I’ve got a great title for a new photography book!

So good, that by the title alone, I have to do this project.

No, I won’t share the title with you. If I did, then you’d say, “Yeah that’s a great title. I should do that.”

All I will say is the project is about shooting weddings.

I love shooting events, especially weddings. I’ve shot three or four weddings.

There’s nothing like running around being one of the most important people at an event. In order of wedding importance it goes bride, groom, father of the bride, and photography (sorry, moms).

Think about it. The photographer gets the best seat in the house for every activity: getting ready, wedding march, family photo, first dance, cake cutting, toasts, etc.

And everyone is smiling at you. How great is that!

Four Weddings

For this photography book project, I will shoot fours weddings. Each will be photographed using a different type of camera or media including:

1. Smartphone (iPhone)
2. Film camera (Holga, Nikon)
3. Instant film (Instax)
4. Consumer level DSLR (Nikon)

I want to compare and contrast the differences between the cameras and media. There will be many great shots from each wedding.

Your Wedding

If you are getting married in 2020, then I want to shoot your wedding as a second photographer. I will shoot your entire wedding with my camera / media of choice. You will get digital copies of the best pics (notice I did not say all pics). In the case of instant film, you might even get most the instant film shots too (we’ll see).

In order for me to shoot your wedding as a professional photographer, I must be paid (no, I won’t shoot a wedding for social media likes). If I am the only photographer for your wedding, then my day-of-wedding fee is $500. If I am your second photographer, then my day-of-wedding fee is $250. I may adjust my fee depending on the size of the event.

The only additional cost is for negative and instant film. Negative film requires processing and scanning. Instant film requires scanning. I will split the costs with you.

Money Shots

I will shoot all of the wedding and some of the reception. I won’t be found on the dance floor late in the evening. My aim is to photograph the following:

• Bride / groom getting ready
• Wedding march
• First kiss
• Family photo
• First dance
• Cutting cake
• Bride / groom exit (if not too late)

Warning

The reason I want to be your second photographer, is because shit happens. Film gets improperly exposed. Cameras break. Processing errors happen.

I’d rather not to be your only source of photographic memories on your special day.

Release

I will be using these photographs in a book, on my website, YouTube, podcast, and on my social media channels. I will need a model release from the bride, groom, father of the bride, and minister. I may need more, depending on what my lawyers say.

If you’re not willing to have your wedding photographs published in a book about wedding photography, then I won’t be shooting your wedding in 2020.

Contact

Since you’ve gotten this far, you must really, really want me to shoot your wedding.

All we need to do is set a date (you pick).

Contact me through any of my social media. I list them below in order of my preference. Send me a message and we’ll hook-up in person.

• Twitter
• Instagram
• Facebook

Oh, and congratulations on getting married. Cheers.

Starting on Monday and ending Friday, I will be making eleven stops to photograph the people, places and things associated with the Kennedy assassination.

Here is my itinerary:

• Monday, July 2
  • Fly to Columbus, OH
  • National Museum of the USAF in Dayton, OH
    Kennedy’s Air Force One – SAM 26000
  • Fly to Chicago, IL
• Tuesday, July 3
  • Historic Auto Attractions in Roscoe, IL
    Lee Harvey Oswald’s original gravestone
  • Chicago, IL
    Jack Ruby’s grave – Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement of the Dallas Police Headquarters as Oswald was being transferred to the county jail.
    Karyn Cookie Kupcinet’s grave – Kupcinet is rumored to have been killed for her silence in the Kennedy assassination.
    Klein’s Sporting Goods – Klein’s is the business that sold the rifle to Lee Harvey Oswald via mail order.
  • Fly to Detroit, MI
• Wednesday, July 4
  • President Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum in Grand Rapids, MI
    Warren Commission Member then U.S. Rep. Gerald Ford
  • The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, MI
    Kennedy’s Limo
  • Fly to Greenville/Spartanburg, NC
• Thursday, July 5
  • Waynesville, NC
    Kennedy Limo Driver William Greer’s grave
  • Athens, GA
    Kennedy’s Secretary of State Dean Rusk’s grave
  • Commerce, GA
    Warren Commission Member U.S. Senator Richard Russell’s grave
  • Fly to Tampa, FL
• Friday, July 6
  • Tampa, FL
    Kennedy’s Secret Service Agent Roy Kellerman’s grave
  • Fly to Dallas

I have a very tight schedule. I will be traveling most of the time with a very limited amount of time for sleeping and showering. It will be just me, a camera bag and a small carry-on bag. I expect to walk off the plane to the rental car bus, which will take me to my waiting car. I have Gold Plus Rewards status with the car rental agency I will be using, so there will be no waiting in lines for my ride.

Important Stops

Other than President Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald, whose graves I have already photographed, these are the most important stops for my book. Because the list of people, places and things associated with the Kennedy assassination is nearly endless, I have chosen to focus on the most important and iconic photographs for my book. My goal is to photograph everyone in Kennedy’s limo and some of the people at the Texas School Book Depository, Dealey Plaza and on Air Force One.

Names in italics are those that I still need to find and photograph.

• Kennedy’s Limo
  • Driver William Greer
  • Secret Service Agent Roy Kellerman
  • Nellie Connally
  • Gov. John Connally
  • First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy
  • President John F. Kennedy
• Texas School Book Depository and Dealey Plaza
  • Alleged Assassin Lee Harvey Oswald
  • TSBD Worker Billy N. Lovelady
  • Railroad Supervisor Sterling M. Holland
  • TSBD Supervisor Roy S. Truly
  • Dallas Police Motorcycle Officer Marrion L. Baker
  • Filmmaker Abraham Zapruder
  • Filmmaker Orville Nix
• Air Force One
  • President Lyndon B. Johnson
  • First Lady Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson
  • Federal Judge Sarah Hughes
  • US Rep. Albert Thomas
  • Air Force One Pilot Col. James Swindal
  • White House Photographer Cecil W. Stoughton

The completion of the Kennedy Assassination Tour Summer 2012 will mean that I have enough photographs to start assembling my book, Death by Holga: 11.22.63.

Bonuses

There are a few perks along the way. While in Chicago, I will be stopping by the Hemingway birthplace home in Oak Park, IL. Hemingway is my favorite author and I would love for my next book to be Death by Holga: Hemingway.

Also in the Chicago area, while I am photographing the graves of Jack Ruby and Karyn Kupcinet, I have the opportunity to get the graves of film critic Gene Siskel, The Brady Bunch actor Robert Reed, Where the Sidewalk Ends poet Shel Silverstein and mob boss Al Capone. I don’t know if I have time for all of these, but I will sure try.

Find a Grave

I am using Find a Grave (findagrave.com) for most of my grave hunting. Find a Grave is a great resource for locating graves of famous and not-so famous people. If Find a Grave does not have a particular grave listed, a request can be made to have a local Find a Grave volunteer, like myself, find and photograph it.

I have created a virtual cemetery of all the people I will try to find on my Kennedy Assassination Tour Summer 2012. Click here to view my virtual cemetery.

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

I will be updating my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages during this trip. I will have lots of down time in airports to make regular updates. Please follow along and send me a message or two. My tour is a one man adventure and I could use the company. Cheers.

• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DeathByHolga
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/MrHolga
• Instagram: MrHolga

If you or someone you know was born on November 22, 1963, at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, please contact me via the comment section below or let my friends at Dallas Art News know. Use their contact form.

I would post an email address for this request, but it will only get a bunch of spam.