Photography News Issue 50

Photography News | Issue 50 | photographynews.co.uk

31 Interview

publish. Taking pictures on the moon, while busy on science, and wearing heavy spacesuits, was hard work, and not at all a perfect process. What did you find the most difficult aspect in producing the book? Persuading the publishing industry to risk a big colour book on space is never easy. I am profoundly grateful that The Quarto Group was prepared to take the risk. After all, it’s their money that was spent on printing, not mine. We get so used to thinking that we ‘know’ all the Apollo images, but it is worthwhile, every couple of decades, to reintroduce new audiences to them, and impress people, once again, with the stunning reality of that epic achievement of flying to the moon. Which picture is your personal favourite from the book? I think Gene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17, in a better ‘man on the moon’ photo than the more famous one of Buzz Aldrin fromApollo 11. (Picture above.) What is your favourite space movie? Need you ask? 2001: A Space Odyssey ... Still thought-provoking, and visually almost flawless even after half a century. Have you any thoughts on future manned space exploration? Yes. Mars is for a future generation, but we can go back to the moon any time we like, because it’s only three day’s flight

time away, and there is still so much to discover there. And if anything goes wrong on a moon base, help is not far away.

Above Gene Cernan, last man on the moon, posing by the U.S. flag. The LRV’s (Lunar Roving Vehicle) communications antenna is visible on the right Below An interior view of Gemini IV, fromwhich Edward White made the historic first U.S. spacewalk on 3 June, 1965. It is now on display at the Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.

Have you ever wanted to be an astronaut? If you could go to space, would you? I would go into earth orbit without a shadow of a doubt. I might like a visit to the moon, too. But Mars? Forget it! It’s too far away, and I would miss the earth.

Buy the book

Moonshots by Piers Bizony. Published by Voyageur Press, an imprint of The Quarto Group (£60). Out now.

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