Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/11/05

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Subject: [Leica] Kennedy Photographer
From: "William H. Cassing" <wcassing@elkgrove.net>
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1998 23:47:45 -0800

I'm new to the list.  I wonder if I might ask a non-technical question...

During the Kennedy administration, a young photographer gained a
reputation for taking some great shots of the president and his family.
One that struck me then - and still impresses me - is that he used a
Leica rangefinder camera and was said to have credited his ability to
get in close and take shots with such feeling to the silent shutter and
fast lens.  He apparently gained somewhat of a reputation as a trusted
"behind the scenes" observer who was admitted to the inner sanctum
of the working White House and had the rare privilege of attending a
higher level of meetings and appointments than anyone before or since.
His work set a standard that has had a lasting effect on me, both as a
photographer and as a witness to the human drama.

The only problem is that I can't remember the gentleman's name.  I
have posed this question on other forums and have received numerous
responses.  Most seem to think that it was Kennerly or Duncan.  It
might be, but the timing seems to be wrong.  This was before the
escalation of the VN "conflict" and doesn't seem to fit the history of
either of those famous chaps.  I have it in my mind that this person
was in his very early twenties, which would put him in his late fifties
now.  I have a couple of mental images of this person, dressed in jeans
and a sport coat, drifting in and out of the scene like a puff of smoke,
never far from the president, never missing the opportunity to record
the human side of history.

Could someone help me with this search.  If it was Kennerly or Duncan,
I would like to have some sort of chronology as to how the presence in
the White House fit into the overall timing of their careers.  If it wasn't
either of them, who was it?

If you think this is too far off topic, please feel free to e-mail me directly
at wcassing@elkgrove.net. Thank you