How to Photograph an Atomic Bomb : The Atomic Testing Museum, Las Vegas, NV

I went to a CES party at The Atomic Testing Museum this week (no, my cab driver couldn’t find it) and toured the exhibit titled, “How to Photograph an Atomic Bomb.”

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Lookout Mountain Photographers, the exhibit features prints from animator/special effects wizard Peter Kuran (Star Wars, Men in Black, Robocop) and his new book of the same name.
Back in the day of above-round testing (roughly the ’40s-’60s), photography was the best and sometimes only way to capture data. When Kuran was doing research for Star Wars, he tracked down some photographers who actually witnessed some of the giant explosions he was replicating and started collecting their stories and photographs.

Of course, many of them died soon after snapping their shots. It took us quite awhile to figure out a gas mask and garbage sack won’t stop radiation exposure.

Here’s a quick YouTube video I shot of the exhibit.

Very cool exhibit and awesome venue for a party. Would love to tour the whole museum sometime.