GAIA by First Clown in Space

Guy Laliberté is the billionaire founder of Cirque du Soleil and self-described “first clown in space.” He took some 10,000 images out the window of the International Space Station, and he’d like to present them, starting with his new photo book, Gaia.

Gaia is the tour de force of Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté. Here Laliberté presents stunning photographs of the Earth taken from 220 miles away during his eleven-day trip orbiting the earth as a private space explorer, with unique views of nearly forty countries. A documentation both rare and captivating, his images are natural works of art, rich in color and texture.

Captivated by the beauty of the surface of the Earth, Laliberté’s evocative photos show the colors and textures visible only 220 miles away. A stable subject and a moving photographer — the ISS is moving at 17,500 miles per hour (about 5 miles per second), doing 6 tours of the earth every 24 hours – made for truly original conditions. Using the Nikon D3S and Nikon D3X digital-SLR cameras, deserts resemble contemporary abstract paintings, cities rise up like mini-mountain ranges, and faces and figures are revealed in nature.