Rare Light Media

Last night's Artemis launch sent me straight back to April 2010.
I was on the banks of the Indian River in Titusville, Florida at 3am — camera rolling, tripod set, filming STS-131, one of the last Space Shuttle launches ever.
The launch was incredible. But here's the shot nobody plans for:
After the launch, most people packed up and left. The only ones still there were me and a group of British travelers who'd driven straight from a wedding and were running on zero sleep. We were all just standing there in the quiet when we looked up — and the shuttle's v***r trails were catching the rising sun, refracting into these incredible illuminated streaks across the sky.
Best photos of the whole morning. The ones I didn't know I was going to take.
I just rediscovered those images while updating my online presence for some new projects. Fifteen years later and they still stop me cold.
Last night, listening to the Artemis countdown, the commentator said that from that point forward all controls were being handed over to the spacecraft's computers. I thought about all the clever AI workflows and automation systems me and my collaborator have been building lately and felt pretty good about ourselves.
Then I remembered what those computers are actually doing.
I showed my AI collaborator the photo. He saw it. He had no comeback.
We'll stick to documentaries. 😄🚀