Internationally renowned photographer John Angerson captivated Xposure 2023 audiences at a talk titled “NASA Space Shuttle Mission STS-72” at the ongoing 7th annual edition of the international photography festival in Sharjah on Saturday. Through awe-inspiring visual storytelling, the photographer explained how he documented the final six months of intensive year-long preparations by six astronauts for the NASA mission (STS-72) in January 1996 when he was granted special access to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
One of the most important projects in Angerson’s career which was commissioned when was only 22 years old, the photographer said that his youth turned out to be his biggest advantage because he was fully receptive to the environment he was in.
“Some of the best pictures I have taken in my career were not the ones I thought about, but arose from situations I was responding to. In this whole project, I was responding to what I saw. I had no previous baggage or a set formula of approaching my subjects. This is what made the images so candid and pure”.
The photographer also highlighted key technical aspects, pointing out that time is one of the most important elements for photographers. He pressed on the fact that the camera should be rolling at all times during shooting.
“I never turned the camera off because I believed it was all about capturing the right moment, which can show up any time”.
Angerson also revealed that some pictures displayed at his Xposure 2023 exhibition have never been exhibited in public before. He showed the audience a collection of unique pictures including one showing members of the Closeout Crew assisting astronauts before they seal the crew access hatch on the launch day.
Angerson’s exhibition NASA (STS-72) Astronauts will be accessible at the Xposure International Photography Festival until 15 February in Expo Centre Sharjah.
To find out more visit: https://xposure.ae/film-screenings-2/
