Don’t ask me how I got so lucky, but I did. Not only did I get the chance to meet Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Robert Jackson, he also sat for a few photos for my JFK project at The Sixth Floor Museum. Mr. Jackson is famous for his photograph of Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement of the Dallas Police Headquarters.
Before I photographed Mr. Jackson, I got a chance to hear him speak (read Photographer Bob Jackson and Detective James Leavelle at The Sixth Floor Museuem). As an added surprise I discovered that Dallas Police Det. James Leavelle, who was handcuffed to Oswald when he was shot, was in the audience that day. I got a couple of photos of Det. Leavelle while he was signing autographs. I talked to Det. Leavelle about posing for my JFK project at a later date. He gave me his contact information.
To be honest, I was nervous as hell photographing Mr. Jackson, and had I really put some thought into what I was doing, my photos would have turned out much better.
I set up my soft boxes in front of a wall size version of the Ruby shooting Oswald photo. I shot what was left of my Holga and later found out I was shooting 125 PX. There was not enough light for such slow film even with my soft boxes. I did switch to my back-up camera, a Rolleicord V. I used 400 ISO film. This was an improvement in the visibility of the image, but all the negatives turned out yellow. These images will turn out with a little adjusting in Photoshop.
I’m hoping Mr. Jackson comes back to town and allows me to do re-takes. Otherwise, I’ll need to make a trip to Colorado.
I can never thank The Sixth Floor Museum enough for providing me this opportunity. Sometimes it pays to know the right people. Cheers.