Fifty Years Ago Today - John Fields connection to Moon Landing

Fifty Years Ago Today - John Fields photographing in Ivan Millet's house on the day of the Apollo 11 moon landing, July 1969.

In November, 2008, Photospace Gallery held its first exhibition of John Fields' photographs, titled 'Forty Years Ago Today'. So, today, the 20th of July, 2019, presents the opportunity to make a 'Fifty Years Ago Today' connection between John Fields' exhibition of photos of 'The Residence of Ivan Millet Esq.' and a great achievement of humankind - the landing on the moon of the Eagle lander and Neil Armstrong's first human footprint on another world on this day in July 1969.

OK, it's a little tenuous a connection, but the photo above, scanned from one of John Fields' proof sheets (a rough contact print of the negative film made for reference purposes) shows him photographing in the living room of John Millet's house where a party was held to watch the moon landing on TV - specifically on the old black & white TV set in the photo.

Ivan Millet writes:
"I held a small gathering here when the Apollo 11 moon landing happened. TVNZ was networked at that time, but not to the rest of the world. So, it had to be filmed in Australia, then rushed over here in a Canberra bomber, the bees-knees aircraft of the NZ Air Force back then. We watched it on a dreadful old B&W TV with severe vertical distortion."

John Fields' exhibition of photographs of Ivan Millet's house, along with his photographs of patrons of the Kiwi Hotel, remains on show in room 1 of Photospace Gallery till the 3rd of August. Exhibition info.

Note: the Fields' vintage prints and photos by Max Oettli are no longer on display. In their place is a suite of 24 photographs of Masterton by Andrew Ross. For those of you who enjoy black & white photographs, these exhibitions together represent a feast.
'Significant sites in my home town' exhibition info.

'Chimneys, Onehunga, Auckland. 1968' Photo by John Fields from 'Forty Years Ago Today'

John Fields in front of Ivan Millet's house c.1969

Link to TV One's news story on the moon landing