Photo: Neil Armstrong/NASA
He was a hero to many. President Obama said of his passing, “Neil Armstrong was a hero not just of his time, but of all time. Thank you, Neil, for showing us the power of one small step.” His work inspired millions, not only with his famous landing on the moon, but with the photos he took while there. Click through some of the image tabs above to see some of Armstrong’s photos from the surface of the moon. Many are from a Life magazine feature that ran after the lunar landing.
As the primary photographer of that first successful manned lunar mission in 1969, Neil Armstrong, was responsible for some of the most iconic images of the modern age. As the photographer, contrary to popoular belief, Armstrong did not actually appear in many of the famous photos he took on the moon. Most of the iconic images we know of today – are of his lunar romping partner Buzz Aldrin. There is one well-known shot of him climbing into the Lunar Module “Eagle.” It was Armstrong who uttered the famous, “…the Eagle has landed,” to Houston when they touched down in the Sea of Tranquility on the moon’s surface.
The two men had special modified 70mm Hasselblad 500EL. According to Hasselblad, “This is a specially designed version of the motorized 500EL intended for use on the surface of the moon, where the first lunar pictures were taken on 20 July 1969 by Neil Armstrong. The camera is equipped with a specially designed Biogon lens with a focal length of 60 mm, with a polarization filter mounted on the lens. A glass plate (Reseau-Plate), provided with reference crosses which are recorded on the film during exposure, is in contact with the film, and these crosses can be seen on all the pictures taken on the moon from 1969 to 1972. The 12 HEDC cameras used on the surface of the moon were left there. Only the film magazines were brought back. They also had two 16mm data acquisition cameras and one 35mm close-up stereoscopic camera. Altogether, they took 232 color and 107 black and white photographs on the surface of the moon.”
As I read about Armstrong this weekend I grew to admire him even more. He was, in addition to being the first man to step foot on the moon, a brilliant engineer and a fearless test pilot. Neil Armstrong went to the moon first as an explorer for mankind, second as a scientist and engineer – but with intention or not – he came back a famous photographer. Here’s an inspirational quote that I think applies uniquely to creatives – about the uncertainties of success.
“The unknowns were rampant. There were just a thousand things to worry about.”
He was, of course, talking about landing a small flying man-made pod on the moon…without knowing or having tested if it could do so. And even more concerning – if it could take OFF again. Mind-blowing. But we’ve all felt that way about something. It puts things in perspective on what is possible.
This statement from Armstrong’s family is wonderful and the best way to honor him.
“While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves.
For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”
RIP – Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012)
“where is earth or sun?” : When you take a picture, do you put sun close to your subject ?? If you really want to have an idea of what you should see on moon, just have a look on these links = http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a11/AS11-44-6549.jpg and http://www.apolloarchive.com/apollo_gallery.html
but please, stop looking for a mistake or an hoax.
Just thanks all these people who worked and took these pictures on 1969.
where is earth or sun?
Good stuff. RIP Neil Armstrong.
I found this piece by Mythbusters – and the subsequent pieces – to be very helpful in helping to address the lighting scenario on the moon. Enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wym04J_3Ls0
awesome. i take it back then. i was wrong. but again, i don’t care about the hoax. just he image 🙂 though, my personal humble opinion is that the images are too good to be true.
Why would you think such?
They shot with 70mm film in special Hassies. The cameras had only modest exposure control but negative film has wide exposure latitude. The cameras were mounted on attachments on the chest of the astronauts. It’s easy to get a good shooting from the hip style photography. That said NASA says the astronauts took lots of dud pictures too. Thousands of frames were shot from all Moon missions.
There are a lot of evidences for human presence on the moon!
The Apollo missions placed mirrors on the moon that can be used till today to measure the distance between erath and moon with a laser. With the right equiptment you can do it on your own:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e5CtbbZL-k
please pro photos. look at the shadows. the light source is close by. that’s not the sun. the picture is a fake. i DO like it. great picture. not from the moon.
The sun is a hard light source. The dirt/dust would have provided some diffusion. What on earth (or moon) are you talking about?
shadows from the lander, man and foreground rock should all have the same direction and not 3 different ones. these shadows indicate a light source positioned fairly close to the scene. FORGET the hoax and conspiracy, i don’t care about that, I’m just analyzing the photo. the light source is not the sun. that’s all. could wide angle effect though. is 60mm wide angle on that Hasselblad?
UGH!
The Moon isn’t like a billiard table. The undulation of the terrain will affect the look of shadows. But STOP AND THINK! If their was multiple light sources then we’d see multiple shadows of each object in frame. Never do you see multiple shadows off any object.
i never said multiple.i said one source closer than the sun
HUH! Now you are thinking ONLY one light lit up the fake moon sound stage? It would have to be as big and bright as a sun.
No, now listen up ok? The SUN, the thing we wake up to each freaking day was the SOLE illuminating light source. The moon’s soil would act as a reflector in the exposures but that’s it.
We as humans went to the Moon, landed on it with men aboard 6 times. FER GOD SAKE SHOW THEM RESPECT!!!
my Great Aunt worked at a local Houston area custom photo lab. she had one of the astronaut’s personally bring a set of photos in. she hand printed and dodged the photos. please learn something about the old style photography before you open your mouth. these photos are great but only as good as the lab printing them. I was given one of her photos she made from the negs they are truely great works of art and not fakes.