“Space Oddity” astronaut Chris Hadfield talks photography

 

 

Last summer, Canadian astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield shot to worldwide fame as the man who out-Bowied David Bowie. Hadfield's recording of Bowie's classic Space Oddity, recorded on the International Space Station (and shown below), was an overnight YouTube hit. It's gone on to pull in a fifth more views in just the last eight months than has the most-watched Bowie performance managed in seven years.

But there's a whole lot more to Hadfield than 'mere' astronaut and overnight music video star. His impromptu music career may have garnered all the headlines, but it turns out that's he's a rather accomplished photographer as well -- although he's quick to give the credit to the unique perspective afforded him by the ISS.

During his 166 days in space, Hadfield says that he shot around 45,000 images, and many of these, too, have been wildly popular on social networks. He recently sat down with Lex van den Berghe, senior product manager for digital imaging at Adobe, to talk about his time in space, his photography, the gear he used, and that video. And he also shared some of his favorite shots -- those, he said, in which our planet seemed to be sharing a joke with him.

The interview is well worth a read, and when you're done, you'll find many of Hadfield's works and thoughts on his official Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and YouTube pages. Can't get enough? He's also got a new book out, entitled "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth". If it's as well-received as his photos and videos, we're sure it, too, will be a smash hit!