Photography in Space: Challenges & Techniques by Astronaut Don Pettit

Photography Tips

Space is a frontier, and a difficult one to capture. Dr. Donald Pettit, a NASA astronaut and photographer who we wrote about a while back, takes us through the exhilarating experience of documenting outer space, and why photography is the perfect medium to do it with:

Dr. Pettit describes in great detail the technology, equipment, and setup necessary to capture some of the most incredible images taken from beyond the stratosphere, and how the unique conditions of space affect the process. Nikon has been sending its cameras into space since 1971, with the Nikon D3s the current model being used to photograph star trails, weather systems, the earth’s surface, and the space station itself, not to mention its inhabitants.

Photography was the first art form born of science, and thus has had an important relationship with science ever since. Of particular emphasis in this presentation is the knowledge we can gain about ourselves as a species from this removed and wide-angled perspective. From the patterns in which our cities sprawl, to the information that infrared light shines on our landscape, the surface of the Earth tells a lot about us.

With the awesome and unparalleled importance of space photography, this video gives us a rare glimpse into the cutting edge of art and technology, on the cutting edge of the world, “record[ing] data… record[ing] the experience.”