A Time It Was – Bill Eppridge and Pete Hamill
Book review by Nicholas Demille
Bill Eppridge witnessed the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in the pantry of a Los Angeles hotel. The photos he made were published by Life magazine, and helped make him one of the most influential photojournalists of his era. In his book A Time it Was, Eppridge details his time with the Kennedy campaign, and the turmoil that the assassination caused.
The photos are beautiful. To see photographs made with film in an age of ubiquitous digital technology is inspiring. Not only because of the difficulties of using film, but also because of the differences in the way that film seems to capture life. Film, after all, is a living medium that responds to the environment and the processing in ways that digital can be made to mimic, but only in intentional ways. The unintended ways in which film photos are created adds a sense of mystique and improbability to the photos that Eppridge was able to make, in particular, his iconic images of the final moments of RFK.
One thing that is immediately noticeable is how photogenic RFK was. Eppridge had an amazing subject to be sure. Not only because of the historical swirl of circumstances that surrounded his personal life and eventual presidential campaign, but also in his physical person. His appearance is still captivating to this day. He is not a perfect looking person. But he is striking. And like the very best of subjects, Eppridge captures him in a different way nearly every time. The photos Eppridge made of the Kennedy campaign of 68’ have a startling breadth of emotion, light, composition and intensity. In the text Eppridge attributes the quality of the photographs to the Life editorial staff who allowed him the proper time and space to capture the candidate.
The book starts with an essay by Pete Hamill. Hamill was a confidant of sorts to Robert F. Kennedy, and his contribution is quite integral to the overall successful execution of the book. Hamill recounts the scene, as he recalls it, from inside the Kennedy suite, the night of Robert’s assassination.
Hamill provides another voice from which readers can glean context for Eppridge’s images. This is not to say that the images cannot stand on their own. But read cover-to-cover, the book does have a purposeful build and eventual crescendo, both in text and images, resolving with the interment of the candidate in Arlington Cemetery.
As a photographer, Eppridge is unquestionably excellent. Surprisingly, he is also quite good as a writer. He doesn’t overwhelm with prose. But he does reveal just the right amount of personal anecdote, technical information, and emotion to help create context for the images without overselling his part in their significance. Few things can ruin a book of photography faster than the puffery of a self-important photographer. Eppridge does not fall prey to this. He is self-effacing and humble in the face of some remarkable circumstances. And he seems to recall with decent clarity both what happened, and how he was able to create stunning and important images while also acting respectfully.
I believe this is the first book I have read that recounts people shouting about the rudeness of photographers during a historical event. As Eppridge recalls in the text, someone began shouting that the photographers were acting like vultures in the minutes after Robert Kennedy was shot. And Eppridge was only able to stay close to the candidate because he helped hold the crowd back while slyly making the occasional image with the camera that hung around his neck. One could read this as a conflicted professional who wasn’t fully invested in doing his job. Or as a rude, self-serving photographer selfishly using the last breaths of a powerful man for personal gain. But in the telling of the story, I felt that Eppridge acted reasonably both as a journalist, and as a human being. He performed the historical function for which he was paid. He also observed the respectful decorum that befit the situation in allowing Kennedy’s wife to spend the last moments of Robert’s life with him without serious intrusion.
Thankfully, given the gravity of the situation, Eppridge was the photographer present. His images, not just from Kennedy’s last day, but from his last years, are a treasure. His book is likewise, a very valuable addition to any photography library. And I found it an absolute joy to read the fascinating copy that accompanied Eppridges excellent images.
