Apollo Reflections
If a picture is indeed worth a thousand words, then the story of Apollo, told through the nearly 20,000 photographs taken during the eleven manned Apollo missions between 1968 and 1972, would literally take tens of millions of words to tell.
The Apollo Program was, undoubtedly, one of the greatest accomplishments in human history. Human beings, for the first time, left the Earth and gazed back at our beautiful planet, the source of all we have ever known, learning more not only about the wider universe, but also about ourselves and our own world.
This project cannot possible begin to come close to telling the full story of Apollo - what we are doing is producing the most beautiful, fully restored, high resolution Apollo mission flight photographs available anywhere and featuring them in a series of documentary-style interviews with the Apollo Astronauts who took them. Collectively the Apollo mission images and the reflections of the astronauts about them tell a story the likes of which will never be forgotten. These iconic images will long endure.
Some of our favorite Apollo mission photographs, and the favorites of the astronauts who took them, are the focus of a series of interview documentaries Apollospace is producing with a focus on Apollo program photography as we celebrate the 50th anniversaries of these amazing missions. These incredible images, many hidden in obscurity for decades, are brought to life as part of our “Apollo Reflections” series – films featuring Apollo era photography described by those who were there – beginning with “Reflections: Apollo 7 in Pictures and Words” featuring Apollo 7 astronaut Walt Cunningham.
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Your contribution will help us complete the second film, “Reflections: Apollo 13 in Pictures and Words,” with Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise, as well as record additional astronaut interviews. So far production has been self-funded, but we want to record as many Apollo Reflections as possible in the coming months and years, and need your help.
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Why does space matter? It matters because our very future may depend on it. As Fred Haise warns in the film, the future of our species may be beyond Earth if we are to survive. The Apollo photographs may in the distant future be akin to ancient cave drawings – images created by human beings at the dawn of a new civilization.
There are many different reasons people like space, and specifically the Apollo program: historical interest, beating the Russians in the Cold War, the technical and scientific achievements… the reasons are many. For me, it’s the images that inspire.
The iconic images: Earthrise, Aldrin on the Moon, the footprint, the whole Earth from space – the Apollo Reflections film is a platform for these and thousand more images viewed in the highest resolution ever and described by the men who witnessed these incredible sights and moments which we hope will inspire you...
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Through my company, Apollospace, I have been wonderfully fortunate not only to meet most of the Apollo era astronauts, but even more fortunate to call several of them friends. This has provided me with a unique opportunity to record the memories of Apollo Astronauts as they reflect on their Apollo photographs. This film series is a unique contribution to Apollo lore and history that you can be a part of and help make happen.
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Unfortunately, many Apollo Astronauts are no longer with us, including my friend and Apollo 12 moonwalker, Alan Bean, pictured above at his studio with me in 2000, who passed away suddenly last year before I was able to interview him for this project. Sadly, no astronauts survive from the Apollo 12 and Apollo 14 missions - but fortunately we still have an opportunity to record the reflections of a number of surviving Apollo Astronauts.
When I sat down to interview Fred Haise for this film, he called the image collection “incredible” and "amazing." A testamentary letter thanking me for the Apollo 13 Flight Images USB is below:
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Others have commented: “they are without a doubt the highest quality image archive I have seen, and you need to be congratulated on the work and effort you have gone to!”
“Amazing quality images … I hope more people see the work you are doing it is truly amazing! It's a gold mine for those who know it!”
Below are a few of the incredible Apollo 13 photographs featured in the film:
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In addition to the mission images appearing in the film, Mr. Haise provided us with a number of personal photographs that will also be featured.
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Campaign Goals
This campaign has a goal of $5000 to complete the Apollo 13 film “Reflections: Apollo 13 in Pictures and Words” with Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise. Filming is complete and funds generated will first be used for post-production needs. Fred Haise was the Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 13, and was to become the 6th man to walk on the moon before the near fatal rupture of one of the oxygen tanks. In the film, Haise talks about his career as a naval aviator and marine, as a test pilot at NACA, the Lewis Research Center, and Edwards AFB, and his transfer to NASA. He discusses his NASA assignments, first as a backup on Apollo 8 and 11 and then his eventual assignment to Apollo 13. He describes the explosion and the crew and Mission Control’s heroic efforts to bring the crew home. Haise describes in detail the photographs taken during the mission and provides context to the incredible images from that mission. Finally, Haise discusses the lessons of Apollo and his visions for the future. Interspersed with the finest Apollo imagery available, “Reflections: Apollo 13 in Pictures and Words” presents a unique perspective of that mission.
Our hope is to generate funds beyond that goal to move forward with two additional Apollo Astronaut interviews planned for this spring. Funds raised beyond the requirements of the Apollo 13 film, will be used to cover productions costs for these additional interviews.
Contributor Perks
We are offering some great, and incredibly unique, perks for contributors to this campaign, including: coupons for free image downloads; thank yous with you’re your name listed on our website and in the film and Special Thank Yous in the film; the Apollo 13 Flight Images Collection USB with all mission photos and including the completed film, "Reflections: Apollo 13 in Pictures and Words"; Producer and Executive Producer credits in the film; and even memorabilia hand-signed by two astronauts who walked on the moon, Apollo 12 Moonwalker Alan Bean and Apollo 14 Moonwalker Alan Shepard (Note that the autographed items offered are unique and will vary slightly from the images of the perks). The value of the autographs alone are valued at between $100 - $150 - so please consider becoming a Producer or Executive Producer and getting these great perks!
My Background
My company, Apollospace, LLC holds tens of thousands of raw public domain Apollo era digital mission images, representing the highest resolutions that have been scanned by NASA from the original film. These raw images have been, and continue to be, restored, corrected, and enhanced for public distribution and enjoyment, as well as featuring them in our “Apollo Reflections” series.
I have had an interest in space since I was too young to read – drawing pictures of rockets and planets on my walls. I grew up watching the Gemini and Apollo Program missions and dreaming of one day venturing into space myself. While that didn’t work out quite like I’d hoped, my passion for space exploration compelled me to amass a large collection astronaut autographs and space photos, and later to create Apollospace. From approximately 1996 through 2007, I ran and operated Apollospace as a DBA/ sole proprietorship. I traveled extensively to various NASA Regional Planetary Image Facilities to review the complete library of Apollo photographs and select the most iconic and compelling images, for which I acquired inter-negatives of those images through NASA, and produced and sold 8×10 photographs from those negatives on the Apollospace website for over ten years.
I sold thousands of signed and unsigned photographs to collectors around the world, including many I personally had signed by the astronauts themselves who took the photos or were featured in them. That provided many opportunities to discuss Apollo era imagery with the people who were actually there, and provided valuable insight into how the photographs should look.
There have been a series of scans made of the Apollo photographs, most notably prior to the 40th anniversaries in 2009 and more recently as part of a Space Act Agreement with Arizona State University in preparation for the 50th anniversaries. Apollospace acquired all the available ASU/JSC scans for this project.
The Apollospace image process page details the technical work of bringing these photographs to life. But more than an historical record of one of the greatest accomplishments in human history, these images are art. Each Apollo era photograph appearing on this site was taken by a human hand and with a human eye. 50 years later, each one been restored, corrected, and enhanced with a human eye as well, to be as visually pleasing as they are historically and naturally accurate.
Please help us bring these photos to life as described by Apollo Astronaut Fred Haise, and others, by contributing to this campaign so we can complete the Apollo 13 film and begin producing others in the series. Please contribute to this project if you can and be part of, as well as help us preserve, the incredible history of Apollo and share this campaign with your friends.
Thank you,
Jeremy Theoret