The Tape Measure 1975:

Downtown Los Angeles. Ron Gallela was the first and more infamous American paparazzi, but also a very funny, nice man who befriended me as a young photographer, willing to share advice and photo ops. He recently had been dragged through a large and expensive legal battle in New York with former first lady Jackie Onassis. He passionately made it his job to photograph her every day. He would wait at her 5th Ave apartment and follow her into Central Park for her daily stroll. Jackie and the Secret Service won a lawsuit that slapped a restraining order that basically said that he could continue to photograph her in public places, but must stay at least 25' from her or could be jailed. Jackie O made a rare trip to Los Angeles to attend a charity party at the Music Center. We followed her to her limo because the inside photos were boring. Ron could not contain himself and, making sure he was not violating the court order, pulled from his camera bag a rather large tape measure that read "Ron, Keep Your Distance 25." This became one of my most valuable exclusive shots that was published everywhere. When Jackie passed away, "Time" magazine ran this photograph inside their cover story. I still speak to Ron from time to time and we often laugh about this photograph.