Photographic Oddity

reply to post by Rubicant13


You are thinking of airbrushing here too much in the modern context as opposed to what was possible back in the period. The negative could have been cut and taped back together but this usually leaves thin gap seams, or a doubling overlap seam on the print, which this photograph does not have. It is possible the hand was burned darker to get the effect, but this must be done with incredible care given the lightness of RFK's head nearby. The print that was created would have had to be very large to reduce light bleeding and keep it looking right. This was again, not a standard practice in news darkrooms at the time.

We think of photo-manipulation as deceptively easy today thanks to our technology, but before computers, it was a painstakingly long process, very costly and even risky too because negatives are very easy to ruin with the slightest misstep.

Again I say, it must be taken into account that photography then was almost nothing like photography today, and what we think we see because our eyes are so used to easily altered digital images, is almost impossible given the film technology of the time.

Folks, Robert Kennedy was shot in the head by a .22 caliber revolver. Of course he is alert. In comparison, Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head by a 9mm Glock pistol. And she survived.

How is it so shocking that he is still alert in the photo?

Also, the handless sleeve you see in the picture does not belong to the man in the foreground of the photo with one hand on Kennedy's arm. That happens to be the sleeve of a coat owned by William Barry. He had just taken it off to place it under Kennedy's head at the time of the photo.

reply to post by allenidaho

Brilliantly done mate, thank you for clearing that up!

I have never seen someone get shot by a .22, I'd imagine it causes less cavitation damage and I believe there is much less chance of hydrostatic shock than there would be from a 9mm Parabellum. As such, and remember this is only with my limited knowledge of firearm-induced injury, it would cause less of an incapacitating state. As I have said before though, I have seen men shot before, and by much larger rounds, who still remained alert after being hit.

Originally posted by OutonaLimb
Please take a look at this famous photograph.

Do you notice anything strange?

Take a good look!

Anyone?

Not only is the hand missing...where most have said...but...the man in the white shirt, right hand is not positioned right to be under Bobby's head. If someone says that hand is under Bobby's neck...impossible. The head would be bent back at an angle.

Where the hand should be on the man in the suit there appears to be a bullett or casing on the floor.

Something doesn't smell right w/ Bobby's right hand. The way suit guy is grabbing his upper arm and the size...it just doesn't seem to match the size of what we see of Bobby's lower arm, wrist, and hand.

That leg in the lower right hand corner is whose? Is it even a leg? And the triangle shape hole near the bend in the leg, if it's a leg is peculiar.

Back to suit guy...when looking threw his glass's at what should be Bobby's hair...the pattern of strands seems off. It almost appears as if there's a shape of an eye?

Where there's been copy and paste...you can definetly see it in the pixelization. Specially out- lining white shirt- sleeved guy.

I'm sure there's more to explain concerning the hoax of this pic...there's what I've found thus far...and it's enough to scream fowl.

Or..I could just be full of S...! lol

Originally posted by PaperbackWriter
Perhaps it was to signify 'the hidden hand' as being involved in this staged affair.

Yes, because just like James Bond bad guys, the evil doers always want to explain themselves to their enemy

In what universe does the bad guy really make themselves known? This is a fantasy.

Originally posted by PaperbackWriter
Several posters, including myself note that most, if not all the (alleged) assassination photos,
appear to make not only RFK, but others head and appendages, suspended in mid-air.
This may be an early attempt at image 'fixing' or layering before publication.

I can only see one example. But welcome to the nature of photography. A photograph is intended to capture a moment in time, of course hands and feet will appear to be "suspended in mid-air" unless they are motionless and posed. This is not evidence of anything. Throw a cat in the air and take a photo, is the resulting photo proof that cats can fly?

Originally posted by PaperbackWriter
They also appear to be staged in that there is not the progression or spreading of blood onto his shirt from his alleged three wounds. The odd handling of his head by others present.

The progression of blood can be explained away by several factors. First of all, these are black and white images. The presence of blood will not be very obvious, depending on the lighting. Also, did the bullets actually penetrate through his body? We also know that the photos were taken very soon after the shooting too, you can see the progression of the pool of blood beneath his head in several of them.

You can also argue that the blood could have been removed through editing to make them suitable for use in the press. Many millions of Americans at that time would have been angered to see him covered in blood. Removing blood evidence from a white shirt in a photo is far easier than removing a hand and replacing it with the concrete beneath it!

