Del Hall stands as one of the few journalists able to chart their careers through the milestones and icons of the late twentieth century – the civil rights movement, Vatican II, the Beatles’ arrival in the United States, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, the1968 Chicago Riots, the Vietnam War, the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall. Hall’s humble beginnings on the gritty downtown streets of Depression-era New Orleans proved an ample launching pad for a six-decade profession documenting key moments in world affairs, all while staying ahead of the many technological shifts that revolutionized news media.
With the aid of previously unpublished photographs and stills, critically acclaimed geographer and author Richard Campanella turns the focus around to the Emmy Award–winning photojournalist and presents the life of a quiet observer who captured critical episodes in American history. From Hall’s start in New Orleans at WWL-TV covering lunch-counter sit-ins and the integration of schools in the Ninth Ward to his lauded work for CBS News, filming Walter Cronkite, 60 Minutes, and Charles Kuralt, Campanella commemorates Hall’s remarkable contributions to journalism as the field expanded from print to television.
This visually captivating and lively biography follows Hall as he is chased by the Ku Klux Klan, shot at by the Viet Cong, journeys to Moscow to cover President Nixon’s historic visit, and almost dies in a helicopter crash at the America’s Cup race. Campanella traces the life of a tireless documentarian and pioneer who not only photographed history as it happened, but also filmed one of the first full-color TV documentaries and redefined nonlinear computerized editing.
The Photojournalism of Del Hall: New Orleans and Beyond, 1950s–2000s serves as a testament to the immense impact of the oft-overlooked and uncredited role of the cameraman, rightfully placing Del Hall in the vanguard of the profession.
