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.

I was reviewing some photos to post for Holga Week when I ran into this lovely shot of my darling wife and show* daughter at Beavers Bend State Park, Oklahoma. This image has all the qualities of a wonderful Holga photograph. It has sweet-spot focus, a blurry background, vignetting around the edges and a double exposure in the bottom right corner.

This was taken on my oldest Holga camera. I can tell because of the double exposure in the bottom right corner. It’s not always this pronounced unless the subject is moving faster than the shutter. The double exposure gives movement to an otherwise still photograph.

I say my Holga cameras are both near and far sighted. I’m luck to get anything in focus. In the photo my daughters face is sharp while her hand is not. I doubt my Nikon would ever product a nicer shot.

Beavers Bend

The photo was taken at Beavers Bend State Park near Broken Bow Lake, Oklahoma in 2013. This is the south east corner of the state. The state park has a small resort area with many cabins, camping sights and a state run hotel. There is a winding river which has really calm water for a family canoe ride. We did the same river three times during our state. We stopped to eat lunch and wade in the shallow river.

* I have three daughters. I list them in order: win, place and show.

I don’t normally experiment with my photographs. I like them exactly as they are shot. My usual enhancements are in line with what a darkroom technician can do. I adjust the color, improve the contrast and remove some of the dust. I don’t like cropping my images because Holga photographs display best when showing the entire image.

I decided to combine a cemetery monument of Jesus and a lifeguard stand. Both photographs are from Galveston, Texas. I used the fullness of each image, which seems to enhance the vignetting. The ghost image of Jesus over the lifeguard stand give the photograph an interesting meaning. Are they both looking out for us?

My next combination wasn’t so deep. I combined the word art from the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth sign with Vortex by Richard Serra (2002), the large sculpture outside the museum. Vortex is a collection of steel plates all standing together like a giant red wood tree. The sculpture nearly 68 feet high with room for a large crowd to stand inside. There are two slit at the base that allow visitors to pass through the work. I prefer My Curves Are Not Mad (1987) at the Nasher Sculpture Center. Still the stone word and the steel go together nicely. I could actually take this shot a a double exposure on a Holga, which I will try next time I’m in cow town.

The combination of Lee Harvey Oswald’s grave marker and the Oneal ambulance that took Oswald to Parkland Hospital did not turn out very well. I like the ambulance. I just don’t like how plane looking Oswald’s marker appears. His original marker had much more detail.

The first combination at the top of the page is 602-604 Elsbeth and 214 W. Neely. These were residence of Lee and Marina Oswald in Dallas. The Oswalds lived at the Elsbeth apartments in late 1962 to early 1963. They moved to the Neely house in March 1963. Overlaying the photos gives the Neely house a more sinister look than its usual happy yellow facade. I only used the window and surrounding bricks from the Elsbeth apartment, which give the Neely house the appearance of having a porch and a brick wall near the street.

The last photos I combined are the signs for Dallas Love Field and Parkland Emergency Room. These photos mark the beginning and end of President Kennedy’s journey through Dallas. It if wasn’t for the presidential motorcade through Dallas, Kennedy could have driven straight to the Dallas Trade Mart in about five to ten minutes.

The Dallas Love Field and Parkland Emergency Room photo is not an exact match of square frame to square frame. I took liberty in adjusting the ER sign and I really like how the security camera appears in the blue sky.

Let me know what you think of my digital enhancements. I am always looking for ways to make my photographs more interesting and unique. Cheers.

The family and I spent the Labor Day weekend in Galveston, Texas. It was a delightful four day weekend starting on Friday, August 31, 2012. We drove down U.S. Interstate Highway 45 from Dallas to through Houston.

We stopped for a little lunch and art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Click here to see some of my goddess butt images from MFAH on Tumblr.

We stayed at the Galveston Hilton. I splurged on my darling wife and got us the presidential suite. It was a very nice room with king-size bed and living area. Too bad it did not have a microwave.

I spent most of my time with the family at the beach and out to eat. I did sneak away for jogging and a little cemetery photography. I knew better than to go shooting at noon, but that was the only time I could get away. Maybe next time I’ll get some early morning or evening shots.

Galveston Gallery

Click any of the thumbnail images to see a larger version. My film is being developed. These are shots from my Nikon D7000. I did shoot with a variety of Holga cameras including a pinhole model.

