Welcome to my WWII event photography website.  Here, you will find images that I've taken at various reenactments and living history events, primarily using equipment original to the period.  As a newspaper photographer in real life, sent off in search of the latest breaking news stories, armed with digital cameras capable of shooting a mile-a-minute under almost any condition, I am in awe of my predecessors.  They were limited to the technology of manually focused, large format cameras that could only be recycled as quickly as a photographer could remove and replace the film holder after each shot.  Many iconic photographs of World War II were made in this manner, by photographers who had previously seen domestic action as lensmen for the newspapers and wire services back home. 

       When I attend historical reenactments, I portray one of the many photographers trained by the U.S. Signal Corps to serve as official combat cameramen.  These photographers, along with civilian correspondents, provided a visual record of the world's battlefields for the pages of newspapers and history books alike.  Without their efforts, those who did not experience World War II first-hand could hardly expect to begin to truly understand it.  Whether they carried a rifle, drove a jeep, typed reports, or took pictures, the men and women who were a part of it all deserve our thanks.

          I have been a Civil War reenactor for many years, and in getting involved with World War II recreations, I wanted to portray a role that I would most likely have performed 65 years ago, had I been part of the war effort.  A combat photographer seemed to be a natural choice.  The urban "warfare" that takes place on a daily basis on the streets of New York City is as familiar to me as it was to the photographers who traded in their fedoras for helmets in 1941.  The Signal Photographic Companies that these men formed went everywhere the army went, and while I do not limit myself to representing just one of these units, I generally represent Detachment "G" of the 165th Signal Photographic Company.  Detachment "G" was led by Lt. Martin Lederhandler who, like me, was a native of Brooklyn and an active press photographer.  Lederhandler was drafted in 1940, and his civilian experience made him a natural choice for the 165th SPC.  After the war, Lederhandler went on to become the senior photographer for Associated Press in New York, retiring in 2002. 

          The majority of the pictures hereon were taken with a combination of wartime model Graflex "Anniversary" Speed Graphics, while some were taken with the Argus C-3, an old standby in early 35mm photography.  To learn more about the Graflex, visit Graflex.org.

         If you, or your reenactment group, would like to use any of these pictures on unit websites or for other non-commercial purposes, please feel free—although a photo credit would be appreciated.  For prints, inquiries, or commercial use, please contact me.

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