By
the later 70's, the AP had begun to shoot a little color
film, even though 99% of the market was still black and
white transmissions for newspapers. The color slides were
sometimes used by television, displayed behind the
newscaster on the many stories for which photographers were
present, but the TV crews weren't.
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We
were instructed to shoot "a frame or two" of color headshots
when we got the chance. Veteran actor
Kirk Douglas was speaking on a French radio show, making the
rounds. (To put the timeline into perspective, his son,
Michael Douglas, had co-produced his first film a year
earlier. It was "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" which
swept the Oscars.) I'd shot all the "important" pictures of
the highly animated actor speaking into a microphone, when I
dutifully pulled out the color camera.
Quite
by surprise, Mr. Douglas put on his Junior Birdman mask. I
clicked the shutter, then panicked. That was the shot I
needed in B/W. Normally, we'd shoot our one 24 exposure roll
and leave early. "There's a deadline every minute" was a
popular phrase at the AP. And, indeed, with subscribing
newspapers worldwide, there were many publications that
"went to bed" as the clock ticked past each hourly time
zone. But, I stayed until the broadcast was over. I really
needed that shot in black and white.
I
may have been a stringer at the time, not yet staff. I do
remember that I briefly explained to Mr. Douglas that I was
new and that I'd be in big trouble if I couldn't get that
shot again. Would he mind terribly if ... He gave me a big,
sympathetic smile and said No. "There are some moments," he
explained "that only happen once in life". He was right, of
course. The reality was that he understood the nature of
journalism better than I did.
Back
at the bureau, I told my favorite editor about the color
shot. He suggested that it could only hurt me to show it to
the AP. I wouldn't be praised for getting a great shot in
color. I'd instead be chastised for missing the decisive
moment in black and white. So, for the last 20+ years, this
photo has sat unappreciated in my personal files. I assume
the statute of limitations for being angry at ex-employees
is past, and I can now share this classic image with the
world.
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