How a Navy photographer snapped an iconic Artemis II astronaut photo

Interesting little story about capturing this photo of astronaut Christina Koch after her return from the Artemis II mission.

The Navy photographer who snapped a defining photo of the Artemis II

astronaut crew’s return to Earth swears he wasn’t trying to create an

iconic American image. In fact, he barely even recalls taking it.

“To be honest, I don’t even remember taking the photo,” Mass

Communication Specialist 2nd Class August Clawson told Task &

Purpose.

“I kind of remember thinking about the sun, trying to snap a

bunch of photos as quick as possible. I didn’t really realize I got that photo

until I sat down, like, 30 minutes later and started processing the

imagery, and I saw that photo, and I was like, ‘No way I got that.’”

It's a great photo. At first her tired stare reminded me a bit of Migrant Mother. But, that's obviously a very different image.

The photographer's process, trying to capture as much as possible before the sun went down, is very relatable. And, in that bit of chaos he didn't really know what he had until he could review everything.