My Earliest Photography — Bob & Leanna Gaskin’s Wedding

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Back in 1964-66, when I went to LACC, my friends Bob & Leanna Gaskins asked me to take their wedding photos. I will tell you briefly what happened: I was a poor art student. I had bought a press camera that handled single-load film clips — one shot per side — in 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 medium format. Cost of camera, $25, including 12 film clips, allowing a total of 24 exposures without having to go to the darkroom. Enlarger, another $25, including a timer, easel, change-bag, film developing can, some developer, a thermometer, and three trays. There was barely enough money left in my treasury to get the necessary pack of sheet film, $4.50, but I managed it. The camera was strictly 19th century, sticky, slow and difficult, but here are the shots I produced — among my earliest attempts at photography. I’m told that Bob invented PowerPoint. I’ve no idea what that is, but folks seem interested in that factoid, so I include it. I later took hundreds of shots of Bob & Leanna — in color and black and white — with a Mamiyaflex twin-lens reflex 6mm x 6mm roll type 220 film camera — the negs must be around here somewhere, along with the tens of thousands of shots I took for Tiger Beat, Monkee Spectacular, Mod Teen, Adam, Knight and Cavalier magazines. Bob wrote “Hamlet & the Sword of Heaven”, a treatise on God’s Justice, as it were. Leanna was a brilliant businessperson. That’s my ex, Linda, in the center left bottom photo. I hear Bob & Leanna are still together, a rarity.

See You At The Top!!!

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