[2] Kilpatrick began work as a photographer for the Santa Ana Register in 1948, documenting grand openings, parades, and many other official photo opportunities.
However, he is best known for his photos taken for insurance evidence including documenting car crashes for the California Highway Patrol.
[4] Kilpatrick's unique perspective on death with his photography innovation caught the attention of Walt Disney.
Such work by Kilpatrick had been unseen for decades after his death until his granddaughter Carlene Thie, of Ape Pen Publishing,[7] found surviving photos and negatives of his work, including early car crash scenes of Anaheim and Disneyland construction through opening day, and up until close to his death.
Thie has published five books that present Kilpatrick's lost work titled, A Photographer's Life with Disneyland Under Construction,[8] Disney Early Years Through the Eye of a Photographer,[9] Disney Years Seen Through a Photographer's Lens,[10] Disneyland the Beginning,[11] and Homecoming Destination DisneylandWhich was handed out to the press on the 50Th Anniversary of the park..[12] Ten years after, Thie's last book publication featuring Kilpatrick's photos of Disneyland, the Orangewood Album was found.
An interesting find of the Orangewood Album is the discovery of two children, a young boy and girl, visiting the park months before Sybil Stanton and Bill Krauch.