Combining photos taken from space with music, two of the movies from Dan Barstow’s Bach In Space series were featured in Leipzig Germany at the annual BachFest. Shown in the left of the photo is a night flight over the Nile. (Photo courtesy Dan Barstow)
By Ann Needle
Educating the people of Earth about the treasures they enjoy literally right under their feet has become the mission of Stow’s Dan Barstow in retirement. As a former senior education manager with NASA, Barstow reported he is using his experience managing space photography, along with his growing connections in the music world, to “get people to take care of Earth, to have a sense of Earth as ‘gaia,’ as a whole.”
In his quest to demonstrate to humans the resources they are protecting for future generations, Barstow created Earth Movie Theater. This is a free, online collection of short films that tell the planet’s stories by pairing some of the thousands of photographs NASA astronauts have shot through the years with the works of musicians from around the world.
A Wealth of Earthly Knowledge
In composing his movies, Barstow has a wealth of material to select from. He noted that astronauts are able to capture about one photo per second from cameras mounted in the window of the International Space Station. In a ship that takes only 92 minutes to circle Earth, Barstow explained these space travelers have captured just about every aspect of the planet, from the remarkable patterns of clouds and auroras to (relative) close-ups of some of the astronauts’ hometowns.
In gathering these images, Barstow has been working directly with the Association of Space Explorers, former astronauts that gather specifically to share their experiences of life above the exosphere. On their behalf, Barstow said he has composed a comprehensive archive of about 4 million of their photos, with many used in the works of Earth Theater.
Barstow said the idea for the musical portion of Earth Theater began forming when he decided to learn to play the piano after retiring. From there, Barstow naturally moved on to connecting music with the space images he has worked with for so many years, forming connections with local musicians that are now beginning to stretch around the world, he said.
Viewers will find that Johann Sebastian Bach figures prominently in Earth Theater. Given the harmonies inherent in clouds and auroras, Barstow contended Bach is a natural for the Theater, as the composer was considered “the master of the harmonies.” Working with a Rochester, NY musician recently, Barstow spoke of crafting three guitar sonatas by Bach together “that are just glorious.”
Barstow’s work was front and center recently in June’s annual Bach Festival in Leipzig, Germany. Barstow explained that he sent the Festival organizers a Bach-centered Earth Theater film, prompting organizer Michael Maul to offer two of Bartstow’s pieces at the Festival opening, he said. These films (bachinspace.org) each feature a sweeping flyover around many of Earth’s landmarks, from London through Mecca.
While Barstow termed the films a warm-up act of sorts, he did concede of the estimated 15,000 attendees, “They got so engaged with it.” Along with a commitment to work with the Bach Festival next year, Barstow said he now has “more work than I can deal with.”
Going Worldwide
To be clear, Barstow stressed that he and the musicians contribute their work for free, with Barstow composing the films in his home office. (He mentioned that the arrangement actually makes the process easier, given there are no contracts or bargaining involved.)
While Barstow’s vignettes are distributed freely through sites such as YouTube and Tik Tok, he said he is continuously seeking out new venues online for the free films in building large-scale, global visibility. Barstow said his next project involves working with the University of California San Diego in setting up Earth Movie Theater so viewers can integrate their own, silent content.
“Our goal is to save the Earth,” Barstow reflected. “We want people to fuse their beauty into a celebration of Earth, and to realize what we need to do to take care of planet Earth.”