Rocketpunk Collections

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This is a partial collection of what I call my “rocketpunk” series: an ongoing series of photos which share the common theme of the dream of spaceflight, exploration, and the “future that might’ve been” had the dreams of the 1960s carried on according to then-current predictions. Photos of real objects and artifacts that prompt one to imagine a sort of lost golden age of spaceflight, much as antique photos of airships or Jules Verne book cover art might.

Some of these photos are of actual aircraft, spacecraft and launch vehicles or engines, while other videos are of observatories used to study the sky.

 

Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles

Delta upper stage with satellite payload and aerodynamic shroud, Goddard Spaceflight Center, MD

Delta launch vehicle, Goddard Spaceflight Center, MD

Sounding rocket, Goddard Spaceflight Center, MD

Radio Telescope, Greenbank Observatory, WV

Radio Telescope, Greenbank Observatory, WV

Radio Telescope, Greenbank Observatory, WV

Radio Telescope, Greenbank Observatory, WV

Radio Telescope, Greenbank Observatory, WV. This 300 ft wide dish is the largest steerable radio telescope in the world.

Radio Telescope, Greenbank Observatory, WV. This 300 ft wide dish is the largest steerable radio telescope in the world.

Apollo Command Module, Goddard Spaceflight Center, MD. lith print version 1

Sounding Rocket, Goddard Spaceflight Center, MD

Sounding Rocket, Goddard Spaceflight Center, MD

Jet Engine of a Boeing 707, Smithsonian Air & Space Museum Udvar Hazy Center, VA

Rocketdyne F1 Rocket Engine, Udvar Hazy Center, VA. Five of these enormous engines powered the first stage of the Saturn V launch vehicle.

Rocketdyne RS-25 Space Shuttle Main Engine, Udvar Hazy Center, VA. The Space Shuttle was powered by three of these extremely efficient reusable engines.

Delta Launch Vehicle Propulsion System Detail, Goddard Spaceflight Center, MD

Apollo Command Module, Goddard Spaceflight Center, MD. lith print version 2

 

The Return of the Polaroid

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Recently a company called “Polaroid Originals” (formerly “The Impossible Project”) released a bran new version of the old Polaroid One-Step instant camera. Similar in many ways to the old ones, the new One-Step’s main difference is that it uses an internal battery for power, rechargeable via a USB port, instead of the film cartridge battery used in the old cameras. This means that old Polaroid 600 film which has sat on the shelf long enough for the battery to expire will still be usable. These new cameras use “i-type” film with no batteries, and it comes in various flavors, color, black and white, colored or textured borders, etc. These are a few test shots from the first pack of film shot through my new One-Step2. Hopefully many more to come.

“The Holographic City”

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This image was shot in my home built 4″ x 5″ camera, and the negative “printed” onto a second sheet of film, making a positive The positive sheet was then printed onto paper in the normal manner using an enlarger, producing a negative final image. Blue toner was later applied.

Experimenting with Composite Images

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One of my favorite photographers is Jerry Uelsmann, who has been making composite photos for many decades, starting in a time when a “photo shop” was a dark room, not a piece of software. I’ve been doing some experiments with this technique of burning different parts of various images onto a single piece of paper to fabricate a completely new image. It’s difficult work, takes a lot of patience, and uses a lot of paper before you get something worth keeping, but it’s worth it.

EPSON MFP image

EPSON MFP image