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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

I have been planning for months the best way to travel the United States in search of long lost and forgotten history from the Kennedy assassination. I have scratched out several flight logs and even started a spreadsheet with times slated for arrival, airport, flight, rental car, driving, hunting, photographing, documenting and returning again.

The biggest problem, other than money, is the travel itself. Most of my destinations are short hops around the country, which requires a round trip flight and a rental car. Unfortunately, all of the stops on my tour are too far to drive in a week. America is really a big place when considering the driving distances between major cities.

Time is not on my side. I need to photograph my subjects by this summer to produce a book for the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination. And I still need to work my day job.

Where to Begin

Next week I am pulling a double. My family was already planning a vacation to Washington, D.C. for spring break. There I will be visiting Arlington National Cemetery, the White House, the National Archives, the Capitol Building and many more locations (see Washington, D.C. Trip Planning).

In addition to visiting Washington, D.C., I am going to Kansas City for the day. I have booked the red-eye flight out of Dallas Love Field to Kansas City International Airport. I hope to find the grave of legendary CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite. Cronkite, the most trusted man in America, removed his glasses, glanced at the clock and told the nation that President Kennedy had died.

Like I said, time is not on my side and I don’t know how much time it will take to fly to Kansas City, rent a car, find the grave of Cronkite and return home. I have a very liberal schedule that will give me about eight hours in Kansas City. I just hope I am not stuck in an airport reading my Kindle waiting on a return flight.

Other Short Trips

After Kansas City, my next day trip will be St. Louis. I won’t say who I’m hunting at that location until I have found my target. It’s best to keep that information in my photography vest pocket. Let’s just say the Pope will be happy.

There is one short car trip I can take to Camden, Arkansas. There I will find the grave of Dallas Police Officer Maurice N. McDonald. Officer McDonald arrested Lee Harvey Oswald in the Texas Theater. It is about a 8 hour round trip by car, which makes for a really long day, but well worth it. Who knows, I might just stop in Hope to visit President Clinton’s childhood home again.

My last short trip will be to Tampa, Florida. There I will find Secret Service Agent Roy Kellerman. Agent Kellerman was in the front seat of the presidential limo with Kennedy.

The Long Haul

I want to get my short trips out of the way to clear my path for the really long trip that I will take this summer. My stops are as follows:

• Chicago, IL for Jack Ruby, Klein’s Sporting Goods and Lee Harvey Oswald’s original grave marker
• Dearborn, MI for President Kennedy’s limo at The Ford Museum
• Dayton, OH for Kennedy’s Air Force One at the National Museum of the USAF
• Waynesville, TN for Secret Service Agent William Greer, presidential limo driver

These four stops will probably take me the better part of a week. I’ll probably have to take in some unnecessary sight-seeing as I kill time between flights. I plan on linking each destination to the next so that I don’t waste time returning home after each trip. This will save me flight expense, but also cost me a hotel stay.

If I can fit it into my schedule and budget, I would love to add any of the following:

• Grand Rapids, MI for President Ford, member of the Warren Commission
• New Orleans, LA for Jim Garrison, Clay Shaw and other Oswald related haunts

Symbolism is Everything

In my own special way, I am trying to be symbolic whenever possible. For example, I have an Imperial Reflex camera that I bought off eBay. This is the same model camera Marina Oswald used to photograph Lee Harvey Oswald with the rifle and revolver at their Neely home. I plan on using it to photograph the house again.

With the same sentiment, I have decided all my flights should be out of Dallas Love Field, the place where Kennedy landed, the motorcade started and President Johnson was sworn-in by Judge Sarah Hughes. Flying out of Dallas Love Field means I will be taking Southwest Airlines all over the country.

I have also decided to use Hertz Rent-a-Car for each of my stops. I even signed up for a free year of Hertz Gold Rewards Plus, so that I can minimize time waiting in line. I’m using Hertz because at the time of Kennedy’s assassination there was a Hertz sign on top of the Texas School Book Depository. The billboard was also a clock and most historic photographs will show the time at 12:30 p.m. on the button.

I’m not quite sure who I’ll be using for hotel stays. I am considering Hilton Hotels & Resorts, because the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth, the last place Kennedy stayed before the assassination, is now the Fort Worth Hilton.

