I spent most of the day in Dealey Plaza outside the Texas School Book Depository (now The Sixth Floor Museum) this Monday, November 22, 2010. I took time lapse photos in various locations most of the day. I started out before 7 a.m. and left sometime around 2 p.m. Lucky for me I remembered to pack a lunch.

I did not know really what to expect, but right on queue a crowd of people showed up around noon time on the north side of Dealey Plaza. There were people all over the place with film crews, radio stations and mounted Dallas Police Officers.

I even spent some time on the railway bridge. This is a great spot for photographing BN&SF, Union Pacific, Amtrack and Dallas Area Rapid Transit trains.

Not sure if I would do this again. The crowd was great, but I need more interest in the photos. My Holga that day was set on B for blurry. All my Holga shots came out bad.

I haven’t yet had time to compile the time lapse photos. I should have it done by Nov. 22, 2011. I have a Henry Mancini song that would go great with fast moving scenes.

Once again lady luck was on my side as I got the opportunity to photograph Secret Service Agents Jerry Blaine and Clint Hill. Agent Hill is the Secret Service man seen climbing on the back of President Kennedy’s limo moments after he was shot. Agent Hill was assigned to protect First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. There were a lot of Secret Service agents on hand with the President, First Lady, Vice-President and Mrs. Johnson all in the same motorcade through Dallas.

Agents Blaine and Hill were at The Sixth Floor Museum promoting their new book, The Kennedy Detail (read JFK’s Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence at The Sixth Floor Museum). It is a good read and I highly recommend it.

I say luck was on my side, but once again I used film that was too slow for the occasion. I must have used 160 ISO color film. I should have been shooting 400 ISO or faster, even with the soft boxes.

Fortunately, I did take a few snaps of Agent Hill with the flash. A few of those images turned out viewable but not great.

This photo shoot was also the first time I used my new Nikon D7000. I literally took my first photos with this camera with the agents. That’s a mistake I will never make again. I should have properly tested all the functions of the camera before entering the room. I would have been better off using my old Nikon D70, which only has a 6 MP image.

I have been told that the agent regularly appear in Dallas. Maybe I can photograph them again. Cheers.

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.