Two photos, thirty years apart, move the Web

By Claudine Zap

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By Claudine Zap | The Upshot Tue, Jul 12, 2011

Thirty years ago, the first space shuttle launched into the stratosphere. Chris Bray and his father
Kenneth watched -- and took a picture. Then last Friday, the shuttle Atlantis took its final trip.
Again, the Bray men were there. And again, the two snapped a photo to capture the moment.
The side-by-side photos, which are up on Chris Bray's Flickr photostream, immediately went
viral on the Web.
The first shot shows 13-year-old Chris with then 39-year-old dad looking through binoculars at
the space shuttle Columbia's first launch on April 12, 1981, from the Kennedy Space Center.
The second snap comes three decades later and recreates the same moment at the last shuttle
voyage. The young son is now an adult. His father is now gray-haired.
Chris Bray wrote on his Flickr page of the side-by-side images: "The picture we waited 30 years
to complete."

The younger Bray told the Washington Post, "We've always loved that first photo. Taking a
similar one for the last launch seemed like the perfect opportunity to celebrate the shuttle
program and our relationship by putting the time passed in perspective, celebrating the interests
we share, and illustrating the father/son bond we've maintained over the years."
The Brays' photo touched a chord of nostalgia in many rocket enthusiasts, and the pic has been
viewed on Flickr an astronomical 510,000 times.
Comments on the pictures commend the melding of the personal with the historical. Says one:
"Epic. To be able to share in something so wonderful with your dad, both beginning and end. I
am jealous -- both that you watched not only the first but also the last mission -- but also that you
did it with your father."
Another fan of the photo who used to work on the space program wrote in, "Everyone I used to
work [with in the shuttle program] thinks it's so cool, [they] get chills."
Chris Bray responded in an email that he was overwhelmed by the response: "I was surprised.
The picture had a lot of significance for me and my father, but we didn't expect that the photo
would touch so many other people." He added, " The moment has stayed with me since that day,
and is one of my fondest memories and childhood experiences."
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Suzann 8 hours ago

proof that pictures can say a thousand words........


JoDee 8 hours ago
Amazing shot of the father and son watching first and last shuttle lunch...

LadyZen 9 hours ago

We need more stories like this and less about celebrities.
These we can relate to! Terrific!

Mike 9 hours ago

This is more news worthy than much of the crap I find on here. Family is more important
than anything. Sadly many don't understand that. Great story.

Casual Observer 9 hours ago

As someone who just lost his Father I can tell you that moments shared between a father
and son (daughters no less) are truly priceless. They build memories like the one
described in their photo. Treasure your parents while you can and never pass up a chance
to tell them you love them...trust me, it matters.

Phlip 4 hours ago

Only goes to show you how photography can capture time and act like a time machine of
some sort. GREAT STORY!


MARK 9 hours ago
WOW....I have no idea why I find this so moving...actually tearing up. Just a great, great
shot of a father and son capturing something special...and doing it again 30 years later.
Makes me think of my dad and growing up and how tight I am with him now....as he
pushes 80 and I push 50. I think i just answered my own question as to why this move me
so...I feel like such a baby....but thats OK.

Michael 9 hours ago

Those are the types of pictures that any one of us would love to have in our personal
scrapbooks. I'm saddened by the senseless negativity that seems to follow every article on
absolutely anything. People are just unneccesarily mean for no reason. It's a sad sign of
the times.

Ralph 9 hours ago

Lost my dad 5 years ago. Would give anything to take a photo with him today!

Yardley 9 hours ago

Nice to see that they have remained close all these years.

B 9 hours ago

We picked up an old 120mm camera of my grandpas and snapped a pic of my sister and
had it developed, On the same roll of film was my sister as a toddler then her in college.
That was priceless.

Ron Cole 16 hours ago

cool is that the same shirt too.

name 10 hours ago

That's a first.
That's a work of a good dad and a great son :)
Now that's true American

daydreams83 10 hours ago

Awesome. That's amazing they were able to witness two momumental events like that
together. For those saying this is not newsworthy - I feel sorry for you. Must be terrible to
live a life where you're looking for bad news all the time!

Larry 9 hours ago

Lost my dad almost 4 years ago, would give anything to have one more afternoon with
him.

roy v 10 hours ago

... the bond that lasts

V 10 hours ago
Chris, pray in gratitude that you still have your dad! I lost mine almost 40 years ago and
still miss him. God bless you and your dad and give you at least 30 more years together.

elem_finance 9 hours ago

Really cool. Put the political comments aside and enjoy it for what it is.

JK 9 hours ago
You know I get really tired of people saying how much the space program has cost us and
"what have we got in return?" If you really need to ask that you are truly an idiot. Every
used a battery for anything? You know, for your watch or remote control or that boombox
back in the 80's? You can thank NASA for those, they had to come up with a way to
transport usable energy. How about a computer? Ever use one of those? How many jobs
have been created by the computer industry? How much money has been pumped back
into the economy from personal and business computer use? If it wasn't for NASA, the
most affordable computer would cost you a million dollars and need a whole room in
your house. Ever use a cell phone? Gee, where do you think those little chips came from
that make cell phones work? And what about the lives saved by being able to track
weather? Do you think we would have weather satellites up there if it weren't for that
space program? Not to mention all the other satellites up there that help out our military,
give us turn by turn directions, and make our lives so much easier. So, a nice thank you
NASA would do just fine. Your Welcome!

momx3 10 hours ago

Very cool :)

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