209-JournalistReport

Journalist Report

02/09/2014

Tereza Pultarova

Martian photographer

Our cameraman and photographer Filip has been around all these days,

running with the tripod and

switching between a camera and a camcorder to make sure we have all

the documentation we need.

Although it has been his first space-like experience, he is certainly

no newcomer to extreme

environments. He filmed during an arctic track across the Spitsbergen

island of the Svalbard

archipelago and as a TV cameraman visited many war zones. We asked

him, how difficult it is to be a

'Martian' photographer.

"The biggest problem is that we don't have specialised equipment

here," Filip said. "For example

when Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the Moon they had a specially

built Hasselblad camera. You need

all the buttons to be designed for use in thick gloves. Another

problem is that you can't put your

eye on the viewfinder if you are wearing a space suit helmet. Although

all modern cameras are

equipped with LCD panels, in such intense sunlight as we frequently

have here, you can hardly see

anything on those panels. That means you have to rely on automatic

programs a lot, which makes the

whole process a little bit less controllable."

Despite enjoying his Martian experience, Filip believes in a real

Martian mission, a human cameraman

would be rather superfluous.

"Digital technology has taken over and I think it might not even be

necessary for a human operator

to be there to pull the trigger - all cameras and camcorders now can

be fully automated and the

footage would be of such a quality that you could use it even for

still photography," said Filip.

"I think that in the near future, every astronaut will have a

continuously running camcorder

attached to his spacesuit, which could be used not only for

documentary purposes but also to retrace

what the astronaut did in case of some technical issues. Continuous

recording is not a problem

anymore, as we are not using any film material or tapes, it's all

digital and very easy."

During the mission, the Crew 135 has tested some innovative devices

that could be used for

experiments and documentary film-making alike.

"We have tested here a couple of gadgets that could be mounted either

on an all-terrain vehicle or

directly on a space suit or a helmet. These cameras are really

interesting as they offer the point

of view of a subject," explains Filip. "You can see exactly what the

person is doing with his/her

hands, where he or she is going, what he can see. That's really interesting."

The team has also tested Google's newest much-hyped wearable gadget -

the GoogleGlass. Although

Filip wasn't particularly impressed with the quality of the footage

acquired through the glasses, he

said he believed there might be a future for such devices in extreme

environment film-making

"I think Google Glass could work well for wireless transmission of

images and footage so you could

operate the camera remotely by Google Glass. That's definitely

technically feasible," said Filip.