In this article, you can read the editorial from our latest newsletter written by Eidolon-director Róza Tekla Szilágyi, which were sent out on September 12th, 2024. We publish our monthly editor's letters, in which we reflect on recent events, approximately two weeks after the newsletter is out.

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Hello there, 

During his extravehicular activity in 1966, Buzz Aldrin, the astronaut who, some years later, touched down on the moon lowered his gold-plated visor and took one of the rarest selfies of the last 100 years. The photograph is interesting for several reasons: even though astronauts have been carrying cameras aboard space vehicles since the 1960s, and they’ve taken plenty of pictures of themselves along the way, Aldrin took the first self portrait that clearly shows his features. In previous photographs of astronauts spacewalking sunlight was reflecting off the visor protecting their faces. The surroundings – weird phrase to use when writing about space – are notable too: on the left corner of the photograph we can see the back of the Maurer space camera, and behind Aldrin there is the antenna of the Agena target docking vehicle already docked to the spacecraft, as this was the goal of the Gemini 12 mission. But the main star of the photograph is the Atlantic Ocean and the coast of Africa in the photograph’s background.

First self-portrait in space, November 11-15, 1966, Buzz Aldrin [Gemini XII]

There is something unique about the Super-Wide Hasselblad camera and its 38mm lens, which Aldrin used to take the photograph with: NASA had an ongoing collaboration with the company since the beginning of the sixties. During the Gemini IV mission in 1965, the first spacewalk was documented by a Hasselblad – and the collaboration led to the historic images of the Apollo mission’s moon landing, also by Buzz Aldrin. 

Astronaut's footprint in the lunar soil, Apollo 11 mission © NASA

As the cameras in space had to survive extreme conditions, the Hasselblads used during the missions were specifically designed: they had an extra-large trigger so the astronauts, wearing thick space suit gloves, could operate them. Hasselblad also removed the leather cover of the cameras and painted the apparatus black minimise reflections.

After Aldrin’s selfie in 1966 – which he had to take attaching the camera to the side of the spacecraft – from the Apollo 11 to the final Apollo 17 mission a total of twelve camera bodies were left on the lunar surface. (With the family photograph of Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke.) Why? As space missions were constrained by a conservative weight limit on the return trips astronauts had to extract the films and leave the camera bodies behind – so the historic photographs could reach back to Earth with them.

Charlie Duke's family portrait left on the surface of the moon, source: Wikimedia Commons

It is quite interesting to think about the fact that most of the historic space photographs were created by amateur photographers who besides having the task of photographing given to them by NASA due to the unique locations they visit – Buzz Alrdin’s famous footprint photograph from the moon was created as part of an experiment to study the nature of lunar dust – could not resist turning the camera towards their own faces to document the fact that: “I was here, in space.” These celebratory space selfies, starting with Aldrin’s surprisingly aesthetic rendition provide us with a perfect chance to think about the selfies of today – if they are fuelled by contemporary narcissism and exhibitionism, a modern day obsession, or they have more to them.

Aldrin’s selfie was taken in the middle of November in 1966 – this date perfectly resonates with Eidolon Club’s November event: author of the book Narcissus in Bloom – An Alternative History of the Selfie, Matt Colquhoun will visit Budapest where he will introduce his book to the Hungarian readers. Let’s continue this discussion about the magnitude and significance of selfies there in person!

Warm regards,
Róza Tekla Szilágyi
director of Eidolon Centre for Everyday Photography

You can find all previous editor's letters at this link.