A Closer Look…

[Andrew Mason]

Hey Steve, I hope you are well!

I totally agree with your observations.

Zapruder's vertical camera jerks at the time of the confirmed shots and working backwards, the head shot, the SBF and then the first shot, to me, are self explanatory.



JohnM

It amazes me that no one mentions that both Croft and Betzner said that the first shot happened after they took their pictures which puts the first shot after z186.  Croft said he had enough time roll his film after his z161 photo and take another picture at the moment of the first shot (unfortunately, the camera shutter did not work and the film was unexposed for that frame). Betzner said he took the picture at z186 and he was going to roll the film to take another when the shot occurred.

But it is not just Croft and Betzner. Phil Willis put the first shot just before he took his z202 photo. The occupants of the VP car said they had just completed the turn and were going down Elm St. The occupants of the VP follow up car said that there were in the process of completing the turn. Mary Woodward said that they shouted at the President and he turned toward them - and they were the last people he acknowledged before the first horrible ear-shattering noise. That means the shot could not have been before JFK turns and acknowledges them with a wave because JFK did not acknowledge anyone after that - according to Mary Woodward.

The goal here is not to find head turnings that fit a preferred theory.  Conclusions must fit the evidence and a shot anywhere before z186 does not fit the evidence.

[Dan O'meara]

It amazes me that no one mentions that both Croft and Betzner said that the first shot happened after they took their pictures which puts the first shot after z186.  Croft said he had enough time roll his film after his z161 photo and take another picture at the moment of the first shot (unfortunately, the camera shutter did not work and the film was unexposed for that frame). Betzner said he took the picture at z186 and he was going to roll the film to take another when the shot occurred.

But it is not just Croft and Betzner. Phil Willis put the first shot just before he took his z202 photo. The occupants of the VP car said they had just completed the turn and were going down Elm St. The occupants of the VP follow up car said that there were in the process of completing the turn. Mary Woodward said that they shouted at the President and he turned toward them - and they were the last people he acknowledged before the first horrible ear-shattering noise. That means the shot could not have been before JFK turns and acknowledges them with a wave because JFK did not acknowledge anyone after that - according to Mary Woodward.

The goal here is not to find head turnings that fit a preferred theory.  Conclusions must fit the evidence and a shot anywhere before z186 does not fit the evidence.

Plus, Altgens said his pic (#6) was taken almost simultaneously with the first shot.
And we are expected to believe that while JBC was reacting to a loud, explosive noise that he recognised as a rifle shot, not a single Secret Service agent reacted in any way.
Landis also recognised it as a rifle shot but he makes no move whatsoever in the Z-film as late as z207.
Yet in Altgens 6 we have Landis, Ready and Hickey all looking to their right rear, exactly as they reported:

Landis - "I heard what sounded like the report of a high-powered rifle from behind me, over my right shoulder...", "My first glance was at the President, as I was practically looking in his direction anyway...", "I immediately returned my gaze, over my right shoulder."

Ready - "I heard what appeared to be fire crackers going off from my position. I immediately turned to my right rear trying to locate the source but was not able to determine the exact location."

Hickey - "I heard what seemed to me that a firecracker exploded to the right and rear. I stood partially up and turned to the rear to see if I could observe anything. "

[Dan O'meara]

Yes, but if you freeze the frame at 161, look at the startled expression on his face. In the frames that follow, he then begins smiling at the girls on the sidewalk, more than likely because he pobably thought it was a firecracker.  Meanwhile, John Connally has a veryy stern look on his face, is not waving, rather, he sits there motionless.  He told the WC he heard a shot and knew it was a rifleshot. You cannot ignore the jerk of Zapruder's camera, either.

I am really not seeing a startled expression.

In the frames that follow, he then begins smiling at the girls on the sidewalk, more than likely because he pobably thought it was a firecracker.

But there's no need to speculate Steve, we know exactly why JFK turned to his right and started smiling and waving. And we know why Jackie turned to her right at the same moment. We have the first-hand eye-witness account of reporter Mary Woodward as proof of why they were reacting the way they did at that moment.

You cannot ignore the jerk of Zapruder's camera, either.

In the graphic posted by John there is a sharp "jump" in the frames between z154 and z155. This would be from a shot taken around z150 (a frame or two for the sound to travel, two or three frames before a physical reaction). Is that what we're saying here?

[Charles Collins]

I saw the two figures to the right rise up. There's also a man who, in the mid-180s, is behind Gold-Top, who I think rises up. Plus the figure on the left spotted by Charles. I think the two circled on the right may be people who were out on the pavement on Houston who later stood up on the curb. You can see Phil Willis lifting his camera and, behind him, his daughter Linda (she's on the right, in a blue top, walking in front of the pool wall). There are some artifacts caused by sharpening and compression. The horizontal out-of-scaling at the end is from the exposed area drifting closer to the outer edge.

There's a lady on the lower right waving a hanky. She and a friend are wearing black gloves, as was Nellie Connally. Probably a vogue fashion thing for the time. The older gentleman in the left foreground wearing a suit is holding a Stetson-like hat.

