Carla Thomas

My current duties include photographic documentation of flight research programs, including aerial photography from helicopters and high performance and propeller driven aircraft. Center events, studio tabletop, portrait, and on location photography are also included in my daily duties. Over the last few years, I have been working on the implementation of electronic imaging and archiving historical images of the Dryden photo lab. This includes researching and proposing new technology, including digital cameras and accompanying hardware and software, as well as Macintosh computers, to aid in the digital imaging process.

I was born in Pecos, Texas, moved to Houston, Texas at age 5 and grew up in Southeast Houston not too far from Johnson Space Center. As a child growing up, I was involved in band, volleyball, basketball, track and field and softball, and I spent many hours in the great outdoors camping, fishing and exploring. I began my photographic career as a freshman at South Houston High School taking beginning and advanced photography classes. This was the point in my life when I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. As a junior and senior in high school, I began working for a small mom and pop photography studio, and, soon after graduating, I attended Sam Houston State University, earning a Bachelor degree in Photography with a minor in Business in 1983.

Upon graduation, I moved to Denver, Colorado and began "life after college." I worked in construction for about six months while trying to find a job in photography. After much discouragement, I decided to go to work in the professional photo lab business in order to stay near my career. After several years of networking, I began working in aerospace for Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Corporation at NASA White Sands Test Facility. I worked as an industrial photographer using primarily high-speed motion picture and 4x5 view cameras. Some of the many programs I supported included the following:

7 High-speed motion picture photography of PVC pellets shot through a hypervelocity gun at Space Shuttle tiles,

7 Burn testing in atmospheric chambers that simulates the environment aboard the Space Shuttle,

7 Remote still camera setup in chambers where rocket engines were being fired,

7 Oxidizer / o-ring and hydrazine / o-ring compatibility testing,

7 Aerial photography of building construction, environmental compliance, and rocket engine firings from UH-1 helicopters.

Upon leaving White Sands, I moved to Los Angeles, California and worked in the movie industry for about 6 months. Finding myself needing to fill a void, I once again returned to the duties of industrial photography. Since the beginning of my employment at Dryden Flight Research Center in 1991, I have been privileged to work on one of a kind programs and experimental airplanes that only exist here at Dryden. The uniqueness of the programs, plus the daily variety of my job, are what make my job one of the most exciting at Dryden.

If I had once piece of advice to offer any young student, it would be to take as much variety in your subjects that you could take - learn a little bit about everything! It is quite amazing to see where you end up in your adult life and how very valuable it is to recognize that every choice you make towards your education and career plays a part in your life no matter what path you take.

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Carla Thomas

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