Denis Reggie Moments

I was honored to get the phone call from the folks at Twelve Books in New York in the fall of 2008 about a photograph they wanted me to take of Senator Edward Kennedy for the cover of his upcoming memoir.  This important professional assignment would also be a very special and personal one as Ted was my brother-in-law – he and my sister Vicki had married in 1992 – and they were in the midst of the fight for his life as he battled brain cancer. Vicki was constantly at his side and determined to battle the odds, maximize his comfort, and continue to live life to the fullest.

After the call, I phoned Vicki to discuss ideas for the portrait and possible timing for the assignment. Ted Kennedy loved his home in Hyannis Port, and though the season had nearly ended there, there was still some hope that weather would cooperate for an outdoor portrait session before cold winter arrived.  Our best chance would have to be soon and we decided to shoot just days later, crossing fingers for a clear day. The idea of having him posed majestically above the Massachusetts coastline seemed to epitomize the strong spirit of this “lion of the Senate” and to be at home would make it even better. Ted and Massachusetts are forever linked and the prospect of shooting the cover photograph for his autobiography elsewhere would be an unfortunate compromise dictated by the publishing deadline.  Photographing him at the home he loved so dearly – the very setting for so much of his own personal and family history – would be too good a proposition to pass up, even it meant scrambling on such short notice.

I had a few ideas immediately about the warm light at twilight and discussed a shooting timeline with Vicki. To convey the mood I wanted, there would only be a time window of maybe 10 minutes when the light was right. And if the expression wasn’t happening then, perfect light or not, we’d be back to square one and likely headed to Washington or Florida for another try later that fall.

Instead of the dark suit and tie look typical of life in Congress, I thought that a more relaxed navy blue sweater seemed more inviting and fitting for the setting and season at the Cape. That casual look offered a coziness that seemed a better match for the heartfelt stories he was penning for his book. Because clothing choices can be critical for book covers, I ran this point by Ted, Vicki and the publisher and we were unanimous. It was all coming together quickly, and if everything happened as we had hoped, we’d come away with the moment captured in the single session.

Within three days of the initial call from the publisher, I was en route to Hyannis Port along with Steve Lasley, my loyal and talented 30 year staffer, and Beth Ardell who would assist with lighting and details during the quick session. Steve and I had actually setup cameras and lighting the night before our flight to Boston to mimic the portrait and ascertain the exact time when the sky would provide the glow of light I envisioned. It was at this Atlanta practice session that we identified the start of the critical time window just after sunset that presented the mood in the sky. One last critical detail was that the times of sunset in Atlanta and Hyannis Port are quite different – over an hour apart according to Google – so we adjusted our shooting timeline accordingly and emailed the plan to Vicki.

Vicki and Ted relax while sharing funny stories as we await the twilight. He looked great and seemed on top of the world that day, the perfect portrait subject. © Denis Reggie 2010

As luck would have it, a flight delay and Boston traffic put us a bit close to our target session time. We still arrived with 45 minutes to set up and test our gear, but that didn’t leave a lot of time for creative head scratching. I knew the layout of the Kennedy residence having worked there numerous times for family weddings, several in the 1980′s even before my sister and Ted dated and married.

Luck was also on our side: the weather was textbook flawless, and Ted, sporting a fresh and handsome haircut, was in terrific humor and sharp as ever.

He was his jovial, funny and endearing self, taking genuine interest in each of us as he chatted it up during our setup. With Ted and Vicki all smiles and with weather looking just perfect, I could ask for nothing more. All of the elements were seemingly aligned to come away with a very strong cover portrait… but that didn’t stop my heart from racing. It was nearly showtime.

Beth stands in for the Senator as we test our lighting and refine the camera angle. I tried a few different lenses, but kept coming back to the tack sharp 85mm f:1.2L II. © Denis Reggie 2010

I had Beth act as stand-in for the Senator to allow him to relax inside while we got everything ready. We were getting pretty good test shots even 15 minutes from our target time though the sky was a bit too bright then for the mood I wanted. Timing would be critical to achieve the look in camera – and I am not a fan of Photoshop for faking anything including the sky. While we were setting up, I overheard Vicki and Ted talking about Mya, Ted’s prized schooner. They planned to truck Mya down to Florida for winter to garner every chance to sail. Being near the water and sailing were always Ted’s friends particularly in those difficult months following the diagnosis. And to be sure, any mention of Mya would always brought a grin to his face and tall stories would soon follow of amazing, if not unbelievable racing victories.

