This feature segment is on Paul Warren's Rocketry Photo Gallery. Paul is 30 years old, and works at AT&T. Paul works there as a Senior Software Engineer who is responsible for the layout, format and production of the AT&T residential long-distance bill. He is probably known to many of us even thought we might not recognize his name.

As a multi-cover photo photographer on our hobby's top magazines, Paul knows rocketry!

Paul has been involved with rocketry for just four years, and isn't a BAR. He has developed quite an appetite for the hobby though, despite his short romance.

When I asked Paul what his favorite memories were of the hobby, this is what he had to say:

PW: "Watching Randy Ussery's full-scale IRIS blast off the pad with the roar of a dragon. I blew an entire roll of Fuji-800 film on the flight with my 5 frame/sec. autowinder. Randy and myself are both glad I did.

My close second favorite memory was of the Channel 8 broadcast of the onboard video footage that following Tuesday.

I am glad to be here documenting the rapid growth of our club."

Paul is a member of the Dallas Area Rocket Society, the world's largest hobby rocketry club, with over 350 member families. Organized in 1972, DARS has a strong following in both model and high power fliers.

His personal preference is for both low and high power, but when it comes to cameras, Paul likes all the power he can get.

Part of Paul's involvement with DARS is as a photojournalist, capturing the flavor of their launches on film and in print.

His personal favorite rocket is the HLLV, (which stands for Heavy Load Lifting Vehicle), a rocket designed in the 70's to meet the needs of putting Space Stations in orbit. It was based on the Saturn V booster with no transitions.

Paul states that it "looked really cool but was cancelled in favor of the wimpy Space Shuttle :-(". He seems very attached to the AeroTech I-211 as he specified this was his favorite motor and he stated his favorite kit is an AeroTech Mirage on an I-211.

Speaking of covers, Paul has made several covers of High Power Rocketry as well as the cover of Sport Rocketry Magazine. One of his first covers was a photo of Randy Ussery's "Sudden Sensation", a 10 foot tall, 8 inch diameter rocket along with Jimmy Wilson's 1/2 scale rendition of the same.

More recently, another of Paul's covers featured Randy's Ussery's full scale IRIS, a 12 inch diameter, 19 foot tall behemoth which flew at the first Heart of Texas launch in Valley Mills, Texas in July of 1995.

Paul also has written a very comprehensive article that was published in HPR on the subject of rocketry photography, a must-read for anyone who wants to capture the hobby with great results.

When asked what advice he would offer to beginners, Paul had this to say:

PW: "After you have a few good models under your belt, pick a good size model you don't mind building over and over. You should learn how to fit the next largest motor tube in the booster section and learn how to overbuild the fin construction and overall body tube rigidity. Be sure to include a sturdy recovery system. Then fly your models on motors much more powerful than the kit calls for. This will give you the skills necessary to build larger craft and make your flights more impressive."

I wanted to capture the spirit of Paul's website, so I posed the question directly to him:

DM: Paul, what are your expectations for your website?:

PW: "My web page is a showcase for the achievements of the Dallas Area Rocket Society. I have a few shots from Lunar as well but that's okay. They have some beautiful scenery in California that should be shared with more people across the country. I expect the Photo Gallery to tie in very closely with the official DARS site at www.dars.org. Being the Minister of Propaganda for DARS helps."

DM: (Laughing) I don't know if you are serious or not! What do you feel makes your website unique?:

PW: "The crisp quality of the layout and fine attention to the detail of graphical clarity. I also fuss over the quality of the digital imaging for the photos I have on the website."

DM: Any current plans for expansion?:

PW: "I have lots of expansions, but they probably will tie into the official DARS site since they have a lot more space. I would like to get the video and sounds files from our launches out there. I would also like to see more interactive features as well as an online resource for the club newsletter, Shroudlines."

DM: What would you like to see available on the Internet for all rocketry enthusiasts?

PW: "What is this - some covert attempt to steal all of our good ideas for your page? (big grin) I think you have done a lot in resource management for the sport of high-power rocketry. It would be nice if more clubs would spend a little time getting their newsletters on the web. Then maybe you could have a master index to articles about rocketry."

It looks like the clubs across the country have some work to do. Paul has made a major contribution to this hobby, with his commitment to the Dallas Area Rocket Society and in his craft that he so willingly shares with the rest of the enthusiasts worldwide in our hobby, both through his contributions to our periodicals and through his excellent Internet site.

Paul's ability is obvious too, as his site has been a recent recipient of the OnRamp "Rampage of the Month", an accolade awarded by his Internet Service Provider for the best website of all of their clients. Certainly the competition for that award must be tough! Drop by his site and see why.

Website: http://rampages.onramp.net/~pwarren/