(Photo courtesy Facebook/Retro Space Images)
By Eric Stock
BLOOMINGTON – A Bloomington man who has compiled thousands of photographs from space has compiled them in two new books.
J.L. Pickering told WJBC’s Dan Swaney collecting these photos has been a lifetime mission.
“It started with a lot of letter writing back when I was 12, 13, 14 years old,” Pickering said. “It eventually grows to making phone calls to people. Then when you are old enough to drive, you visit people. It was amazing to see what they were bringing home from work.”
PODCAST: Listen to Dan Swaney’s interview with Pickering and Bisney.
Pickering has teamed with John Bisney for the photographic history ‘Spaceshots & Snapshots of Projects Mercury and Gemini’ which includes many never-before-seen photos and detailed captions of those missions.
Pickering said he gathered the images from retired NASA personnel, news photographers, eBay, auctions and people’s basements and sheds.
Bisney said he and Pickering were always space enthusiasts who enjoyed books about the space program.
“And if you thumb through them, we realize you are looking at the same 50, 60 pictures over and over and over again,” Bisney said. “It’s understandable because they are good images. “Authors just don’t go beyond the ‘greatest hits.’
They have another book due out in September entitled ‘Moonshots & Snapshots of Project Apollo.’
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
