Bill Delzell is trying to track down who took thousands of high-quality photos in the late 1960s in San Francisco and left the vast collection abandoned in a storage unit. The images include protests of the Vietnam War, the music scene with Jerry Garcia, and young people gathered in Golden Gate Park for the Human Be-In.
A commercial photographer himself, Delzell became interested in the mystery two years ago. Today, he is championing an effort to identify the person behind the camera and share the work broadly, including providing public access to the collection through the Internet Archive. He launched a Kickstarter campaign, “Who Shot Me — Stories Unprocessed” to help uncover clues and locate the photographer. Photographs shared on social media have attracted over 1.5 million views and the Kickstarter effort is advancing to its $49,000 goal. “It’s been quite a ride,” he said. “I think of myself as an advocate for this unknown photographer.”
So far, about 5,700 photos from 1966 to 1970 on black-and-white film and color slides have been developed ; another 75 rolls of 35mm film remain unprocessed. The images were discovered in the 1980s and passed hands through several dealers before Delzell was introduced to them through a friend.
“After turning a few pages in the collection, I had this overwhelming sense of loss,” said Delzell, 67, who worked as a photographer for over 30 years in San Francisco and now runs SpeakLocal.org, a nonprofit in Sacramento. “The idea that a person could devote five years of their life capturing so much of such an iconic era, and then to have become separated from it … my mind was spinning. I left with an awareness of the importance of the collection and preoccupied with how we could reconnect the photographer with their work.”
Now, his dream is to raise enough money to complete the restoration and uncover the mystery of the gifted photographer. The images would be of great value to educators, he said, teaching about that tumultuous time in American history.
“There is historical significance of the work,” Delzell said, who went to protests in the 1960s with his activist parents. “The idea of a community coming together to search for the identity of this individual, as well as individuals in the photograph, is what appeals to me. We’re still at a time where a lot of the people in those images are alive, and they can share their stories.”
Resources
– Kickstarter campaign: Who Shot Me — Stories Unprocessed
– Reddit: /WhoShotMe
Delzell has involved young people through his nonprofit organization dedicated to project-based learning. They are helping to scan the images and create a database through paid internships or school credit. The aim is to develop an interactive tool, and perhaps a book or documentary about the photos and quest for the photographer.
Once the work is shared with backers, Delzell wants it to be available to all on the Internet Archive. His plan is to preserve the collection and make it accessible with the public interest in mind.
Delzell credits the enthusiastic response to the project to the phenomenal era when the photos were taken.
“If you think about any moment in the history of humankind, there’s probably never been a time that has had such a transformational impact on culture as the 60s,” he said. “To be able to dive into 8,000 images – all captured through the eye of one individual – is unique. Educators can add the images to their curriculum when they’re talking about subjects like the Civil Rights movement or the Summer of Love or the counterculture movement. It just really represents a great opportunity.”
Hi. I lived in the Haight 1967-69. Many memories. We thought we were going to change the world. In some ways we did. The music was everything. I remember the first tack squad attack after we blocked the streets and started painting circles on the pavement with the word “tree” in the circle. Straight Theater with Janis Joplin on stage with Big Brother and the Holding Company. Diggers. Hari Krishna. Captain Acid. Free concerts in the park. If you see a Honda motorcycle with “ego trip” painted on the tank it is mine. So very much more.
yeah, you people thought everyone who came before you were retrograde squares, and everybody eho came after you were dilletante sell-outs. Never has one generation been so self-regarding, so self-important as that one. You talk about all these wonderful things you did, but the residue of that culture has harmed many, in many ways.
yeah, the music and some aspects of personal self-expression and creativity was great. I’ll give you that.
Grizz,
Powerful, your the Gurro , & on the 1st chapters of a Journey that will change your life & enlighten the world.
Love Eagle
Do we know these aren’t Agnes Varda’s? The photographer’s reflection closely resembles her, and she appears to be in other images from the Muhammad Ali SF speech.
This sounds like something that should be pursued. But if she’s in Muhammad Ali picture could you have taken it
San Francisco was, and still remains, an iconic place in American culture and civil rights history.
May this project come to full fruition and inform us more completely about the era.
Please send any info about the project…ty
My partner and I had just been talking about how important the 60’s were (not just ’cause we were there)
The West Coast brought social, cultural, environmental and political changes to America that are still a part of the fabric of our lives today, yet many young people have no idea of this history; something needs to be done about it…
And here you were on my news feed. Talk about synchronicity. now I will donate to help your amazing project. Thank you
Maybe enlist the assistance of an archivist/librarian. My fellow librarians have a wealth of knowledge and could most likely resolve your questions.
Local History librarians/archivists in your area would be a good bet.
My husband was a street photographer during those years and I have many of those pictures / memories . I would like the world to see them ❤️
Paul kagen?