Excellent work as usual Jerry. Thanks again. I agree with what you said. Also, note that the woman next to Willis (Mrs. Willis?) appears to be looking toward the TSBD instead of toward JFK. It is hard to tell for sure, but at the very beginning she appears to be still turning (snapping?) her head toward the TSBD. The gold top lady does appear to suddenly jump then raise her right hand to her mouth in shock. Well done Jerry!

[Jack Nessan]

I think you guys figured it out. Damn the shell, bullet, and eyewitness information, it is all totally useless smoke and mirrors misinformation. Instead, the Zapruder twitched while filming story along with normal movements by people in a crowd is way better.

[Charles Collins]

Pierce Allman was standing among the crowd that we are taking a closer look at. Here is a snip from his living history interview at the Sixth Floor Museum:

They turned the corner and…boom. …
When the first shot… happened… it, it really didn’t… it, it, no one, no one around me recognized it as a shot. Connally said later that he did because he was a hunter. But it wasn’t a sharp sound that a rifle makes. It was, it was loud. I turned to Terry and said something: “That was firecrackers?” And then (slams fist) second shot. But during the first shot I looked up and across, that’s where the sound was coming from. …ok, there’s the sixth floor and the sixth floor window. The sixth floor window was up a little bit. To this day, I couldn’t tell you whether I saw a rifle or not. But there were three guys… hanging out of that fifth floor window. And they were looking up and pointing. This is all at a glance. Please understand the time perspective. The total time from when the limo turned until it went… left under the triple underpass was 18 or 19 seconds. And the shots were six and a half or seven seconds. So, I glanced up and then glanced down and the second shot. And Kennedy didn’t have a violent reaction. He was… his right arm was on.. the uh, frame of the car. And he just sort of turned and then both arms and hands went up in this sort of reaction. And Jackie sort of leaned forward and the car kept progressing. The car never slowed down.
The car never took evasive action. And then the… I had glanced kind of over at the hillside a little bit and then the third shot hit. And it was pretty evident that uh he was hit. I did not see the uh Bill Newman on the other side of the street, I was on this side of the street. And I didn’t see the moment of the disintegration of the skull. But the split second after, when he went forward, went to the side… Remember, on the second shot… Kennedy was wearing a back brace. He had on this very tightly laced back brace. And he didn’t topple over. So he just, he was still upright. The assassin had for the third shot, essentially the second shot, just a few feet further. But on the third shot he did… topple over. And Jackie was screaming.

[Andrew Mason]

I am really not seeing a startled expression.

In the frames that follow, he then begins smiling at the girls on the sidewalk, more than likely because he pobably thought it was a firecracker.

But there's no need to speculate Steve, we know exactly why JFK turned to his right and started smiling and waving. And we know why Jackie turned to her right at the same moment. We have the first-hand eye-witness account of reporter Mary Woodward as proof of why they were reacting the way they did at that moment.

I would be interested in hearing from the early missed shot speculators where they think JFK turned and acknowledged Mary Woodward and her friends.  Do they really think Woodward missed hearing that first "horrible ear-shattering noise"?

[Andrew Mason]

Pierce Allman was standing among the crowd that we are taking a closer look at. Here is a snip from his living history interview at the Sixth Floor Museum:

They turned the corner and…boom. …
When the first shot… happened… it, it really didn’t… it, it, no one, no one around me recognized it as a shot. Connally said later that he did because he was a hunter. But it wasn’t a sharp sound that a rifle makes. It was, it was loud. I turned to Terry and said something: “That was firecrackers?” And then (slams fist) second shot. But during the first shot I looked up and across, that’s where the sound was coming from. …ok, there’s the sixth floor and the sixth floor window. The sixth floor window was up a little bit. To this day, I couldn’t tell you whether I saw a rifle or not. But there were three guys… hanging out of that fifth floor window. And they were looking up and pointing. This is all at a glance. Please understand the time perspective. The total time from when the limo turned until it went… left under the triple underpass was 18 or 19 seconds. And the shots were six and a half or seven seconds.

Not that Allman was a clock, but... if you work back 6.5 seconds from z313 the first shot would be at z194.

So, I glanced up and then glanced down and the second shot. And Kennedy didn’t have a violent reaction. He was… his right arm was on.. the uh, frame of the car. And he just sort of turned and then both arms and hands went up in this sort of reaction. And Jackie sort of leaned forward and the car kept progressing. The car never slowed down.
The car never took evasive action. And then the… I had glanced kind of over at the hillside a little bit and then the third shot hit. And it was pretty evident that uh he was hit. I did not see the uh Bill Newman on the other side of the street, I was on this side of the street. And I didn’t see the moment of the disintegration of the skull. But the split second after, when he went forward, went to the side… Remember, on the second shot… Kennedy was wearing a back brace. He had on this very tightly laced back brace. And he didn’t topple over. So he just, he was still upright. The assassin had for the third shot, essentially the second shot, just a few feet further. But on the third shot he did… topple over. And Jackie was screaming.[/i]

In his WFAA radio interview at 1:45 pm 22Nov63, Allman said he saw JFK react to the first shot.  He said "I looked and saw the President, I thought, duck". Here is the recording (interview is in the first minute. The quoted remark begins at 1:25):