Finding the right photo

Those that know me, know that I agonize over finding the perfect photo to get signed by an astronaut. The blue flight suit (BFS) and launch and entry suit (L/ES, also known as the "pumpkin suit" because of its orange color) are nice, but everybody has those. I like finding candid or action photos, one that will give an astronaut pause before autographing. If it's an in-person encounter, maybe that photo can start a conversation.

When I saw that ret. Navy Capt. Michael J. Foreman was going to make an appearance, and that it was OK for me to send my "Space Shuttle: The First 20 Years" book as well as a photo, I narrowed down pictures to one of five:

During the 2010 Tom Joyner Family Reunion, NASA astronaut Mike Foreman, left, space activist and actress Nichelle Nichols, and NASA astronaut Leland Melvin pose for a photo at the Gaylord Palms Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. To encourage student attendees to focus on pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), NASA featured some of its greatest legends and trailblazers during a panel discussion at the reunion event. In the 1960s, Nichols played communications officer Lieutenant Uhura in the Star Trek television series. Foreman and Melvin are both veterans of two space shuttle missions. NASA's Education Office sponsored the panel discussion and educational activities as part of the agency's "Summer of Innovation" initiative and the federal "Educate to Innovate" campaign.

STS-129 Mission Specialist Mike Foreman is all smiles as he disembarks from a T-38 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew members of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 mission have arrived at Kennedy for training related to their launch dress rehearsal, the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. Launch of Atlantis on its STS-129 mission to the International Space Station is targeted for November.

Attired in a training version of his shuttle launch and entry suit, astronaut Michael J. Foreman, STS-123 mission specialist, takes a moment for a photo during a training session in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at the Johnson Space Center.

Astronaut Mike Foreman, STS-129 mission specialist, uses a communication system on the aft flight deck of space shuttle Atlantis while docked with the International Space Station.

Astronaut Mike Foreman, STS-123 mission specialist, takes a brief moment for a photo on the aft flight deck of Space Shuttle Endeavour while docked with the International Space Station. Anchored to a Canadarm2 mobile foot restraint, astronaut Rick Linnehan (visible through a nearby window), mission specialist, participates in the mission's third session of extravehicular activity (EVA).

All of these photos are horizontal, rather than vertical. I don't know. I just prefer photos that way, as it seems to afford a larger area for a person's signature and inscription, if they want. There's also very little dark areas for a signature, avoiding in most cases the question of, "Where would you like me to sign this?"

I could have, but declined to, choose a photo of Foreman training with the STS-120 crew, to which he was assigned prior to the Columbia accident. But none of those photos appealed to me.

In the end, I chose the first photo. Yes, it will mean needing to get it signed my Nichelle Nichols as well as Leland Melvin (incidentally, although I've met him twice, I have just a signed BFS photo of Melvin, which is a story in itself.)

But I decided to go with the first photo because I thought it would be a nice complement to this photo:

I don't remember where I got this photo or where Nichols signed it for me, aside from I used to go to a lot of Star Trek conventions in the '80s and '90s. I do know that later on, Nichols would sign stuff with only her first name, in order to make sure everyone received an autograph (as well as personalize with just the person's first name: "Ben / Love, Nichelle.")

Check out the early shuttle cockpit mockup, particularly the angle of the middle CRT!

One last word: Do not mistake Michael Foreman with Michael Fossum! I almost did, and almost sent the wrong photo....