I think, once again, people are seeing what they want to see to build a conspiracy here. I don't even understand what the conspiracy is supposed to be. Is the assumption that he wasn't killed? Or is it that someone else did it? I don't get it, what's the intention?

Why would these photos even need to be altered? If someone wanted him dead they could have located the nearest crazy person, change their meds, concoct a story to dupe them and give them a gun... It wouldn't take a lot.

I DID NO RESEARCH ON ROBERT F KENNEDY BUT WHAT I DO KNOW IS THE MAN WAS THE SMARTS BEHIND JOHN F KENNEDY WHILE JOHN WAS THE CHARM AND CHARISMA. ROBERT WAS A GENIUS WHEN IT CAME TO FOREIGN POLICY AND DOMESTIC ISSUES.

PEOPLE ARE WRITING ABOUT WHAT THE CAPABILITIES WERE BACK THEN WITH TECHNOLOGY WHEN THE FACT IS YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY WERE CAPABLE OF THEN WHICH IS ALSO THE CASE TODAY. I KNOW AND HAVE ALREADY PROVED THE FIRST PHOTO POSTED WAS DOCTORED WHICH IS NO LONGER THE QUESTION. THE QUESTION NOW IS WHY.

MY THEORY IS AS FOLLOWS.
THERE IS NO WAY THEY CAN ALLOW ROBERT BECOME THE PRESIDENT FIRST AND FOREMOST.
SECOND THEY MUST HAVE ROBERT ASSASSINATED IN PUBLIC BUT THEY WANT THAT BODY. THEY WANT THAT BLOOD. THEY WANT THAT DNA. THEY WANT THAT BRAIN AND SO ON.

THEY DECIDED TO HIRE A BODY DOUBLE. THEY TELL THE BODY DOUBLE THERE IS GOING TO BE A SWITCH BACKSTAGE. WE NEED TO TAKE ROBERT TO A SECRET MEETING AND WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO IS SIMPLY WALK FROM BACKSTAGE TO THE VEHICLE. AVOID TALKING TO PEOPLE AND TRY TO KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN. BACKSTAGE WILL BE PACKED WITH PEOPLE. THE SWITCH CAN BE DONE EASILY. THEY ASSASSINATE THE BODY DOUBLE AND THEN TAKE ROBERT TO DO WHAT THEY DO.

THE THIRD PHOTO POSTED IS THE BODY DOUBLE SECONDS AFTER THE SHOOTINGS AND THE PEOPLE HAVE ALL TURNED THEIR ATTENTION TO THE SHOOTER BEING TACKLED TO THE GROUND WHICH IS ALSO SUSPICIOUS. ANOTHER COVER UP WHICH MEANS MANY OF THE PEOPLE WERE AWARE OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING.

AND OF COURSE IF YOU TILT YOUR HEAD TO THE SIDE AND LOOK AT THE FACE OF ROBERT IN THE PHOTO IT IS CLEAR TO SEE ROBERT IS SEATED AND TALKING TO SOMEBODY STANDING. PROBABLY HIS BROTHER JOHN F KENNEDY.

Originally posted by Phage
Another photo from the opposite side, apparently at the same time (close to it).
The "famous" image was what was printed on the front page of newspapers. Probably some editing for gore.

edit on 10/12/2012 by Phage because: (no reason given)

Holy crap, scroll all the way to the right and look down at the bottom right hand corner. There is a foot and ankle of someone that is laying down. It appears there is another foot and ankle standing oddly right on top of the first one?

Who does the foot that is obviously attached to a body laying down belong to? Who does the foot standing on the laying down foot belong to?

This little corner is messed up.

That foot would belong to Sirhan Sirhan who had been tackled to the floor and disarmed. He had just shot RFK 3 times in the head and back.

reply to post by allenidaho


Yeah that would make sense. Not sure why I didn't realize that, it looks kind of odd at first with the placement. From the perspective of the camera man it looks like the top foot is angled and not natural, or what you would expect when looking at someone standing on another leg. I was wondering how Phage of all people could miss an anomaly like that. I should have known.

The shadow cast by the man in the white shirt appear strange/contrived and
don't appear to gel with the shadow in the 1st photo.

reply to post by OutonaLimb


It would seem that the second photo could be taken with a flash which would cause the shadow present, and also make it not match the shadow of the first photo.

I believe the man in the first photo is RFK, but compared to the second photo it sure doesn't look like him. It is probably because of shadows but honestly they look like 2 completely different men to me.