A couple weeks ago I was throwing together a quick shoot for a client’s ad; just a simple overhead still shot with a couple of lights and a little camera rigging. No crew, and I was in a hurry.
Ken was my First Assistant Cameraman for a little over 10 years. I think he was 79 when I met him.
While rigging the camera I got distracted and dropped it. I’ve never, ever, ever dropped a camera like that before. It was like a perfect storm of being in a hurry, making small mistakes, and general inattentiveness that led to my dropping the camera and yeah, it broke. I think a circuit board jostled loose or something. Sad day.
This made me miss Ken.
Ken was my First Assistant Camera for a little over 10 years. I think he was 79 when I met him, and he was still freelancing on shoots whenever he could. Still lugging camera gear around. Still chasing after girls on set. Still being generally awesome. He had a photographic career spanning back to the days of dye-transfer printing, and always had a story or anecdote for any given situation. Nine times out of ten, I’d call for a lens change and he’d have already predicted it, standing next to the camera holding the lens with a smug smile. Best AC ever.
Ken passed away last year, and I miss him a lot.
Peering over his glasses, he would have said “Dibble, you know better than this.”
I can picture his reaction to me dropping the camera; he would have pulled his glasses down slightly past the bridge of his nose, looked up at me over the top of the frames, and gently sighed while saying “Dibble, you know better than this.”
I don’t know why but he always called me Dibble, even though my last name is pronounced nothing like that. I never argued.
So yeah, my camera’s broken. I spent the rest of the day feeling like an idiot, while simultaneously reminiscing about all the good shoots I had working with Ken. Weird to think that breaking my camera forced me to slow down for a second and remember a good friend.
The camera might be broken, but I still have my memories of Ken. I’ll take that.
12 Comments
Hehe great story
And yes he was an awesome
Assistant, and great mentor
Alway had a keen eye around him
Alway told a great story too.
I guess he passed a couple things on too you, meant to be!
I didn’t know Ken passed. I’m so sorry. ❤
He was such a cool dude. I’m glad to have known him.
Great mentor!!!
Here’s an old article someone wrote about him that’s pretty cool.
Ken really was amazing…
I remember him.
Ken was pretty awesome! Also glad to have known him.
Sweet tribute, Floyd.
Wow, I blame Duane for finding you. Lol! It’s good to see you’re doing well. It would be nice to connect. It’s only been like 30 years. :)
Great article. It’s always great to hear stories about those who inspire us.
Peace, Sean
Thanks for sharing this, Floyd. I will never forget that seeming essence of (mischievous?) joy that seemed to emanate from his eyes. His focus when he worked with you on shoots was absolutely laser-like.
Thank you for this reminder Floyd. I was honored to apprentice under Ken for a short time. Like the master he was, he let me feel all the weight of my rookie mistakes, and when I had suffered just enough he would welcome me back warmly. What a great guy.