When we bought our tandem Hobie Kayak, one of our dream uses for it was to watch a nighttime shuttle launch from Mosquito lagoon. We decided that though the night launch was scrapped, a magic hour launch would be just fine.

What are a pair of photographers on their day off? A pair of photographers.

Thusly we took our gear and a tripod on the mission as well. We had no idea if the water would be shallow enough to use the tripod. After getting just about as close as the coast guard allows, we stuck a paddle in to measure the depth. A few minutes later our tripod was getting a nice salt-water bath.

Photographing several launches in the past gave us a big advantage in figuring out the right filter and length for the exposure.Though the kayakers in the foreground must have thought us a bit strange, they made the picture and we appreciated that they held relatively still for about 30 seconds.

Paddling back to the van in the dark, a large manatee surfaced right next to our kayak startling us a bit as it moved us out of its way. It made us wonder what one surfacing next to the tripod would have been like. And would anyone at our insurance company believe that story?

View, purchase or license a launch image in our archive.

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