We are used to see the epic, awe-inspiring, perfect photos from the golden age of NASA, during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions. Those are not the photos that you will find in Drewatts Bloomsbury’s auction. In fact, these are all pretty shitty — poorly exposed, badly framed and just plain boring.
And yet, there’s something cool about all of them. First, because they show us that astronauts were human and they screwed up their photos just like the rest of us. And then, because no matter how bad they are, they were taken in freaking space — and the Moon! That makes them better and more interesting than any of the stupid photos I’ve ever taken.
Above: Geology at Spur Crater’s Station 7, EVA 2, Apollo 15, August 1971
Bluish halo around Alan Bean exploring the Ocean of Storms, EVA 1, Apollo 12, November 1969
Close-up of David Scott covered with lunar dust, EVA 2, Apollo 15, August 1971
Charles Duke assembling a double core near the Lunar Rover, EVA 3, Apollo 16, April 1972
Lunar Ionosphere and Atmosphere detector, EVA 1, Apollo 12, November 1969
Charles Duke at the front of the Lunar Rover, EVA 3, Apollo 16, April 1972
John Young changing a film magazine in the Hasselblad camera, Apollo 16, EVA 2, April 1972
First deep space EVA on August 5, 1971, by Al Worden
The LM reflects a circular flare, EVA 1, Apollo 14, February 1971
Sun glare over Alan Bean carrying scientific equipments out from the LM, EVA 1, Apollo 12, November 1969
Alan Shepard on the lunar surface, EVA 1, Apollo 14, February 1971
Astronaut Alan Bean taking his first step on the lunar surface, EVA 1, Apollo 12, November 1969
Pete Conrad and the American flag on the Ocean of Storms, Apollo 12, November 1972
Ronald Evans’ EVA, the last in deep space, Apollo 17, December 1972
The ascent stage of the Lunar Module returning from the Moon, Apollo 17, December 1972
Portrait of astronaut Eugene Cernan, explorer of another world, Apollo 17, December 1972
First US Spacewalk – Ed White’s EVA over New Mexico, Gemini 4, 3 June 1965
Pete Conrad and two US spacecrafts on the surface of the Moon, Apollo 12, November 1969
In-flight portrait of astronaut Charles Conrad, Gemini 5, 21 August 1965
John Glenn inside the Friendship 7 capsule
The Earth illuminated by the Sun during the first orbit, Gemini 3, March 1965
Buzz Aldrin carrying experiment packages, Apollo 11, July 1969
First US Spacewalk – Ed White’s EVA over South California, Gemini 4, 3 June 1965
First US Spacewalk – Ed White’s EVA over New Mexico, Gemini 4, 3 June 1965
Neil Armstrong practices a moonwalk, Apollo 11, June 1969
Alan Sheppard practicing
Safe landing of the Command Module and recovery of the astronauts in the Pacific Ocean, Apollo 13, April 1970
The LM “Challenger” seen from the Lunar Rover during the return to the landing site, EVA 3, Apollo 17, December 1972
Thomas Mattingly’s spacewalk during the return from the Moon, Apollo 16, April 1972
Last photograph taken on the lunar surface, EVA 3, Apollo 15, August 1971
The Lunar Rover seen from every angle, EVA 3, Apollo 15, August 1971