3 Things I Learned from The Photojournalism of Del Hall

One of the pleasures of working for a university press is the perpetual discovery of pockets of knowledge that I never knew existed before. The Photojournalism of Del Hall is a passion project for geographer Richard Campanella, who found himself entranced by Hall’s stories of growing up in New Orleans, the son of a Mexican immigrant, and ultimately becoming a pioneer in the world of photojournalism.

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In addition to being an absolutely gorgeous collection of photos covering five decades of American history, The Photojournalism of Del Hall taught me plenty about

Civil Rights Protestors Weren’t the Only Ones Arrested in Sit-Ins

Woolworth’s and other major establishments were pressured into changing their segregationist policies by teams of black activists staging sit-ins. Arrests on charges of disturbing the peace were common. As Campanella reveals, one of the things that deeply worried the management at Woolworth’s was the presence of TV media. Del Hall and his fellow cameraman Roddy Mims were arrested at a 1961 sit-in that spanned several shops along Canal Street. They were charged with “disturbing the peace by creating a scene” and even blamed by one police officer for the protestors’ presence at the stores.

Neither Mims nor Del Hall was convicted. Participants in the sit-ins were, and often served jail time, as well as facing job loss, death threats, and other forms of retaliation from the community.

Del Hall Worked on a CBS Series Inspired by John Steinbeck

As a poodle owner myself, I’ve always been fond of John Steinbeck’s book Travels with Charley, which details a cross-country road trip Steinbeck took with his standard poodle, Charley. Charles Kuralt hired Del Hall for his famed CBS series On the Road, which was inspired by John Steinbeck’s travelogue.

Filming “On the Road” with Charles Kuralt. Del films from top of ladder while Kuralt walks by below. Del Hall Collection / CBS News

Del Hall’s work on On the Road would earn him an Emmy for Best Cinematography for News and Documentary Programming, in 1974.

Del Hall Low-Key Set Michael Jordan’s House on Fire

Okay, he didn’t set the house all the way on fire, but the lighting set-up was so hot that it melted parts of a plastic doorframe in Michael Jordan’s Chicago mansion. As you would probably expect, Michael Jordan was very cool about it.

Michael Jordan demonstrates a slam dunk for 60 Minutes’s Diane Sawyer. Del Hall Collection / Del Hall Video

Over the course of his career, Del filmed celebrities from the Beatles (he sat down at Ringo’s drumset!) to the Dalai Lama, but throughout his career he maintained a quiet presence and courtesy. When he stopped by the LSU Press office in the run-up to this book’s publication, he posed and photographed each of the staff members he met, although a lot of us are rather camera-shy. You’ll have to live without those photographs, though! Instead, buy this gorgeous book at 30% off at our website, and take home a piece of American history.