Photographer's Close-Up Shot of Rocket Launch Destroys Camera Lens

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A post shared by Andrew McCarthy (@cosmic_background)

When astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy attended the April 28 launch of the Project Kuiper (KA-01), he expected it to be an unforgettable event—and he was certainly correct. Before the rocket shot off into the evening, McCarthy had set up his Sony a7 II in a restricted area near the launchpad. In an Instagram post, he admitted that this was the first time he’d gotten his photography gear that close to a launch. It was precisely that proximity that wrecked his Rokinon 14mm lens.

“Unfortunately, for this type of shot, it’s not possible to protect the lens with any additional filters—like a UV or polarizing filter—so the optical element remains exposed to the hydrochloric acid that forms from the plume, which pits and destroys the lens,” McCarthy told PetaPixel.

Even so, McCarthy said that this kind of set-up “won’t be my last.” To capture this remarkable photograph, McCarthy first triggered the camera shutter by using a MiOPS+ set to “listen for the sound of the engines starting,” while he was watching from a few miles away for safety. He also intentionally underexposed the image when snapping it so that the intensity of the rocket’s plume wouldn’t interfere with or diminish other colors.

The resulting image is as dynamic and bright as the scene it hopes to illustrate. A dramatic cluster of dust billows beneath the rocket as it darts into a dark-blue sky, the clouds fluffy and sheer in the background.

“I sacrificed a camera lens to get this shot,” McCarthy wrote on Instagram. “Was it worth it?”

“Worth it,” one user commented. “Photographers will spend way more on a flight, hotel, and all of the costs in traveling to an exotic location, and many times NOT get the shot. You got the shot!”

This photograph, however, won’t be available as a print. In order to access the restricted area, McCarthy had to get permission from the Space Force and United Launch Alliance (ULA), requiring extensive background checks. As part of this agreement, he isn’t legally allowed to sell prints of this specific shot.

“While these shots won’t be available in print, I will hopefully be fine tuning my process and have even better photos available after the next one,” McCarthy says.

To learn more about the photographer and his work, visit Andrew McCarthy’s website and follow him on Instagram.