Autographs obtained on photographs that YOU have taken.
PipestonePete
Posts: 1,940 ✭✭✭✭✭
I have to believe that there are members of the Collectors Universe Autographs Forum who have taken their own photographs of celebrities, sports stars, newsmaker, etc. and then had them signed by that personality. I thought it might be fun to see what some of those successes have been.
The first photograph that I have posted is an image that I took at a Minnesota Twins vs. Chicago White Sox game which was played on June 26, 1977. There were many notable events which occurred in this game including it being the largest regular season home crowd in Metropolitan Stadium history, Rod Carew raising his batting average to over .400, a final score of 19-12 in favor of the hometown Twins, and other highlights. This game has gone down in Minnesota Twins lore and can be reviewed in the article attached here https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/june-26-1977-adams-8-rbis-carews-5-runs-lead-twins-slugfest I happened to attend that game and was seated in the upper-deck out in left field. It was a hot sunny Sunday afternoon and the crowd was into this game right from the opening pitch. One fan, apparently not too happy with his assigned seat (and certainly having enjoyed one too many beverages) decided to climb the left-field foul pole. He was eventually talked down from the pole and immediately taken away in handcuffs. I took a photograph of the kid perched on that pole and often wondered over the years who he might be. About a month ago, a buddy of mine who attended the game with me emailed me with a link to a Facebook story about the young man on the foul pole. The story was posted by non-other than the perp himself! I was able to message him on FB and share my photograph and memories of that game. I had several 8x 10 prints made for him to sign and provided a 16 X 20 of the photograph for him to keep (for his man cave or trophy room). It was almost shocking to finally find out (more than 42 years after taking the photograph!) who that person was that I had photographed back in the summer of 1977.
Also surprising, that young man grew up to be one of the most respected sports historians in the state of Minnesota having authored numerous books on sports history as well as being affiliated with the Twins and Timberwolves as an official scorer and online gamecaster and other sporting achievements. 
This second photo is of Barry Gibb. Photo taken at the Bee Gees concert on December 10, 1976, at the Omaha Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska.
Comments
Great thread, and great pictures.
For the past few presidential elections I would travel to New Hampshire where you can meet all (most) of the candidates as NH has the first primary and they all go there to meet the voters in hopes of getting an early win that will propel them to the next rounds of primaries.
I have a nice pic of Mitt Romney that I took that I had printed out and I took it to an event the next day where he signed it. I also have several pics of me with various candidates which they signed.
Would like to see some of those, JBK. Your reply did remind me that I have several photos that I took at some TwinsFests over the years of Minnesota Twins ballplayers that I have sent out and had signed.
Here is my 2012 Mitt Romney photo. I liked it because of all the photographers in the background pointed in my direction.
Here is a photo I took at another Romney rally in a high school gymnasium. NH Senator Kelly Ayotte and SC Governor Nikki Haley were there to support him.
I angled for a shot that included those two and part of the sign painted on the wall behind them that included the word "champions". I subsequently had it signed through the mail. (Sorry for the messy effort to obscure my name).
I really like the Romney photo. And that second photo shows some pretty nice composition.
Thx! It took me a little time and effort to get an angle where the ladies were lined up nicely under the sign.
Here is a photograph I took at Space Center Houston in the mid-90's. Later I sent it to then Senator John Glenn who graciously sent it back:
Those types of photos are the best - unique for sure.
What is this photo of? Is it a rack of uniforms?
P.S. - John Glenn was a great singer, and almost always inscribed the recipient's first name.
Hi @JBK - it was indeed a rack of uniforms on wheels - I think they are lab coats. It was so long ago but I distinctly remember seeing them lined up with the NASA logo and American flag on the shoulders that I was compelled to snap the picture. I’ve still got the negative somewhere and I should dig it out to make more prints and see whom else I can get to sign.
Love your pics too and that one of the guy sitting up in the foul pole with the great story by @PipestonePete is pretty awesome too.
-d
My family was fortunate enough to meet legendary astronaut James Lovell at a fly-in breakfast in June, 1998. He graciously posed for a picture with my son and then signed it for him when I mailed the picture
out to him.
That's great!
Here is a photo I took at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a recent visit.
This is at the entrance and it was really tough to get this photo without anyone standing in front of the NASA globe. I basically had to get in the line that had formed and then when my turn came I had to shoo away other people long enough to get the photo (you can see some shadows of the other people).
Off to the left is a photo and quote from JFK, engraved on the granite wall. I was able to get most of his image while still getting the globe and rocket in the background.
This particular print is 5x7 and is signed by Space Shuttle commander Bob Crippen. I have other prints in different sizes out to other astronauts as well.
Very nice photo. You did a great job capturing all those things in one shot!
Here is another very welcome recent TTM success: Apollo 13 Commander James Lovell on one of my photos.
He stopped signing a few years ago so I took a chance with a 4x6 inch print (only 12 cents at Walmart). I might try again with an 8x10.
Wow...I didn't think Jim signed at all anymore. It's all in the timing, I guess. Kudos!!
I am convinced that sometimes timing or a change in the "guard" (caretaker, family member in charge, etc.) can open a window of opportunity, whether it is brief or more prolonged.
In other cases, I think less-obvious requests/envelopes can slip through the net. I once sent a couple quotes printed on index cards to Frank Borman long after he stopped signing TTM, but he signed them for me. The envelope I sent to him looked like a normal letter.
Way back when Col. Borman was signing for a fee (which he donated to his church) I sent him to glossy Earthrise photos and requested that he write out the quote from Genesis. He graciously honored that request. This is one of my favorite autograph successes although I was convinced to sell it several years later...a action I have regretted ever since.
At least you still have a picture of it. Sadly the only autograph I truly regret selling I do NOT have a picture of, a Ruth Bader Ginsburg signed Supreme Court Chambers Card.
Awesome autograph and inscription. I bet there are not many, if any, others like that out there.
Yes, that Borman photo is incredible. I'm sure it's a showpiece in someone's collection.
It's the kind of thing someone would sell reproductions of.
Here's another one of my NASA photos (cropped differently) that I sent to baseball player Bill Lee.
Due to his oddball antics he earned the nickname "Spaceman", which he apparently does not exactly embrace.
For some years now he has signed autographs as Bill Lee and added "Earth" along with the year.
I sent him this photo to see if he'd have a sense of humor and sign it. He did, and in a big way. He signed as "Bill Spaceman Lee" and added "Earth 2022" and drew an arrow toward the ground.
Not familiar with him but still cool and great that he had a a sense of humor to it.
I sent him a request in 1997 and he added "Earth" to it, also. I read his book "The Wrong Stuff" and howled thru half of it, he's very funny.
On another site where people list their TTM successes it shows that the Jim Lovell window is now apparently closed.
He apparently started signing for a couple months and then stopped again sometime this month.
I wonder if someone went on vacation or changed their routine temporarily, but in any case we are back to "return to sender".
I was going to send an 8x10 of my NASA photo but I guess i won't waste the postage. I'm glad I atleast got what I did.
Today I received back in the mail a couple 5x7s signed by Dick Rutan. I took this photo of the Voyager mockup that is on display at SEA-TAC Airport in Seattle (the original is in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum).
He signed both photos and on one of them he circled a wingtip. This is a reference to the original Voyager, which lost a wingtip on takeoff for the round-the-world flight in 1986. Fuel was stored in the wings and the extra weight cause the wingtips to drag on the runway.
During a trip to Kennedy Space Center earlier in the year I took photos of some of the plaques I'm the Astronaut Hall of Fame.
4x6 format worked out best for prints, and I sent several out. These came back recently.
Very nice! Thanks for sharing