(Testimony of Lyndal L. Shaneyfelt)
Mr. Shaneyfelt.
Yes.
Mr. Eisenberg.
And that again the similarity in retouching to the upper right of Oswald's shoulder and head might be coincidental?
Mr. Shaneyfelt.
Yes; actually, there is considerable difference in the retouching in that area on the New York Times photograph as compared to the Newsweek and Detroit Free Press exhibits. The New York Times has attempted to make it appear as a wall, whereas the other two have merely airbrushed out the line, and it looks like foliage.
Mr. Eisenberg.
The stock in all three of these photographs, that is, Detroit Free Press, Newsweek, and New York Times, has also been retouched in a similar manner, that is, so that the top of the stock appears straight, whereas actually the top of the stock is curved--is that correct?
Mr. Shaneyfelt.
That is correct.
Mr. Eisenberg.
What do you think accounts for the coincidence of the retouching in these two areas--that is, the top of the stock and the area to the upper right of Oswald's shoulder--given the differences you have noted in the details of retouching?
Mr. Shaneyfelt.
I would attribute that to a lack of detail in the photographs that they had, and a lack of understanding of the formation of a normal rifle stock on the part of the retoucher.
Mr. Eisenberg.
Now, Mr. Shaneyfelt, I hand you the front page of the New York Journal-American, issue of February 18, 1964, which again contains a photograph similar to those you have been discussing, and which I have labeled Shaneyfelt Exhibit No. 7, and ask you whether you have examined that photograph?
Mr. Shaneyfelt.
Yes; I have.
Mr. Eisenberg.
What is your conclusion?
Mr. Shaneyfelt.
It is my conclusion that this photograph is the same in all visible characteristics as the photograph which is Commission Exhibit No. 133-A, and I found no differences that' would suggest that it is other than the same photograph. However, because of the lack of detail in the reproduction on Exhibit No. 7, it is not possible to positively identify it as the same photograph.
Mr. Eisenberg.
IS retouching apparent in this photograph, Mr. Shaneyfelt?
Mr. Shaneyfelt.
Yes; it is.
Mr. Eisenberg.
Could you describe that in detail?
Mr. Shaneyfelt.
Yes; there has been retouching along the right shoulder of Oswald, and to some degrade around the head, in order to have the head and shoulder not blend into the background. This appears to have been done by increasing the highlight or lightening the highlight along the shoulder, rather than darkening the background.
There is a highlight added along the top of the rifle stock that runs quite straight toward the bolt, but it is not as strong a highlight as in the other reproductions we have discussed. There is a highlight along the top of the rifle between Oswald's left hand and the point where the rifle passes his left shoulder. There is a suggestion of some retouching around the rifle scope, which is almost lost in the detail or almost lost against the black shirt, but it is barely visible. There is a dark shadow that appears in Commission Exhibit No. 133-A that has been retouched out of Exhibit No. 7 reproduction, that shadow being about halfway between the knee and the crotch of the trousers between the legs. Those are the primary points of retouching.
Mr. Eisenberg.
Which of the various photographs which you have examined does this Journal-American photograph most resemble, Mr. Shaneyfelt?
Mr. Shaneyfelt.
The Journal-American photograph reproduction on Exhibit No. 7 is different from the Detroit Free Press, Exhibit No. 4, Newsweek, Exhibit No. 5, and New York Times, Exhibit No. 6, in that the white spots along the right leg between the ankle and the knee do not appear in the reproduction in the Journal-American. It very closely corresponds to the reproduction on the front of the Life magazine, which is Shaneyfelt Exhibit No. 2. In fact, the retouching appears to be very nearly the same. The lack of detail in the Newspaper reproduction on Exhibit No. 7 precludes positively saying that it is identical, but it is my feeling that it is probably identical.
Mr. Eisenberg.
Could you point out some of the similarities in retouching?
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