This Day In History, 1969
It was 40 years ago, today, that science fiction became science fact: a man stood on the surface of the Moon. This is, in my opinion, one of the greatest photographs ever made. More daring than Robert Capa or Larry Burrows or any photographer to come before him, Neil Armstrong, risking all, traveled to the Moon, posed Buzz Aldrin against a stark landscape and pushed the button. The ultimate uncertainty... will he be able to bring the film home, to Earth?We all take it for granted that we'll make our pictures and make it back to the lab alive and in one piece. I'd love to know what Neil Armstrong was thinking at this moment.
posted by Joe P. at 8:21 AM
4 Comments:
I ordered my own print of this image back in the 1970's. (It's a print, not a poster.) I sent an inquiry to NASA about buying photos and they sent me a 4x6 book, maybe a 50 pages in size, with just words and catalogue numbers. I got lucky to identify the ID number for this photo. It costs me $40 (probably plus shipping, this I don't remember).
I also recommend "Full Moon" by Michael Light. He gained access to the original negatives to make new prints. It is breathtaking. Some are on display at the Museum of Natural History in NYC.
Joe:
IMHO - you're very close, but I tend to agree w/ my old boss, Galen, who felt that it was Bill Anders shot of Earthrise that should hold that spot. It was the first time that we as a species was able to see 'oursleves' - our planet - from an outside vantage point.
On an interesting side note, this was the same photo I posted in my own weblog last week to commemorate and link to the Big Picture's Remembering Apollo 11.
Cheers,
Gary
I bet he had the camera set on automatic.
may be NASA supplied them with everything they needed to process film right there?
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