First shot reactions

[Charles Collins]

Do you know how Dorman was holding her camera?

By "last window" do you mean the SW window? Mason made the same mistake.

Brennan said "the President's back was in line with the last set of windows I have previously described". That means the SE corner window set. He appears to be describing Kennedy's back was facing the SE corner when he heard the first shot. This works fairly well for the Z220s, but very angular if a Z240s shot. Brennan said it was the first shot in an affidavit that describes two shots in total.

She's watching where's she headed and looking over at the cars.

Do you know how Dorman was holding her camera?

Yes, she wasn’t looking through the viewfinder, if that is what you mean.

By "last window" do you mean the SW window?

Yes, that is the logical interpretation.

She's watching where's she headed and looking over at the cars.

No way

[Gary Craig]

Mr. WILLIS. No, sir; I took that picture just seconds before the first shot was fired, to get back close up. Then I started down the street, and the regular weekly edition of Life magazine came out and shows me in about three different pictures going down the street. Then my next shot was taken at the very--in fact, the shot caused me to squeeze the camera shutter, and I got a picture of the President as he was hit with the first shot. So instantaneous, in fact, that the crowd hadn't had time to react.

[Charles Collins]

Mr. WILLIS. No, sir; I took that picture just seconds before the first shot was fired, to get back close up. Then I started down the street, and the regular weekly edition of Life magazine came out and shows me in about three different pictures going down the street. Then my next shot was taken at the very--in fact, the shot caused me to squeeze the camera shutter, and I got a picture of the President as he was hit with the first shot. So instantaneous, in fact, that the crowd hadn't had time to react.

In my opinion, Willis got the sequence a little confused. I don’t doubt that the noise of the first shot caused him to press the shutter button. However, I believe it was on the previous photo. The one that I posted above (in the second post). It appears that he was still trying to focus when it was inadvertently taken due to the noise of the first shot.

[Jerry Organ]

Mr. WILLIS. No, sir; I took that picture just seconds before the first shot was fired, to get back close up. Then I started down the street, and the regular weekly edition of Life magazine came out and shows me in about three different pictures going down the street. Then my next shot was taken at the very--in fact, the shot caused me to squeeze the camera shutter, and I got a picture of the President as he was hit with the first shot. So instantaneous, in fact, that the crowd hadn't had time to react.

[Brian Roselle]

Charles, do you think a very loud bang causing what Phil Willis said “the reflex from the shot caused me to take one of these pictures” would only affect his camera trigger finger, i.e. so no part of his hand or wrist or arm or shoulder would shutter so there would be no blur in the picture?  If Zapruder at a noticeably further distance (and sound intensity falling off as 1/r^2) jiggled his camera at the gunshots, was it because he was a significantly less stable photographer compared to what Willis could do up much closer to the noise?

For what it’s worth, an approach I looked at awhile ago related to first shot testimonies (which would be expected to have lower than average variability when interpreting for the first shot timing) does appear to agree with your comments regarding those Willis photos.

https://sites.google.com/view/anchored-first-shot-testimony/home
sites.google.com/view/anchored-first-shot-testimony/home

[Charles Collins]

Charles, do you think a very loud bang causing what Phil Willis said “the reflex from the shot caused me to take one of these pictures” would only affect his camera trigger finger, i.e. so no part of his hand or wrist or arm or shoulder would shutter so there would be no blur in the picture?  If Zapruder at a noticeably further distance (and sound intensity falling off as 1/r^2) jiggled his camera at the gunshots, was it because he was a significantly less stable photographer compared to what Willis could do up much closer to the noise?

For what it’s worth, an approach I looked at awhile ago related to first shot testimonies (which would be expected to have lower than average variability when interpreting for the first shot timing) does appear to agree with your comments regarding those Willis photos.

https://sites.google.com/view/anchored-first-shot-testimony/home
sites.google.com/view/anchored-first-shot-testimony/home

There are a lot of variables involved. First, unexpected sudden loud noises, like a gunshot, affect some people more than others. Personally, I am very sensitive to them. And believe that I would be affected much more than just a finger twitch. Someone else might not be affected at all and be rock steady. Secondly, photography has variables such as film speed, aperture, shutter speed, that will affect the image. Unless the shutter speed was very fast, I would expect that the limousine and occupants should be clear. And the background blurred due to the tracking motion of the camera.

I will have to review your link when I have access to a computer tomorrow. Thanks

[Jerry Organ]

You guys make it seem like Willis was just standing there waiting for the limousine with plenty of time to raise his camera, frame his shot and pan evenly to eliminate blurring. All ruin by his being startled by hearing a shot.

Willis had to run from where he took his shot  of the limousine on Houston to where he took Willis 04. He had a second or two after he arrived to get his shot.

[John Mytton]

You guys make it seem like Willis was just standing there waiting for the limousine with plenty of time to raise his camera, frame his shot and pan evenly to eliminate blurring. All ruin by his being startled by hearing a shot.

Willis had to run from where he took his shot  of the limousine on Houston to where he took Willis 04. He had a second or two after he arrived to get his shot.

Wasn't Willis trying to sell his copyrighted photos?



JohnM