I would love for Southwest, Hertz and Hilton to all pitch-in and help with my project. Or maybe Amazon.com can foot the whole bill, since I hope they will sell my book. If you know anyone who could help, please let me know.

That’s all my travel plans in a nutshell. I have never travel so much in all my life. I hope my quest is a success. I’ll keep you informed. Cheers.

Wow! I’ve been waiting for my mother’s first Holga photos for nearly two weeks now and I finally have the negatives on my scanner.

My mother, Charly Butcher (www.imagesbycharly.com), lives in Phoenix, Arizona. The JFK hearse was up for auction at Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale.

Read John F. Kennedy’s Dallas Hearse up for Auction in Scottsdale (Jan. 17, 2012) for how this all began.

Charly bought her first Holga (there will be others) at a local camera retailer and resisted the urge to buy other camera equipment (one of her husband’s dreams). She then proceeded with her husband in tow (actually, he drove) to the auction, where she did the best she could with absolutely zero Holga experience, poor lighting, a crowd of people and less than ideal scenery.

As of right now, I have only scanned one roll of film. This image came off a roll of Kodak TMAX 400. Of the twelve images, this was the only one that came out. Talk about lucky.

I will be scanning the other two rolls in a few minutes. I can already see there are images to be had.

I can’t than my mother enough for being part of my JFK project, Death by Holga: 11.22.63. Cheers.

Another Photo

Okay, you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. And you can’t take Holga photos without the back coming off every now and again (I’ve done it three or four time).

The following image is not a CGI background for the next Star Trek movie. It is in fact a shot of the Barrett-Jackson showroom floor after the back of my mother’s Holga came off. This is a happy accident, because the image is quite lovely.

It’s not every day you get to meet Stephen King.

I was part of the press conference for Mr. King at the Majestic Theater in Dallas. Mr. King was promoting his new book, 11/22/63 A Novel, and also doing a benefit for The Sixth Floor Museum.

I brought along my big brother, James, to take photographs. This left me free to ask a few questions of Mr. King and shoot off a roll on my Holga 120N.

Unbeknownst to me, my Holga was in the B shutter mode, which we all know stands for blurry. Actually, it stands for bulb and it keeps the shutter open as long as you finger is on the shutter release. This usually results in blurry and dark photos due to over exposure.

Under normal circumstances, these photos would be trash, but some other interesting variables took over.

I was taking photos while on the stage of the Majestic Theater. The background for Mr. King was very dark. I was using a flash with Kodak 400 TMAX film. The combination of the B shutter mode, flash and a mostly dark room gave some sharpness from the flash with a little ghostly after image from the ambient lighting.

I only got two out of ten shots to come out. The two were closer shots, about three to four feet. All the distance shots, about ten to twelve feet, were still too blurry for my liking. I honestly think these two close-up shots were better than what I would have normally gotten.

Click here to see the other shot on Flickr.

I still hate the B shutter mode setting. I should supper glue it to the N setting.

Stephen King

Meeting Mr. King was a pure delight. He’s the next best thing to meeting my favorite author and daisy delicacy, Ernest Hemingway.

Mr. King was casually dressed in a loose fitting white oxford, blue jeans and loafers. His graying hair is done in a slick backed wavy style. Mr. King’s long jowly face makes you think he could be someone’s mean old neighbor (You kids get off of my lawn!). He is a very animated speaker who expresses himself gracefully with his hands and sometimes a creepy smile or two.

Mr. King has a wonderful sense of humor. I liken him to a roller-coaster designer who aims to thrill and excite all in the same ride. He really likes his job.

If ever you get the chance to meet or be in the same room with Mr. King, then I highly recommend it.

11/22/63 A Novel

It took me a little while, but I finished all 850 pages of Stephen King’s 11/22/63 A Novel on my Kindle.

As you know, I’m currently on the hunt for the people, places and things associated with the Kennedy assassination. I’ve already been through the Who’s Who of the Kennedy Assassination, The Report of the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy (The Warren Commission), Assassination Vacation and am currently reading On the Trail of the JFK Assassins. So, I’m a little over informed to read Mr. King’s latest novel.

