The above photograph is one of the most iconic images from the 20th century and it was taken by Astronaut Bill Anders who died in a plane crash yesterday in Washington State. The press release and CNN announcement are listed at the bottom of this post. I assume he may have had some type of medical emergency and left this world doing something he loved, flying.
Apollo 8 Astronaut WIlliam Anders - NASA Official Photo
But since my focus is Photography, I wanted to recognize Bill Anders here on my blog for his contribution of capturing one of the most iconic images of all time. Bill is credited with taking the photograph above which was the first color photograph of the earth from the perspective of the moon. I was five years old when this image was taken and have seen it countless times in my life. It is one of the most published images ever and it has been used to generate dialogue on our place in the universe and the reality we are a very tiny part of everything that is. something people often lose sight of with their perspectives on earth.
With the news of his passing, I decided to research the photograph and Anders. I found the Wikipedia entry on the image and the events of December 24, 1968 to be outstanding and I encourage you to visit that link learn more. I was amazed the details of the photograph were so well documented and I found it interesting that mission commander Frank Borman took a black-and-white photograph of the scene, with the Earth's terminator touching the horizon just prior to Bill Anders making his exposure. I also loved that the post documented the conversation the Astronauts jokingly had about not taking unauthorized photographs. I huge component of the Apollo 8 mission was to document the moon and they only had so much film loaded in their cameras which were modified for the conditions they were photographing in. In today’s digital world so many younger people will have no appreciation of being judicious with exposures because of the amount of film you have with you. I also love how the Wikipedia post details how the film, Kodak Extachrome 220 slide film, was driven from Houston to Corpus Christi, Texas where a private lab had the capability of processing the film in four hours. The Wikipedia page is a great read. I also think recounting these images is a good reminder how so many of, especially in today’s world, are photographers and both Anders and Borman crafted nice images on that day in 1968.
Mission commander Frank Borman’s Black and White photograph taken moment before Ander’s color image. NASA photo
Moonrise, Hernandez New Mexico by Ansel Adams 1941
I think I should also mention Moonrise over Hernandez, New Mexico by Ansel Adams which I assume was the inspiration for the title given to Ander’ photograph. Moonrise is another one of photography’s most iconic images and one of Ansel’s most famous images. I remember when I was studying photography at Arizona State University that a print of Moonrise sold for a then record price of $64,000 and Professor Bill Jay lead some incredible discussions about the image and the impact the sale amount had on the medium of photography.
It is always sad when chapters of history close with the loss of someone but that is the only way new chapters can be written. I hope that in the coming years our generations will be able to write more positive chapters than negative ones, we haven’t started out well with that this century. God Bless Bill Anders and thank you for your courage and contributions during your lifetime. Below are a number of links about Photographer /Astronaut Bill Anders:
William Anders, a NASA astronaut who was part of the 1968 Apollo 8 crew who were the first three people to orbit the moon, has died in a plane crash in Washington state, according to his son, Gregory Anders. He was 90 years old.
My “dad passed in an aircraft incident in the San Juan Islands,” Anders told CNN Friday evening. “The family is devastated and grieving the loss of a great pilot,” he added.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release an aircraft went down off the coast of Jones Island.