Remembering the Space Age. - Black Vault Radio Network (BVRN)

278 reMeMberING the SpaCe aGe
Back side of the Moon by the Soviet’s Luna lll: 1959. (NASA)
Indeed, a few of these photographs have even become iconic. these are
photographic images that have transcended from the temporal to the iconic;
they are now a part of our popular culture and photographic history. 12
examples of such iconic photographs are Neil armstrong’s 1969 snapshotlike
portrait of apollo 11’s buzz aldrin at tranquility base and a series of
self-portraits by aldrin of his boot and resulting boot prints in the pristine
lunar dust. 13 these color photographs are now almost mythic in the sense that
they have become the defnitive photographic default setting for “frst men on
the Moon” and/or “frst human-Moon landing.” In context, however, other
lesser known images from apollo 12 and video still-frame images from apollo
11 emerge equally important in terms of technical profciency and aesthetics.
for example, the black-and-white series of surface photographs made by the
apollo 12 landing crew (Charles Conrad and alan bean) are remarkable in
12. See program cover photograph for:“remembering the Space age:50th anniversary Conference,”
NaSa history Ofce Division, Ofce of external relations, NaSa headquarters and Division
of Space history of the National air and Space Museum (NaSaM), October 22-23, 2007.
13. See apollo 11 images aS11-40-5874 through aS11-40-5880 at the Lunar and planetary
Institute apollo Image atlas, 70mm hasselblad Image catalog, http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/
apollo/catalog/70mm/mission/?11.