Hello! My name is Austin DeSisto, a photographer and writer at Everyday Astronaut (everydayastronaut.com). Based in Massachusetts, United States, we do not get a lot of rocket stuff up here. In addition, being 17 restricts me to the places I can travel. Luckily, I have very awesome parents that allow me to go to places like Cape Canaveral and Starbase in order to witness things for my own eyes and capture them for the people who have taken interest in me on social media.
Speaking of social media, just recently my following began to rapidly grow after making some trips to Starbase. Without getting all caught up in the numbers, the most rewarding thing is knowing that there are so many people who enjoy viewing what I produce and that I can help contribute to those who want to learn more about the topics I am so passionate about.
Let’s go through a brief history of how my love for space and spaceflight started. This might be a bit cliche, but I think I was born with this love and passion reading simple children's books and eventually going on to do my own research which resulted in presentations to my family. Eventually, I started discovering many channels on YouTube, specifically Everyday Astronaut (Tim Dodd) who’s videos I would watch over and over again. Soon after, I decided to support his incredible work through Patreon which gave me access to the exclusive discord.
In late 2019, Tim put out a call for help on his website. Having some previous experience in both writing and website design, I offered myself up! Two years later the website is better than ever and the team is still producing articles about every rocket launch!
Oh yeah, photography? Cameras are just plain old cool and they are INCREDIBLE tools.
I really hope to continue taking photos of Starbase and doing work for a number of clients and around my local community to help further develop my skills and expand my network! Any help is appreciate and I will always take suggestions and feedback, just send me a DM.
#ask-the-crew
How much time do you spend in Boca Chica every week?
Unfortunately, I don’t live in Starbase/South Texas, yet! However, that seems like a very big possibility in the future! In the past three months, I have made 4 trips to Starbase and have heavily documented each one through social media. My first trip down there was in early August of this year, 2021, which was where I first was able to set myself on the stage of “People to Follow to See Cool Starbase Content”. This was totally unexpected but brought me joy as I was super happy to be able to share unique angles with as many people as were interested. I hope to be able to continue this as much as possible throughout the coming years.
What’s your camera setup like?
My main rig is a Canon R5 with a Sigma 24-70! Secondary is a Canon 90D with most likely a Canon 70-300. In addition to the two main rigs I carry a Sigma 150-600 (my second favorite lens) for sports stuff or for getting those crisp engine or rocket details. Below are a few images of the set ups. Important to remember that gear does not always matter! Sure, more/better gear can help in more ways than one, but it's your skill that really matters.
What's the favourite pic you took?
This is a very tough question to answer. I’ve taken so many incredible images over the past couple of years, which makes it very hard to choose. I think it comes down to the image taken on my birthday when Ship 20 rolled to the launch site for the first time. It showcased the Mk 1 flaps, which will be a restaurant for the public in the future, and Ship 20. At the time the photo was taken it was the first Starship and the latest Starship ever built in Starbase. Feel free to purchase a download or print here!
What is the thing that you love and don't love at Starbase?
I think this one is pretty simple. Starbase is the only place on this planet where anyone, no matter their age or how involved in the space industry they are, can visit and get up close to rockets, their engines, and observe the work being done to send humans off our planet. The only thing I do not like is having to deal with the heat and sun, but the sight normally takes care of that for me. I encourage anyone who is able to make a trip down there as soon as they can!
