Joel photographed the wedding of Frances Mack with Philippe Bush on June 5, 1948. This was his first wedding shoot as far as I know.
I wondered where the typical ring shot and first kiss went. After all, these are must-haves.
And we found the shots tucked away in Box 66, together with a number of portraits of Frances, Philippe and other friends and family members.
Unfortunately, Joel forgot to change or flip the film holder. So, both shots are combined in a double exposure. One can only imagine the disappointment of all involved. It happens, time pressure, stress.
My practice is to always made a fake ring shot and first kiss shot after the wedding, just ask the officiant to not leave the party.
Looking closer we can see the ring shot was in Morris Chapel, while the kiss shot was somewhere outdoors under a pergola.
Joel photographed a bunch of portraits in the same timeframe, There are no names associated with these portraits, assuming these are friends or members of the bridal party.
And of course, we can’t miss the groom.
There are double exposures by accident this very manual photography workflow, but at times, a photographer will combine two shots in the darkroom for a special effect. It is not easy to do as one needs to make masks most of the time. The background equally warrants proper selection.
Joel did combine two of the Frances Mack shots together, and printed the combination out. Personally, it’s a bit disturbing, but to each their own.
It’s fairly easy to pick out which shots Joel combined.
Cheers !
Finding Joel Pahl Dardis 