Xposure 2023 Held An Insightful Session On Documenting Space Missions
The International Photography Festival ‘Xposure’ in Sharjah hosted renowned space photographers, scientific writers and scholars Andy Saunders, John Angerson and Dan Winters at a panel discussion titled “Capturing Time in Space” on Sunday (February 12), who engaged in an insightful dialogue about the history and future of America’s space progammes, and highlighted the crucial role that photographers play in documenting historic moments in humankind’s space explorations.
Session moderator and former space shuttle engineer, Chip Doherty, presented an informative background on how the NASA Space Shuttle Program was designed to send their astronauts into space, and how eventually, they could do it at a lower cost compared to previous programs.
Saunders spoke about his prime motivation in reproducing Apollo Mission photographs, sharing the story of how “Apollo Remastered” was born out of the desire to provide high-quality photos of one of the most significant moments in human history. He lauded the efforts of Space Centers to recognise the role of photographers in educating the public.
John Angerson shared unique portraits of astronauts preparing for a mission, taken from his 1995 documentation of Space Shuttle mission STS-72. He recalled the memorable moment of entering the Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, where the Apollo moon landing missions took place. He explained how many of his photographs captured astronauts participating in complex and dangerous training exercises.
Finally, Dan Winters, a photojournalist who was commissioned as Kennedy Space Center’s primary photographer to chronicle several of America’s aeronautic missions, shared his journey of working with NASA in its Space Shuttle Program for over 20 years.
The panel discussion at the Xposure International Photography Festival was a key highlight of the 2023 edition of the festival, which is celebrating space photography in a big way in order to provide valuable insights into this fascinating world far away from our own.
For more information, visit https://xposure.ae/.