

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

Made on Earth by humans

[Z Smit @_NeO_]

Shop @TAKEALOT Pool Toys Diving into Water High Simulation Manta ray with Lights -3-12yrs - Blue https://t.co/XUhWCgzrvh #anythingyoucanimagine

[SpaceX @SpaceX]

Watch Starship's seventh flight test https://t.co/wWJtyFMrfI

[Z Smit @_NeO_]

I just supported @FSiPanel with $5 on @buymeacoffee! 🎉

You can support them here — https://t.co/pJGdMmdNg2

[Z Smit @_NeO_]

My Viewer Recap has arrived for 2024! Get your own at https://t.co/Abu7us4rH5 #twitchrecap https://t.co/yu9Y3Cje2d

[SpaceX @SpaceX]

With data and flight learnings as our primary payload, Starship’s sixth flight test once again delivered → https://t.co/oIFc3u9laE

[Z Smit @_NeO_]

Just Flight - More information about Just Flight aircraft in MSFS 2024 https://t.co/1eDTJryipi via @JustFlight

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

The tower has caught the rocket!!

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

Starship rocket booster caught by tower

[Everyday Astronaut @Erdayastronaut]

This is one of the all time coolest things to ever happen ever 👀 I cannot believe they caught it on the first try... Are you kidding me?!?!