MOONSHOT - 40 YEARS AGO

What happened to the time? The young man had never travelled farther than Statesboro. Then the Army took him halfway around the world for a tropical vacation in Vietnam. After having experienced fire and rain, he thought nothing of driving down to Florida to witness the launch of the astronauts who would set foot on the moon.

I-95 was unfinished, and we drove back from the Cape over 12 miles of the dirt highway to escape traffic. The security and crowds resulted in our sleeping in the un-air-conditioned car, so we would have a seat when the action started the next morning.

We were 12 miles away from the launch site. The photos were made with the Asahi Pentax bought in Vietnam and a 200mm lens bought in Japan. Since my negative scanner is still away being repaired, I shot the prints glued in an old album with curls and reflections, so the quality is not great. It would be another 11 months before I began photography study at RIT.

The TV pictures were shot with a slow shutter on tripod; Zenith 19" black and white TV.