Amateur Photographer – 20 July 2019

31

Left: Apollo 11 lift
off, as seen from
the launch tower
camera – one of
the many historical
photographs
on display at
the exhibition

The anechoic chamber at

the European Space

Agency near Amsterdam

is used to test antennas

Photographs from

the Apollo 11

mission help to

contextualise

today’s space race

RPS EXHIBITION

© NASA

‘Space Steps: The Moon
and Beyond’ runs at RPS
House, 337 Paintworks,
Bristol BS4 3AR until 29
September. Admission
is £7 (standard) or free
to RPS members. The
gallery is open Thursday
to Sunday, as well as
on bank holidays. For
more details about the
exhibition and opening
hours, visit rps.org. See
box (top right) for more
information on events at
RPS House surrounding
the exhibition.

Discover more

Some highlights from the RPS House

summer schedule.

Talk: Historical View of the Moon

18 July, 6.30-7.30pm, £4

An insight into the history of moon

photography, and how capturing it

has always been challenging – even

for astronauts.

Talk: Soviet Space Dog Memorabilia

from Martin Parr

24 July, 6.30-8pm, £4

Martin Parr and Debbie Ireland discuss

Soviet space dog memorabilia.

Workshop: Night Sky Photography

First Steps with Lilian Hobbs

31 August, 11am-1pm, £6

Photographer Lilian Hobbs LRPS hosts

a night sky photography workshop.

Learn how to capture the cosmos and

make star-trail photos.

You can book tickets for all of these,

and further talks and events, at rps.org/

spacestepsevents.

different way of approaching space,

so I’m really looking forward to

going there.’ A long-term project

was necessary to absorb all the

information, as well as bear witness

to technological advancements and

developments. Monica admits that

the visit to NASA may not be where

it ends after all, as there’s still plenty

to document.

It’s interesting to note that

Monica uses (digital) Hasselblad

cameras for her images – a symbolic

full circle considering the role of

Hasselblad in the moon landing (see

pages 40-45). The resulting images

are best viewed in conjunction with

an augmented reality app which

Monica developed with a friend.

Incredibly keen to appeal to young

people (‘the scientists of the future’),

scanning her pictures with the app

reveals hidden layers and video

messages that bring another

dimension to an otherwise typical

photography exhibition.

‘Space Steps: The Moon and

Beyond’ has been in the making for

around two years, with Deborah

having high hopes for the visitors. ‘I

hope that whoever comes to see this

will get something out of it – that

they will enjoy the images, yes, but

actually they will be a bit more

informed, too.’

© MONICA ALCA Z AR DUARTE