There is a right side (sun behind you) and a wrong side (sun in your face) to photograph a launch. I was on the wrong side today, but that was okay: I met some really nice people, and got to enjoy watching a young fellow who had made the trip from Texas setting up his camera gear for liftoff. He and his mother were delightful.

That’s part of the joy of watching launches from one of the public spots: you never know who you’re going to meet, and it is nice to help them out when I can. I’ve met folks from England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, The Czech Republic, Russia and most all of the states. To a single one, they were nice people who were really excited to see SpaceX launch a rocket. I hope they all had fun, and I hope they want to come back here again.

Photographically, by no means my best day, but as I mentioned, I was in the wrong place to get great photos in simmering air and a thick, hazy sky. And so it goes…I don’t mind. I had fun anyway. Besides, the video came out better.