From the thrill of photographing NASA’s Artemis missions to the challenge of distilling those moments into a story for the TED stage, my journey has been defined by both faith in the process and in those around me.
I’m immensely grateful for the support from friends, family, and co-workers who stood by me through this whirlwind of panic, preparation, and profound moments.
Thank you to the entire TEDxCMU team for this wonderful opportunity!
Mastering the art of space robotics, NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara practices flying the Canadarm from the mock-up cupola in the Systems Engineering Simulator at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, providing a glimpse into the intense training and preparation for missions aboard the International Space Station.
Photo: NASA/Josh Valcarcel (jsc2022e078437_alt)
I had a shot like this in mind for a while (upside-down is a completely legitimate orientation for an astronaut!) but knew I couldn’t ask one of the crew to actually hang upside-down in the photo studio.
Instead, I asked NASA Astronaut Loral O’Hara to do a hair flip (an excellent suggestion by @norahmoranphoto), and then rotated the image in Photoshop to solicit a similar effect. Props to Loral for managing to render such a solid smile mid-action.
Photo: NASA/Josh Valcarcel (jsc2022e041196_alt)
Photo by NASA Astronaut Chris Cassidy, taken from aboard the International Space Station.
There’s a long story that goes with this photo that I’ll do my best to tell quickly.
When my girlfriend and I first met, I was obsessed with space and astronauts (and have been since college). Together, we created a spacesuit that ended up winning the WIRED Halloween costume contest. We spent more than a month working on it.
Not long after, she gave me a really cool pin of a surfing astronaut, and it sort of commemorated the whole experience. I liked it so much that I wore it on my photo jacket, and it became a permanent part of my attire.
Over the next few years, several twists of fate brought me to NASA as a photographer, and I got to be around real astronauts and real space suits. Their official portraits quickly became my favorite thing to shoot, and while I was photographing Chris Cassidy, he just happened to bust out a surfer pose. Several months later, I thought about how uncannily similar Chris’ photo and that pin were, so I told him this story and gave it to him. Not only did he end up bringing it to space, he photographed it “surfing” in the cupola of the space station, and when he returned, he was kind enough to give it back to me.
When we made that costume, I was just enjoying the process: looking at photos of spacesuits for inspiration, visiting scrap stores, and spending time with my girlfriend. I was just having fun. It’s unbelievable to me that this somehow lead to something actually going to space. That pin is a real astronaut now, and Heidi and I are still very much in love (along with our two dog children).
I’m beyond grateful to Chris (Go Navy!) for his generosity. To me, this is more than amazing – it’s further proof that life is inherently mysterious, wonderful, and worth exploring.
Suit techs adjust NASA astronaut Mike Fincke’s visor as he’s prepped for an official portrait in his “Boeing Blue” spacesuit. Photo: NASA/Josh Valcarcel (jsc2019e028582_alt )
While reading the news this morning I came across a Pop Sci article featuring one of my photos from Ryan Gosling’s tour of NASA’s Johnson Space Center last year – part of the filmmakers’ extensive research prior to the filming of First Man. I went to an early screening a few weeks ago and the immersive style of cinematography and sound design made me feel like I was there in first-person.
Photo: NASA/Josh Valcarcel
My first flight in a NASA T-38 left me speechless, so here’s a video. Thanks Robert Markowitz for the great photos!
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen is suspended over a mock-up of the International Space Station during a microgravity simulation in the Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The training was conducted in both light & darkness to mimic the 90 minute day-night cycle they experience in orbit.
Photo: NASA/Josh Valcarcel (jsc2017e127993)
NASA astronauts practice Orion exit procedures in the Gulf of Mexico July 13, 2017, preparing for the next generation of deep space missions since the Apollo era. Photo: NASA/Josh Valcarcel (jsc2017e095666)
EGRESS! EGRESS! EGRESS! A voice bellows over the shipboard intercom, signaling the start of the next training objective. All eyes are focused on the capsule now as it bobs gently on the the water's surface. Suddenly, a bright piece of pumpkin orange fabric emerges in the sunlight as the first of four astronauts begins to wrench themselves through the narrow hatch.
Though spotters and safety divers surround the mockup spacecraft, the crew proceeds as if alone. They've trained for this in the pool countless times, but today is different. Five miles off shore in the Gulf of Mexico, this is as close as they'll get to a real open water scenario. It's an opportunity for the crew to test themselves against the challenges of a splashdown landing, and for NASA's team of engineers to gather priceless data on the hardware's performance.
Only a month into working at NASA, I'm right where the action is, shooting from the bow of a small boat only a few meters away from the astronauts. I knew virtually nothing about Orion before I was assigned to photograph it, but it's been easy to get up to speed being surrounded by the people bringing the project to life. While reminiscent of the Apollo era command modules, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is technologically more advanced than its predecessors and designed to support a crew of up to four or six, rather than three. It’s also under development for launch on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will be the most powerful rocket ever built. Together, Orion and the SLS will form the platform for NASA’s future deep space missions.
U.S. Navy divers practice with NASA's Orion Spacecraft Crew Module Uprighting System at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at Johnson Space Center. In the event of an upside down or turnover landing, the bags will inflate to turn Orion right side up. Photo: NASA/Josh Valcarcel (jsc2017e088124)
Our sun, a G2V type yellow dwarf star, shot at 1200mm using a full aperture solar filter. For comparison, the small sunspot at the lower end is roughly the same size as Earth. Photo: NASA/Josh Valcarcel (jsc2017e089583)