The Senator gets a quick hair check from always attentive Vicki moments before we start. © Denis Reggie 2010

On that evening, his beloved sailboat was tied to its mooring not far from the beach and just in front of their historic home. I carefully framed the camera to include the two-masted beauty just behind him on the calm horizon with the Senator looking upward toward the warm glow of the western sky. His etherial stance said so much about the Ted Kennedy I came to know over the years: joyous, upbeat, and always looking ahead to a better future even while facing such a serious illness. That’s exactly the kind of man he was – he was the real deal, and I will always admire him and his example.

I chose my Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III camera and 85mm lens (a longtime favorite) for the optimum resolution and perspective I wanted for the portrait. Initially, based on our Atlanta test shoot, I was planning to open the lens aperture to about f:2.8 to blur the background and bring full attention to the Senator. With the revised plan to include Mya in the background, my camera settings would have to change to extend the depth of field and make her at least somewhat recognizable.

Ted calls Vicki over for a quick kiss midway through the session. © Denis Reggie 2010

Throughout the session, Vicki was just off-camera making him (and the rest of us) laugh and relax – my sister has always been quite funny and a smile or laugh was virtually guaranteed. We were quite productive for such a short session and came away with a few dozen images with varied expressions and depths of color in the sky. As the sun disappeared, the cool winds off Cape Cod delivered the chilly air that signaled the end of this October shoot – we certainly didn’t want to freeze or overtire our subject.  He had been nothing short of amazing, even thanking each of us individually as the session ended.

With thanks to my superb team – Steve and Beth – the session went smoothly and ended less than 90 minutes from our arrival at the compound.  After packing up our gear, and at the invitation – make that insistence – of Ted and Vicki, we joined them for dinner and a host of amazing stories, many rooted in his unique perspective of historical events. As I recall, we were interrupted twice with telephone calls from the Senate, one from Senate Majority Leader Reid and the other from Senator Kerry. It was clear that Ted’s work as a U.S. senator was very much in progress even as he battled his illness miles from Washington.

And here's the one selected for the cover with our final color settings for the printer. Subject, publisher, photographer, sister, and my team enjoyed the process and all were thrilled with the result. © Denis Reggie 2009

Once back in Atlanta, Steve prepared a web gallery with a couple dozen frames from the session and both subject (and wife) in Hyannis Port and the publisher in New York were thrilled with the results. In the end, the cover photo selected was shot at f:5.6 and, as it turned out, was one of the very first frames clicked off in the session. At that aperture setting, the Mya, while clearly visible on the water, is not sharp – naturally, the Senator was my real focus. This photograph always brings a smile to my face because of memories of him, our session and that memorable dinner in Hyannis Port. Ted was exceptional in many ways, and when he asked how you were doing or what was going on in your own  life, there was no mistaking that he was genuinely interested in your answer – he really wanted to know. He innately cared about people – all people -and had a zest for life, knowledge and a true passion for service.  I am so pleased that he and Vicki had nearly two decades together.

And for my own special relationship with Ted, I am eternally grateful. He was truly a man’s man, living life to the fullest and by his actions he challenged us all to do the same. He was a genuinely kind and caring soul who put others before himself. In our family, it was always Ted who was first to call for family birthdays, an illness, or to congratulate on a personal success.  An exemplary person on so many levels, I deeply miss his powerful presence. Family gatherings will never be quite the same, but his remarkable example, perseverance, and positive energy live on.

True Compass, a poignant page-turner, was published to great fanfare in the book world that next summer and became a New York Times bestseller in short order. Apple CEO Steve Jobs personally selected Ted’s memoir to use in demonstrating the iBooks app when he introduced the iPad at the huge media event in January. Last I checked, nearly a million copies of True Compass had been purchased worldwide.

I still get chills when I think of the words Ted spoke so passionately in 1980: ”the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”