As part of freelancing for the UK Space Agency, I gave the British astronaut Tim Peake photography training while he was on the International Space Station, by direct email. It was a unique experience as professional photographer to do something like this – and quite something to receive emails on my phone from space! The European Space Agency has now published this correspondence.
Have you ever wondered how Tim takes such amazing pictures from space? Behind all good work is a great teacher: professional photographer Max Alexander has known Tim Peake from before his launch into space, including documenting his Soyuz training in November 2015. The two kept in touch via email and Max has been giving Tim advice throughout his six-month Principia mission on the International Space Station. The duo allowed us to publish some of their correspondence, we added pictures of Tim’s to illustrate.
GENERAL NOTES
- I’m sure you know about Depth of Field (range of sharp focus) and the Law of Reciprocity (e.g., 1/125 sec @ f8 will give you the same ‘exposure’ as 1/250 sec @ F5.6, etc. – the same applies to integrated ISO settings); if you have questions though, about these or anything else, let me know
- Your low light work is really great; great you are getting stars in the photos – keep using that 50mm f1.4 & 24mm f1.4
- Spectacular colours (sunrise/sunset) picture recently posted is exquisite
- I’m using Chris Hadfield as a point of reference for some of this; I know you’ll want to be Tim Peake and not Chris Hadfield but I’m using his photography as a guide in some instances
- You should have the Nikon D4 manual on your ipad that I sent you – if required
- When all is said and done, the mantra in photography is F8 and be there; i.e., keep it simple – and you most certainly are there!
If you would like to read all our correspondence and tips, please read the full article at Tim Peake’s Principia Blog
