Palm Beach Photographic Centre Presents Space Odyssey 2019

Ever gazed at the stars and dreamed about traveling to far-off galaxies? Experience the next best thing at “Space Odyssey 2019: Astronaut Scott Kelly’s Epic Visual Voyages,” a new exhibition arriving at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre (PBPC) in West Palm Beach next month. The show features the photographs of Commander Scott Kelly, an astronaut who documented his history-making year in space by taking photos from 250 miles above earth.

“While breaking records for being in outer space, NASA astronaut Scott Joseph Kelly talked to President Obama about what he was seeing and pictures he was taking; the President encouraged him to share his pictures with the world via Twitter and Instagram. Space traveler extraordinare Kelly did,” says Fatima NeJame, president and CEO of PBPC. “This exhibition celebrates the best of his pictures and his voyages.”

Kelly mastered the rare art of microgravity photography using a Nikon D4 camera with an 800-mm lens and a 1.4x magnifying zoom lens. He panned the camera as the shutter released to compensate for the space station’s velocity: 17,500 mph relative to the earth.

In the exhibition, accompanied by Kelly’s commentary, photos portray sunsets, moonrises, the aurora borealis and the hazy tapestry of the Milky Way. Kelly presents snapshots of life and work on the International Space Station, from spacewalks to selfies.

“But above all – or floating amid all – he takes the earth itself as his celestial muse,” according to a press release. “Here are hurricanes, wrinkled mountains, New York City shining like a galaxy – glorious photographs that are, in themselves, a passionate argument for the preservation of our planet in the face of climate change and environmental destruction.”

“Space Odyssey 2019” will be on display from June 20 to Aug. 3. The public is invited to a free opening reception on June 19 from 6-8 p.m. The PBPC is located at the downtown City Center municipal complex at 415 Clematis St., West Palm Beach. For more information, call 561-253-2600 or visit www.workshop.org or www.fotofusion.org.