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Lot 19
[Apollo 12] ALAN BEAN STRIDES ACROSS THE SUNLIT SEA OF STORMS (large format) Pete Conrad, 14-24 November 1969
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €4,608 inc. premium
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[Apollo 12] ALAN BEAN STRIDES ACROSS THE SUNLIT SEA OF STORMS (large format)
Pete Conrad, 14-24 November 1969
Printed 1969.
Large format vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS12-46-6806].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
28 x 35 cm. (11x 14 in.)
Historical context
This striking large-format photograph, a frame from the ALSEP panoramic sequence, captures Alan Bean striding across the sunlit lunar surface, kicking up dust with each step. The rays of light and patches of colour lens aberrations caused by the direct and blinding sunlight create a strange, unreal atmosphere to the image.
Bean carries a package of scientific instruments using a "barbell" carry, transporting it to the scientific site—also known as the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) site—located about 500 feet northwest of the Intrepid Lunar Module. In the background, the LM, the American flag, and the S-band antenna stand as symbols of Apollo 12's presence.
At the upper left of the photograph, a bright sun glare glint is visible. Without an atmosphere to filter it, the Sun appears far more intense on the Moon than on Earth, creating dazzling visual effects. Sunlight played unexpected tricks on the astronauts, and this image captures unusual, unexplained light formations appearing on the lunar surface.
Printed 1969.
Large format vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS12-46-6806].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
28 x 35 cm. (11x 14 in.)
Historical context
This striking large-format photograph, a frame from the ALSEP panoramic sequence, captures Alan Bean striding across the sunlit lunar surface, kicking up dust with each step. The rays of light and patches of colour lens aberrations caused by the direct and blinding sunlight create a strange, unreal atmosphere to the image.
Bean carries a package of scientific instruments using a "barbell" carry, transporting it to the scientific site—also known as the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) site—located about 500 feet northwest of the Intrepid Lunar Module. In the background, the LM, the American flag, and the S-band antenna stand as symbols of Apollo 12's presence.
At the upper left of the photograph, a bright sun glare glint is visible. Without an atmosphere to filter it, the Sun appears far more intense on the Moon than on Earth, creating dazzling visual effects. Sunlight played unexpected tricks on the astronauts, and this image captures unusual, unexplained light formations appearing on the lunar surface.
Footnotes
Literature
LIFE magazine, December 12, 1969, pp. 34-35
The View from Space, Schick and Van Haaften p. 44
Moon, Man's Greatest Adventure, Thomas, ed., pp. 256-257
Images from Space: The Camera in Orbit, Arnold, plate 21
Additional information
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