No amount of computational smartphone photography can match, in my eyes, the clarity and contrast and intensity of whatever analogue medium these were captured on.
This looks gorgeous. I'm extremely tempted to splurge on this, and the Apollo, books...
You are talking about the digital, heavily processed photos here that are indeed a lot nicer than the originals taken and.printed 50 years ago. The originals were actually a bit under/over exposed (very harsh light in space), and quite grainy.
I have the "Apollo Remastered" book and it is gorgeous. I'm going to buy this one too. Obviously they went back to the original film from the missions and did a full scan. NASA almost never gives access to the original film and instead we have been seeing duplicate transparencies which involves a loss of detail and dynamic range. They were good enough back then. But these first generation scans cannot be matched for detail and color.
I like this, it's really cool - especially the stack images from 16 mm film. The first image (first selfie in space on Gemini 12) is very artistic but I like the original better in that example - just look at the specular highlight before and after.
I understood it less as an attempt of improvement and more as an alternate version of the same shot.
Where you see more of Aldrin and other smaller bits that were less visible in the original and rightfully iconic shot.
The headline before/after image is astonishing, almost in-credible. I can't see how the left image was restored into the right. It looks like there is substantial new detail on the right that I can't see anywhere on the left.
I can only assume that the image on the left is a low resolution scan produced for this web article, and that there must be a much better scan somewhere else.
It sounds like they took the original film negatives and rescanned them. You can scan them at varying levels of light intensity to get more detail in the highlights/lowlights. By comparison a single compressed digital file is going to have a limited dynamic range.
If you are ever able to make it to the KSC visitor complex in Cape Canaveral they have mock-ups of both the Gemini and earlier Mercury capsules you can get in as a size reference. They are both incredibly tight. It's amazing during Gemini 7 they spent 14 days crammed in the capsule testing systems, doing EVA activity along with normal human activity (eating, sleeping, bodily functions). All while being seconds from death at any time if things go wrong. These early astronauts were men of a different caliber.
I found the headline image confusing - thought it was a Sontaran (Dr. Who baddie) in there! Aldrin's face and the earth reflection are quite confusing to the eye.
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[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 32.9 ms ] threadThis looks gorgeous. I'm extremely tempted to splurge on this, and the Apollo, books...
1965 was two weeks ago?
I can only assume that the image on the left is a low resolution scan produced for this web article, and that there must be a much better scan somewhere else.
I found the headline image confusing - thought it was a Sontaran (Dr. Who baddie) in there! Aldrin's face and the earth reflection are quite confusing to the eye.
I'm still here! I was ten years old during most of the Gemini era. I remember this stuff. I haven't forgotten.
https://tothemoon.im-ldi.com/
All the of the photographs from these missions are public domain and always have been.