Day 311. When you think of beautiful things. Don't forget Earth. #GoodNight from @space_station! #YearInSpace pic.twitter.com/5jOGJbWNHy

— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) February 2, 2016

My #YearInSpace saw the full #hurricane season of 2015 that ends today! Here's 4 flashback pics from @space_station. pic.twitter.com/YQzgmAbUqs

— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) November 30, 2015

Looks like #sunrise came with some enthusiasm. #GoodMorning #USA from @space_station! #YearInSpace pic.twitter.com/5x8tfv60Cq

— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) November 19, 2015

In October 2010, Black Cherry Burlesque asked me to photograph their 2010 Halloween show. It was a ton of fun, and a real technical challenge to photograph the performers. So I came back for their next show... and the next... and the next… after 5 years, 150,000 photos, 1,100+ acts, 150+ performers and 50+ shows it's time to bring these photos off of Facebook and into the real world. This is the best of the best: about one photo per one thousand taken is being selected for inclusion in the book. 

My photos have until now only been seen on Facebook, whose compression algorithms do awful things to photos. Even in print, most people do digital printing for short-run books, which doesn't have the sharpness or deep blacks that will really make these photos shine.

So we are going for the gold and are getting the book printed at an offset press, with CMYK plates, with careful color checking, in a nice thick hard-bound book. If we get funded, we'll start with a 9" x 12" book at 160 pages, but if we meet a few stretch goals, we can get a larger, 12" x 12" book with 200 pages for the same price.

This is going to be a really nice book that you can leave on the living room table. I've picked out a few thousand of my favorite photos, and as soon as the kickstarter funds I'll start designing it. I'm also planning on writing a little about some of the photos and telling some interesting stories, but the focus is burlesque performances.

#EarthArt Across the Greatest Desert- #Sahara #YearInSpace pic.twitter.com/ZSKLSA9wQX

— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) October 17, 2015

I imagine—and I certainly hope—we’ll be seeing a lot of these records broken very soon. If things go well, in a decade or so putting humans into space will be more common. Never routine—this is a difficult and dangerous operation, be assured.

But common? With China setting to go to the Moon, India making excellent progress in space travel, and commercial companies advancing as well, I see a time not too long in the future where the ideas in books I read as a kid about exploring other worlds can be described as science, without the modifier of “fiction.”

We would like to document it's involvement in the lives of Tucson through the eyes of our neighbors and friends who have visited over those years. We are looking for photographs of the Valley of the Moon that may be in your readers' scrap books, garages, attics, closets, etc. It would be great to have them scanned and emailed to [email protected] with the words "Valley Pix" in the subject line so we know what we're getting. There really is no particular timeframe in mind, but we are actively looking now for the information. Any size picture will do and if an approximate date could be included the organization of the photos would be much simpler. Also, if the contributor would like their name listed on the photograph, that would need to be included as well as any memories they would like to share with the rest of the world. The photographs will potentially be used in a display book in the restored building's greeting area. 

• Jim Nintzel

Lilly Hiatt performed at the New West Records BBQ at Threadgills on Thursday, March 19.