Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy has taken some incredible photos, but his newest is perhaps his most impressive—and artistic—to date. The Fall of Icarus, created in collaboration with skydiver Gabriel C. Brown, is a spectacular image that celebrates the incredible things that humans can accomplish. In the image, we see Brown tumbling toward Earth, silhouetted against the sun’s chromosphere.
The photograph is so audacious that one could ask if it’s even real—and it very much is! McCarthy said it took him and Brown months of planning to pull off the photo shoot, which required precise coordination and timing. “We had to find the right location, time, aircraft, and distance for the clearest shot; while factoring in the aircraft’s power-off glideslope for the optimal sun angle and safe exit altitude,” Brown writes on Instagram. “Then we had to align the shot using the opposition effect from the aircraft and coordinate the exact moment of the jump on 3-way comms!
“As if that wasn’t hard enough, we had a myriad of malfunctions that almost led to the shot not being captured… But as you can see, against all odds, we got it on the sixth try!”
The tenacity of the pair is admirable, with McCarthy obtaining the final result due to impeccable timing and communication. As McCarthy sat in the Arizona desert with his telescopes set up, he waited until he spotted Brown and then radioed him the precise moment to take the leap. The final image is the result of hard work, with the Sun made of a high-resolution mosaic that was then matched and aligned with the sun in the shot that included Brown.
Images like this make us excited in the direction McCarthy is headed, as he continues to push the creative boundaries of astrophotography. If you’re in love with this image, you can scoop up a limited-edition fine art print of The Fall of Icarus (but act quick, they’re almost sold out).
The Fall of Icarus is a stunning collaboration between astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy and skydiver Gabriel C. Brown.
Detail
This behind-the-scenes video shows the incredible setup it took to bring the photo to life.
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