Cardiologist who photographed Columbia disaster now an Associated Press contributor

Ten years ago today, space shuttle Columbia broke up during its return to Earth, killing its crew. The event is still remembered through the lens of an iconic photograph taken by Texas cardiologist Dr. Scott Lieberman using a then-outlandish, 6.3 megapixel Canon D60 DSLR, which cost $2,199 back in the day. Dr. Lieberman’s pictures of the tragedy were sold to the Associated Press, and were published on the front pages of hundreds of newspapers, as well as on the cover of Time. The doctor has recounted his story of that day in an article written for local newspaper the Tyler Morning Telegraph, but what’s truly surprising is that he now moonlights as an independent photographic contributor for the AP and he has thousands of file photos to his credit. For the full story of Dr. Lieberman’s work as a photographer, be sure to check out this article from Poynter.