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Author
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Topic: Astronaut Alan Poindexter: Photography in Space
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JPSastro
Member Posts: 170
From: Tucson, Arizona
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 05-01-2012 09:41 PM
   
Very interesting photography website, Photography in Space, I stumbled on. Very interesting. Worth viewing. Two years ago today, I was tremendously privileged to land Space Shuttle Discovery after commanding her on her penultimate mission. It just so happens that Discovery was transferred to the Smithsonian yesterday and today is open for public viewing in the Udvar-Hazy center of the National Air and Space Museum. It seems fitting then that I write this post now about my photographic experiences on STS-131. |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 05-01-2012 09:54 PM
Wow, nice find. I was at KSC for the liftoff (considering Clay Anderson was onboard, I didn't want to miss it). Too bad they had no decent video of that mission from shuttle due to the Ku band antenna problems, but the photos more than make up for it. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-01-2012 10:15 PM
I was among the handful of photographers still snapping away after Discovery was first rolled into the Udvar-Hazy's McDonnell Space Hangar when I noticed Alan Poindexter had joined us. He was the only astronaut who been there for the formal arrival ceremony earlier in the day who had stayed around to see Discovery come to a final wheels stop in its new and permanent home. Poindexter made the comment (as later transcribed by Jon Brack for NatGeo), "She looks great, but she's in the wrong hangar." I knew Poindexter had an interest in photography (he had also been behind a unique stop-motion project in the lead up to his STS-131 launch), so I am happy to see him write up his experiences here. Poindexter, Fossum, Garan and Pettit (among a handful of others) have really changed our perspective of space through the photography advances they pushed forward. After a decade of space station imagery (and three decades of shuttle) who would have thought so many new perspectives were just out there waiting for the technology and ingenuity to be shared? |
Fezman92
Member Posts: 1031
From: New Jersey, USA
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 05-02-2012 07:40 AM
As a photographer, I always love seeing the new perspectives that photography of space that astronauts have and would love to go into space for a while just to get photos because each photographer has their own style. I also cannot wait to see what new perspectives and photos we will get when we get beyond LEO again. There has been such a huge advancement in photography since Apollo. |
APG85
Member Posts: 306
From:
Registered: Jan 2008
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posted 05-02-2012 09:41 PM
If only we had this quality of photography during the Apollo landings (not that the pictures back then were bad)... |
Cozmosis22
Member Posts: 968
From: Texas * Earth
Registered: Apr 2011
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posted 05-02-2012 10:23 PM
Some great photography there! The one image with the entire combined crew of thirteen is very interesting. Is that a record for number of people together in space? If so, that record will stand for a long time. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-02-2012 10:47 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Cozmosis22:
Is that a record for number of people together in space?
Poindexter writes in the article: The crew of 13 represented the most people ever in space simultaneously. I doubt that record will be broken anytime soon. |
Fezman92
Member Posts: 1031
From: New Jersey, USA
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 05-03-2012 12:11 PM
Are these photos available on the NASA site? I love the shot of the 13 crew and the Milky Way. |
tr
Member Posts: 24
From: Laguna Niguel CA, USA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 05-04-2012 02:39 PM
quote:
Originally posted by APG85:
If only we had this quality of photography during the Apollo landings (not that the pictures back then were bad)...
Have you seen "Full Moon" by Michael Light and Andrew Chaikin (ISBN-10: 0375406344)? It's got some stunning Apollo images.
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APG85
Member Posts: 306
From:
Registered: Jan 2008
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posted 05-04-2012 09:46 PM
Yes, I have a copy. It's a beautiful book! |
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