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Image of camera car #1 in the presidential motorcade
Image of camera car #1 in the presidential motorcade

Image of camera car #1 in the presidential motorcade

Object number2002.004.0004
Date11/22/1963
ClassificationsPhotographs
Photographer Jay Skaggs
ObjectSlide
Credit LineJay Skaggs Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumFilm
Dimensions2 x 2 in. (5.1 x 5.1 cm)
Description35mm Kodachrome II color slide, #5 of 20 images, taken by Jay Skaggs from the northeast corner of Main and Houston Streets looking west. This image shows camera car #1, six cars behind President Kennedy's car, completing the turn onto Houston Street. NBC News soundman John Hoefen is in the front middle seat, NBC News photographer Dave Wiegman is half-standing in the front seat with his right hand on the outside door handle, CBS News photographer Tom Craven is aiming his camera at Mark Bell (whose home movie camera is aimed towards the Texas School Book Depository), network pool electrician Cleve Ryan is sitting on top of the middle rear seat, and White House photographer Tom Atkins is standing in the right rear seat looking off to his left. This picture was taken just a few seconds before the first shot was fired at President Kennedy.
Curatorial Commentary

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

The film shot in Dealey Plaza by CBS photographer Tom Craven has never been seen.  In 1995, shortly after KDFW (the successor to KRLD-TV) donated all of the station's original JFK assassination news coverage to The Sixth Floor Museum, retired KRLD engineer Henk DeWitt told me he had mechanical problems processing the first films that came in that day and some reels were ruined.  He said the film processor, which required water pressure to operate properly, failed when the pressure dropped.  He had to run a garden hose from outside the building up to the processor to build up the water pressure.  It is possible that Craven's film was one of the reels that was lost due to processing damage. - Gary Mack, Curator