PRINTMissouri Honor Medalists: Bill Eppridge
MU recognizes seven journalists with the presentation of the Missouri Honor Medal
Courtesy of Bill Eppridge
Bill Eppridge will receive a Missouri Honor Medal Oct. 20.
October 15, 2009 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Bill Eppridge, photojournalist
For 50 years, Bill Eppridge has captured some of the most significant moments in history on film for Life, Sports Illustrated and National Geographic. From Bobby Kennedy’s assassination to Vietnam to Woodstock, Eppridge was there with his camera.
What: Epic Poem: Fifty Years in Photojournalism
Date: Tues., Oct. 20
Time: 2-3:15 p.m.
Location: Fred W. Smith Forum, MU Campus
When did you fall in love with photojournalism?
Journalism started really seriously when I was in college at the University of Toronto about 1957. I became the director of photography at the student paper,The Varsity. I really had decided at that point that I wanted and was going to be a photojournalist.
How did you eventually get to MU?
I asked one of the priests that was there about my dilemma. I said, “Look, I got to get out of here.” He said, “Go to the University of Missouri.” So, I called. I explained my situation to professor Clif Edom, and he said, “Come on down here.” Which I did, and the next semester I was in. I was staff photographer on the Missourian and I wasn’t even in the J-School. I didn’t have enough of the proper credits to get in. It went from there, and I never looked back.
National Geographic has a world-renowned reputation for photography. What was it like working for them right out of college?
To tell you the truth, it was like working with old buddies because almost half of the Geographic had graduated from Missouri also. It seemed to be when you stepped out of the University of Missouri, you stepped right into the Geographic. You do not really realize the importance of something like that when you’re right square in the middle of it; it almost seems easy.
What is it like shooting and being an observer to situations like Vietnam?
It’s a pretty important thing because you’re, in effect, telling the rest of the world what it is that’s going on. You have to have enough wits about you to realize that what you’re looking at and what you’re showing has got to be the truth of what’s going on. It’s a pretty big responsibility. I was working for Life when I was at Vietnam.
One of your most famous pictures is of Bobby Kennedy’s assassination. How do you walk this line between capturing the image and trespassing on this extremely emotional moment?
Part of it’s training. Mentally, you have to say to yourself, “You’ve got a job to do, and you’ve got to do it.” You are no longer a photojournalist and now a historian. As far as I was concerned, I was the only one in the place. I eliminated everything else going on around me, except for the fact that had to be photographed.
What is your favorite thing about photojournalism?
The fact that I’m able to, maybe, make a difference in somebody’s life. Maybe I’m able to change things a little for the better and make things a little easier for some people once they see what is really there, give them a little more understanding about what’s happening in the world.
What was your reaction when you heard you were receiving the Missouri Honor Medal?
I was just absolutely thrilled. I’ve known about that for a while. That kind of recognition from my peers is just delightful for me. I’m happier than you can imagine.
Your master class on Oct. 20 is called Epic Poem: Fifty Years in Photojournalism. What will you be speaking about?
John Neihardt, a history professor at MU, wrote a book, Black Elk Speaks. It wasn’t just a book; it was an epic poem. I asked him, “Do you suppose it would ever be possible for a epic photographic poem?” He said he had never seen one, but why not? I was coming back home though Columbia and thought, “Maybe I should go look for Dr. Neihardt.” I found a projector and showed him this talk I had put together on Bob Kennedy. At the end of it, he didn’t say anything. And then he turned to me and said, “You did it.” That’s what I want to include, some of Neihardt’s inspiration.
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