NASA Ames
A personal project documenting NASA Ames Research Center's stratospheric balloon testing over active wildland fires, capturing the intersection of cutting edge technology and emergency response on the ground.
Client:
Personal Project
Year:
2024
Industry:
Documentary
Duration:
2 Weeks
Services:
Photography
Overview:
NASA Ames was testing a stratospheric balloon designed to beam cellular data down to wildland firefighters operating in areas with no communication infrastructure. The technology had the potential to change how crews coordinate on the ground during active fires. The project was a collaborative effort between NASA Ames Research Center, the US Forest Service National Interagency Fire Center tools and technologies division, and the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. I was embedded with the team through my role with the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, documenting the operation over two weeks as it unfolded over real wildland fire conditions.
Challenges:
Wildland fire environments are unpredictable by nature. The challenge was capturing both the technical precision of the balloon operation and the raw intensity of the fire environment around it. The photography had to tell both stories at once without losing either one.
Conclusion:
The project produced a two week documentary archive of a genuinely groundbreaking piece of technology being tested in one of the most demanding environments imaginable. It is the kind of work that does not come around often and I'm proud to have been there to document it.
