STS-135; The Big Send-Off
by HawkinsT

Comment by Jon_H:
Very cool, great capture.

STS-135; The Big Send-Off
by HawkinsT

Comment by jmritz:
gorgeous shot. I grew up on the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo missions and when the Shuttle came along it was a dream come true. We envisioned building the Space Station, going back to the Moon and setting up a base. Then about now we would be reaching for Mars.

Thanks for the wonderful photograph.

Midnight Train
by HawkinsT

Comment by NiallOTuama:
NICE shot! I think this sored below six becaus of the bright area to the right. Advanced editing might have been able to grab you an extra few tenths maybe? I might have cropped to the corner of the roof, but that's just me.
Really nice shot again! Unlucky for not breaking six with this one.

STS-135; The Big Send-Off
by HawkinsT

Comment by JRoberts1983:
I like that you've caught the vapor cones here, nice job.

STS-135; The Big Send-Off
by HawkinsT

Comment by DomD:
Amazing and powerful shot. Fits the challenge perfectly.

STS-135; The Big Send-Off
by HawkinsT

Comment by giantmike:
Great salute to the final launch. I'm guessing you had to de-noise this quite heavily which is why the shuttle looks soft? If that were a tad bit sharper, this could have been much more powerful. Still good.

STS-135; The Big Send-Off
by HawkinsT

Comment by adigitalromance:
Nice capture. Lucky to see this final launch.

STS-135; The Big Send-Off
by HawkinsT

Comment by PetRock:
Bonus points for capturing a historical moment! I attended a launch once, I know how far away they put you, great job in overcoming the obstacles!

STS-135; The Big Send-Off
by HawkinsT

Comment by tome:
OK, where do I start.
This has to be everyone's 10. Not only because of the historic significance of the last shuttle flight, or for all the beautiful elements of the picture. But most of all, I'd love to see DPC support and live the dream of space exploration.

If I'm not mistaken, this is the moment when the orbiter enters the "maximum dynamic pressure" region of the atmosphere and the engines throttle down. What follows is "go for throttle up", when it blasts full speed into orbit. I love that you caught this particular moment with the mist around the SRBs. Can't wait to read your story about this photo.

STS-135; The Big Send-Off
by HawkinsT

Comment by obscurity:
I wish I could have seen a shuttle launch in person instead of tv