In short, 11/22/63 is about English teacher Jake Epping, who is befriended by the local diner owner, Al Templeton. The reason for the quick friendship is that Al, who’s suffering from a terminal illness, has a secret passage in the back of his diner that leads to September 1958.

Al wants Jake to use the passage to save President Kennedy from Lee Harvey Oswald. As you can imagine, this is no easy task, because the past is obdurate and does not change easily.

I think 11/22/63 is a delightful read, all 850 pages. It is a little long for my liking. I prefer shorter stories that leave some details to my imagination. I am sure most King fans will eat this book up and still want more.

I was at the press conference and the speaking event. I heard Mr. King say he spent some time in the Dallas area researching for 11/22/63. Mr. King admits he made some mistakes like misspelling Killeen (he used one L) and calling the local radio station K-Life, when it should have been KLIF (as in Oak Cliff). Those points aside, I really feel all Mr. King did was a drive-by. I have lived in the Dallas area most of my life, and I don’t really think he got a good lay of the land.

Mr. King was a little hard on the people of Dallas too. But that’s okay, we don’t much care for yankees either.

Unfortunately, 11/22/63 did not keep me on the edge of my seat like Misery, my all time favorite Stephen King novel, or give me a surprise ending. I could see where the book was heading a mile away. If anything, this novel was written for the big screen and it will need to be drastically pared down. 11/22/63 should make a wonderful movie for the fall 2013 season, in time for the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination.

Can I see into the future? I knew you would ask that.

If you really like Stephen King novels, then you will like 11/22/63 A Novel just the same. If you are not a Stephen King fan and are looking for a little excitement, then I would recommend something else like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. Cheers.

My Favorite Stephen King Novels

• Different Seasons, 1982
• Misery, 1987

Other Stephen King Novels I have read

• The Shining, 1977
• Night Shift, 1978
• Christine, 1983
• Skeleton Crew, 1985
• The Stand, 1990
• The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, 1999

I spent an hour or more getting ready for my photo shoot at the Dallas Municipal Building, formerly the Dallas Police Headquarters. The shoot will be in the basement where Lee Harvey Oswald was shot and the fifth floor where Oswald was jailed. I will have former Dallas Police Det. James Leavelle on hand as a model for the shoot.

Det. Leavelle has graciously agreed to pose for some photos. We are planning on taking great care of Det. Leavelle, who is 90 years-old.

For those who don’t know, Det. Leavelle was handcuffed to Oswald when he was shot by Jack Ruby in the basement of the Dallas Police Headquarters. He is in the famous photo by Robert Jackson.

Setting-up

It took me just 10 minutes to set-up my soft boxes and probably another five to get my Nikon ready and the tripod positioned. I did not want to show up at the shoot and have the lights not work.

I positioned my favorite model on a stool in front of a white screen and tested the U1 and U2 settings on my Nikon. These are the new presets added to the Nikon D7000. I jumped from a Nikon D70 to a Nikon D7000. If these settings were on the D90, they are still new to me.

I programmed my U1 and U2 settings to emulate my Holgas. Both U1 and U2 are set to F8 and 1/100 speed. This is the Holga equivalent. The only difference is that U1 and U2 are set to 125 ISO and 400 ISO, respectively. I can quickly determine which ISO film to use with these programmed settings.

I noticed immediately that U1 and U2 were not doing the trick for a somewhat dark room and my two soft boxes. I manually bumped the ISO up to 800 and that did the trick. The only other adjustment I made was changing the white balance from auto to incandescent bulb, an option I won’t have on my Holgas.

I dismissed my model and then donned my usual polo shirt, Domke photog vest and old-man bucket hat. I positioned my Nikon for a few self portraits and fired the camera with my ML L3 remote. After about a couple dozen shots and a lot of funny looks from my model, I had what I needed (see above photo).

I finished packing up the cameras and lights and put the living room back in order. I then made a list of items that I’ll need for the shoot. This will be the most equipment I have ever taken to a shoot.

Here’s the list.

• Model release form
• Chair
• Cooler full of cold water
• Fan
• Soft box lights
• Reflector
• Extension cords
• Power strip
• Tripod
• Holga cameras
• Film (Color and B&W, all ISOs)
• Nikon camera
• Step ladder

I’m sure there is something I’m forgetting. Don’t worry. This list will grow as the shoot nears. Cheers.