01 July 2011

Photography: Paul Fusco

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Earlier this week I was catching up on reading a few of my favorite blogs when I followed a link on Siri's that led me to a book titled Paul Fusco: RFK. Five minutes later I turned on the television and there on the screen was a documentary titled One Thousand Pictures: RFK's Last Journey. It was a bit of a kismet moment and I knew I had to investigate more. Here is a bit of what I learned:

"On June 6, 1968, in the midst of his campaign to be president of the United States, Robert F. Kennedy died from an assassin's bullet. Two days later, after a funeral mass in New York City, his casket was placed on a special train bound for Arlington National Cemetery. A journey that should have taken hours took all day, as thousands of Americans lined the 225 miles of track in a spontaneous outpouring of grief. Paul Fusco was the only journalist on the train, and he ended up taking more than a thousand pictures from his window."

I was completely transfixed watching the documentary and seeing these photos. Not to sound overly dramatic but these photographs are truly a moment in history captured on film; the looks on the peoples faces, the mix of races all standing together at a time when most people were segregated, the way the motion of the train left the photos slightly blurred and dream-like. I just can't stop looking at them.

fusco2

16 comments:

anabela / fieldguided said...

Oh, I've seen this series before. Goosebumps. It's so amazing.

lasophia said...

Oh my! These are amazing. I had never heard of this. One of my friends grandmas actually was a witness to the shooting and later wrote a book on it. She was known as "the lady in the red coat" it absolutely blew my mind when she told me this.

Sophia
Http://lasophialasophia.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

What an amazing photographer! I had never heard this story and now I have to see this documentary.

Crystal Lee said...

I'm so glad this historical moment was captured on film. thank you for sharing.

Liz said...

fyi, 20x200 is doing an edition of some of these photographs! you can buy them online right now.

Kat Fraley said...

Amazing. I cried while watching the trailer. Such a tragedy.

Melissa said...

YOU ALWAYS POST THE BEST PHOTOS

Silvia said...

Excellent post, you learn something new everyday!

Anonymous said...

Those photos are hauntingly beautiful and thank you for posting them :)

karyn said...

Thank you so much for putting up these photographs on your blog. Not only do they capture a moment in history they are also quite incredibly beautiful.

Magar said...

These are really amazing. I can't get over how much emotion you see in these pictures and how deeply effected these people were

Ringo, have a banana! said...

I really would encourage people to buy the book as well:

http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Fusco-RFK-Edward-Kennedy/dp/1597110795/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309619853&sr=8-1

Worth every penny for a $9.95 used copy!

Dawn said...

I could not help but notice the great fashion inspiration on some of the people in the photos. Great post darling. Dawn Suitcase Vignettes

Alessia said...

so cool. I must see this doc.

Rebecca said...

Fascinating. Thanks for posting, the last picture is so haunting.

sweet harvest moon said...

amazing pictures, but really sad too