{"id":48989,"date":"2018-06-05T12:00:37","date_gmt":"2018-06-05T16:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/?p=48989"},"modified":"2018-06-05T11:23:54","modified_gmt":"2018-06-05T15:23:54","slug":"nasa-photographer-sets-the-record-straight-about-that-viral-melted-camera-photo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/nasa-photographer-sets-the-record-straight-about-that-viral-melted-camera-photo\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Photographer Sets the Record Straight About That Viral Melted Camera Photo"},"content":{"rendered":"

On May 22<\/span>nd<\/sup><\/span>, NASA launched<\/span><\/a> a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with two orbiters and five communications satellites onboard. The purpose of the mission<\/span><\/a>: to measure and track movement of water on Earth (in glaciers, oceans and seas, and in ground water) by measuring its effect on Earth\u2019s gravitational field. NASA says that these orbiters will be able to record regional variations in the Earth’s gravity, and the information gleaned from that will be helpful in knowing “the health of our planet as a whole.”<\/span><\/p>\n

But I wouldn\u2019t be writing about that for Adorama Learning Center<\/span> if there wasn\u2019t also some photography news there too, of course. The launch was photographed by NASA Senior Photographer Bill Ingalls<\/span><\/a>: <\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BjGAAqSnqV4\/<\/p>\n

Ingalls is a 30-year veteran photographer for NASA and he\u2019s seen it all. Until May 22<\/span>nd<\/sup><\/span>, that is. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bill
Photo by Bill Ingalls\/NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After this photo of a melted Canon camera was shared, it went viral, with people explaining it as the result the camera unfortunately being too close to the launch site. Peter King<\/span><\/a> of CBS, for example, wrote about Bill Ingalls, \u201cHe tries to get his remote cameras as close to the launch pad as possible for great results. This would illustrate the unfortunate result of an attempt at an extreme closeup.\u201d This article<\/span><\/a> is another example, headlined, \u201cThis is What Happens When Your Camera is too Close to a Rocket Launch Pad.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not actually what happened. In an article<\/span><\/a> released by NASA on May 25<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span>, Ingalls explained that this camera was actually far from the launch site \u2014 a quarter of a mile away, in fact. Ingalls, too, was safely away from the launch. Unbeknownst to him, the rocket set off a brushfire which travelled far from the rocket launch site. Eventually, the fire engulfed one of six cameras that he had set up to photograph the launch remotely. But, like a pro, the camera took photos up until the moment that it was destroyed. Ingalls shared a surreal gif that shows the fire approaching the camera: <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bill
Image by Bill Ingalls\/NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After the fire was put out, Ingalls forced open the torched camera, and managed to get the data off the memory card. (Major props to Canon for making a camera robust enough to protect its data!) He shared on Facebook a beautiful shot of the launch the camera took before it was destroyed: <\/span><\/p>\n