Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Smoke Over Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Brevard County Fire Rescue officials out at NASA's Kennedy Space Center set a prescribed fire that caused smoke to quickly fill the sky. The smoke blanketed Titusville and parts of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. The total acreage of the prescribed burn is 2,174 acres.

Smoke from fire at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Photo taken from South Gate.

Smoke from fire at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Photo taken from entrance to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Smoke from fire at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Photo taken from 3rd story landing of the Perrone Towers Building.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Mops Great Moms 5K 2012



Great Moms 5K trophy top.
Merritt Island High School Color Guard
Zumba warm up


Merritt Island Mops (Mothers of Pre-Schools) held their 2nd Annual 5k Race/Walk on Saturday January, 28th 2012, at the Manatee Cove Park, N. Tropical Trail, located in Merritt Island. The Merritt Island MOPS really pulled off an amazing event.

The race is held annually and this year, Perrone Photography was asked if we would like to capture the event as a donation. We were more than happy to help! It was a slightly chilly morning when registration began at 7 AM. The runners were given gift bags containing goodies from each of their sponsors. Jason had magnets printed to look like the business cards that Amy designed. The magnets were our contribution to the gift bags and they were a hit!

A Zumba dance warm up took place and that was a blast! We were even moving to the music. Thank goodness for fast shutter speeds! The warm up was a fun wakeup call and had every one pumped up and ready to pound the pavement. The Merritt Island ROTC opened the start of the race with the Pledge of Allegiance and a salute to our flag. As the runners lined up at the starting line, which was the entrance to Manatee Cove Park, the sun really came out and brightened up the day.

A little after 8 AM, the runners were off! While Amy drove down to the half-way turn around point with the Rebel Ti, Jason captured the start of the race, using the Canon Mark II 5D. He also decided to put his Go Pro, a Christmas gift from Amy, to good use and captured a wide-angled video of the start of the MOPS Great Moms 5K! The video is awesome and available to view at www.youtube.com. Search for our channel "Perrone Photography" and subscribe to see all of our other video works.

While the race was underway, the children's festivities began. Kids of all ages were enjoying the bounce houses, face painting, games, and playing on the playground. A kid-friendly Zumba session was held near the pavillion. The little ones had so much fun and seemed blissfully unaware of the cameras. The bounce houses were provided by Bob O'Connell's Rental Center.

To see the results of the race, please visit www.merrittislandmops.com. The race was amazing and all of the runners did great! A little tykes Fun Run was held for all of the children that were enjoying the event. The little ones dashed toward to the entrance sign to make the loop, while the younger ones turned back at the tree line. They were adorable and had so much fun!

An award ceremony concluded the event. There were trophies and awards given to several runners, including Ralph Perrone Jr, of Perrone Realty, who placed first in his category. Ralph Jr. is Jason's older brother. Jessica, his younger sister, is a fellow Merritt Island MOP and played a special role in organizing the event. We would like to thank Merritt Island MOPS for allowing Perrone Photography to be a part of this inspiring event. THANK YOU!


Kids Run.

Start of the race
Bounce Houses for the kids.
Brevard County Sheriff Deputy.

Volunteer at the 1 mile mark.




We would like to thank Blood Sweat and Ink for the amazing shirts they made us for this event.
The shirts are great and really comfortable. Blood Sweat and Ink is based in Port Saint John, FL.
You can check out their website at www.bloodsweatandink.net. Really awesome job, guys! Thank you!! 

Sunday, January 22, 2012

A Little Rocket Science.

On Thursday, January 19, 2012, the United States Air Force launched a Delta 4 rocket carring the WGS 4, a military communications satellite. For more information on this mission check out SpaceflightNow.com, a trusted website that I use frequently to keep myself updated on all space flight activity.


(Taken with a Canon 5D Mark II 24-105mm F4)
This is the one shot I was able to get from the launch of the Boeing Commuication Satellite. I set up my camera on the north side of state road 520 between Merritt Island and Cocoa Beach, using my trusty Manfrotto tripod. With my camera on the tripod, I inserted my cable release and set the camera to "bulb" mode. My ISO was set to 50. Once the Rocket was about to launch, I triggered the shutter and held it open for one minute and a half. I hope you enjoy this shot as much as I enjoyed capturing it. To see other rocket launches I have photographed, click here.

For best results when photographing a night launch I recommend using the following;
  1. Tri-pod
  2. Cable release or Wireless Shutter release
  3. Lowest ISO camera will allow
  4. Flashlight