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Photographer recreates moon landing photos with LEGO and practical effects

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This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. On 20 July 1969 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong set their feet on the surface of the Moon. And in 2019, many people have paid them a tribute in all sorts of ways. Hungarian photographer Lampert Benedek did it too, in his recognizable fashion: with LEGO.

Lampert used the popular toy bricks to recreate the iconic photos of the Apollo 11 mission. He kindly shared his work with us, as well as some backstory. And since he used mainly practical effects, the BTS images are as fun as the finished ones.

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Putting a man on the moon: celebrating Apollo 11’s 50th anniversary

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I’ve been fascinated with the idea of incorporating the moon into photos whenever possible. And so, with the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s moon landing on July 20th, I was excited by the possibility to shoot something special for the occasion: Putting a man on the moon. The man here is Ty Johnson, a paramotor pilot, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As NASA will tell you, getting a man to the moon is harder than it looks. This is how we did it.

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Hasselblad re-issues the original 1969 press release for the cameras that captured Moon landing + photos

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On 20 July 1969, astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong were the first men to set their feet on the surface of the Moon. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, Hasselblad has re-issued the original press release for the 500C cameras that were used to capture these historical moments.

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This amazing short film of the Apollo Moon landing was made entirely with NASA photographs

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When man landed on the moon in 1969, it was a milestone in the history of humankind. Around 530 million people watched the Apollo 11 moon landing live. During the trip to the moon, while on the surface, and when heading home, many photographs were created. Made using modified Hasselblad 500EL cameras, those shots result in some very high resolution images.

Fast forward to now and motion designer Christian Stangl along with his brother, composer Wolfgang Stangl, have created a fantastic short film documenting the event. What’s really amazing, though, is that the entire film is made from still photographs. Taken from NASA’s Project Apollo Archive, Christian used stitching and stop motion techniques to bring them to life.

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How The Launch of Apollo 11 Looks Slowed Down at 500 FPS

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It’s been forty five years since Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first two men to walk on the moon. The more unbelievable fact for us, however, is that apparently had cameras that could run at five hundred frames per second back then, as well.

For thirty seconds, the launch of Apollo 11 was filmed by a camera on location at 500 FPS. The ending result was a stretched out to about eight minutes, and gave us one of our sharpest looks ever at the launch of a spacecraft. Obviously, the content shown is a breathtaking sight on its own, but I really found myself focusing on the aesthetics of the video itself after a few repeat views. How amazing is it that we’re able to see footage this sharp, fluid, and clear from 1969? Shot originally on 16MM film, the film was spotlessly converted to HD for us to be able to view online. Check it out for yourself, and stick around for the commentary by Spacecraft Films‘ Mark Gray. For a video that lasts just under ten minutes, what you learn for nearly its entire duration is half of the enjoyment.

Seriously though. With just how expensive film should have been at that point, NASA must actually have been receiving sufficient funding back then.

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