Ground Truth—Corona Landmarks

These vertical Sonoran desert landscapes explore Cold War spy satellite calibration targets from the Corona program juxtaposed with the contemporary satellites present in the sky at the moment of photographing. This highly significant satellite program produced the world's first maps from space, yet years later the massive system of over two hundred 60 foot diameter crosses—perhaps the largest land monument to analog photographic technology—crumbles nearly unknown. We are interested in using these calibration marks as sites of observation for the present ubiquity of satellite technology and sites of rumination on a poignant moment in the geopolitics of seeing from above. Each image is 30" x 24" on Hannemuhle Baryta Fiber-based paper and individual satellite names at each satellite location are legible at that scale.