Image of camera car #1 in the presidential motorcade
Jay Skaggs took this photograph soon after he captured his image of the Kennedy motorcade. Immediately after this photograph was taken, Skaggs began to wind his Argus C3 camera.
In his 2002 oral history with the Museum, Skaggs recalled, "After this [camera] car came by, took this picture, I turned around and was winding [my camera] and heard the first shot. So, it was just in the time it took me to take the picture, turn around, and was winding the picture. Just a second, it seems, I would think.... And I was irritated because I thought at first that it was a firecracker or something that somebody set off as a prank, and I made some remark about 'some stupid jerk' or whatever.... Then I heard the next shot, and I realized it was real." - Stephen Fagin, Curator