Category Archives: Joe DiMaggio

Simon Says

Posted by Joe DiMaggio on

While recuperating from my bilateral duel hip surgery, I was visited by friends – Monica Cipnic (which we will talk about at length in another post) and a shortly after Simon Jacob. Simon is an amazing man. He’s not only a world class business man but also has one of the most beautiful families I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. From his amazing wife, Barrie, to all of his lovely children. It’s all good. In Simon’s case, it’s all great. He took time out of his very busy schedule to come visit me twice. We spent 10 great days in Israel with Simon and we’ll be going back this December. Remember – what Simon says, you better do. That’s me trying to be funny again. For the record, this is the 4th photograph I’ve taken with my phone but I always forget the area code.

Phone? Camera? Phone? Camera?

Posted by Joe DiMaggio on

You have to know that most people do not want to go to the hospital and visit. Let’s be honest, there isn’t a whole lot you can do or say and most people would rather be having a cup of coffee or maybe a Jameson’s straight up. Hell, maybe they would rather be sparing 2-3 rounds with somebody, but nobody really wants to go to the hospital. What a pleasant surprise when my dear friend James Moore showed up and stayed for an hour. Everyone in the rehab gym wanted to meet James so we went down and introduced him. James is not only a great fighter and a great husband but he is one of those genuine people who really cares about his friends. He’s going to make history on June 5 in Yankee Stadium. There hasn’t been a fight held there since 1976. James will have a 10 round fight with Pawel Wolak. He’ll be leaving Brooklyn for his Pocono training camp and he will be coming to Chez DiMaggio for at least one dinner. It’s going to be a tough fight but if James fights his fight, I think he’s going to be victorious. When he digs in a right hand to the body, my teeth shake and I’m 15 feet away. He’s very strong and tough and he’s got a heart of gold. Good Luck James.

Bob Mladinich

Posted by Joe DiMaggio on

Bob was not only a great New York City Gold Shield detective, a great writer, author of several books, but he’s now a T.V. star. On Sunday night, he was on the one hour special with Paula Zahn- check it out on the internet. On top of everything else, he’s a sweetheart. I also forgot to mention, he did two other one hour specials with Paula Zahn. Bob is also a great aficionado of boxing and has written scores of great boxing articles. Bob was also extremely gracious to come and visit me at Hospital for Special Surgery. On top of everything else he’s a mensch.





Why Will Yuri Foreman Win on June 5, 2010?

Posted by Joe DiMaggio on

I make it a practice of never gambling on boxing matches or horse races for that matter. I try not to predict winners, it’s just not what I do. With this upcoming WBA Junior Welterweight Fight, it’s simple and straight forward; Yuri Foreman is bigger, stronger, faster, moves better left, right, back, and forward. He is never a stationary target and is always a moving offense. I forgot something- he’s probably the most dedicated trained fighter I’ve ever seen. I believe he will win convincingly. I hope for the safety of both fighters, it’s a great fight, and no one gets hurt.





© Joe DiMaggio
Tech Information: 24-70 mm @24 ISO 50, 30th of a second, F/8
tweak down strobe light 3/4 stop



© Joe DiMaggio
Tech Information: Yuri Foreman Shadow Boxing 24-20mm f/2.8 ISO 50
1,000th of a second at f/2.8 approximately 80mm

Hello To All the Ships at Sea

Posted by Joe DiMaggio on

How many of you have had a bad day? How many of you have had a bad day turn into a rotten day? About 24 hours ago, I was having one of those days, then my cell phone rang. A voice on the other end said, “I’m sitting at the Sea of Galilei watching the sunset and I thought of your smile and I had to call you, my brother.” The phone call came from my brother Amir Orly. It was Amir’s birthday and of course I forgot to call him but he knew that I needed his smiling face to make a bad day magnificent- and thats what happened, it turned out to be a great day.


My brother Amir and his lovely wife, Hannah
Photos © JoAnne Kalish


Boom Boom Mancini- One More Time From the Top

Posted by Joe DiMaggio on

I guess it was Yogi Berra who first said, “deja vu all over again.” My last shoot before I went in for my double hip replacement was with my dear friend, Angelo Dundee. As we were doing our huggy kissy goodbye he mentioned another old friend, Ray Mancini. I asked how Boom Boom was doing. He told me he was out in California and he was doing great. I had a nice talk with him on the phone today. He not only looks great, he sounds great, it’s all good. We talked about possibly putting a project together. Nothing would please me more than to work on a creative project with someone like Boom Boom whose been in the trenches and knows what its all about. I genuinely believe in timing and karma and this may be a great time and great karma to team up with an old friend, whose still pretty young. Joe D

Another Great Group

Posted by Joe DiMaggio on

©JoAnne Kalish

Under normal circumstances, I never worry about a lecture or giving a workshop. I think it comes pretty natural to me. The level of pain was off the chart but I had agreed to do this workshop a year ago and I come from a school of “if you give your word, you better deliver the goods”. Dylan, who is usually much tougher than I am and tends to be not only hard on me but hard on himself and doesn’t give a whole lot of compliments, said it was a great workshop. And you know what? He was right. Not because of what I did, but because of the participants. You guys. You made it great. Great questions. I learned a lot from you and you know what, you made the pain bearable. I was interviewed today for a magazine article and I started by saying that I am the luckiest guy in the world. It’s not only my friends and family and my photography but it’s because of people like you who make it worthwhile, and I’d like to thank you. And while I’m at it I’d like to thank JoAnne Kalish for coming out of a warm bed at 3:45A.M. and Dylan and of course Monica; she’s the power behind the throne, she works extremely hard and never fails to get the job done. Keep Shooting.

























©JoAnne Kalish

Kayaking With Murphy

Posted by Joe DiMaggio on

©Joe DiMaggio

You would think after several decades of making photographs there would be no surprises, but the greatest thing about photography is that there’s always a surprise. You can pre plan everything to the final millimeter, you can pick the perfect day for light, you can have the best athletes or models, but invariably something will come up and will bite you on the –whatever. This is a perfect example, of Murphy rearing his ugly head. We planned this shoot several months ago waiting for the right rain conditions so we could make great photographs on the upper portions of the Raymondskill Creek. Cue the cameras! Cue the kayakers, let’s go! But Murphy cued three logs that broke loose and were blocking the creek. Ya can’t kayak over a log, and you can’t kayak through a log, so we went to plan B. Plan B was a 44 foot drop. To put that into perspective, that s a 4 story building straight down. The problem with the shot is the extreme heavy mist. It was like putting a Tupperware cap over your lens. The front element of the lens was absolutely soaking wet all the time and as we all know, anything put in front of a lens will degrade the image. I was shooting with the Sigma 150-500 and I didn’t have the underwater version- OK that’s me trying to be funny again. One of the keys in photography is your ability to be flexible, when you don’t get what you want- you gotta get something. We hiked up one more mile to a tributary and were able to get a 30 foot drop shot with the 24-70 Sigma. ISO and exposure are approximately the same; the difference would be considerably less mist. Keep on shooting, it’s all good. Next time I see you- I’ll have a brand new set of wheels- half titanium and half ceramic. Next workshop is Brooklyn Bridge in Gleason’s on April 25, 2010.

Joe D


©Joe DiMaggio

Ann Raine the Great

Posted by Joe DiMaggio on

As a photographer and a film maker, I have the ultimate obligation to make my clients happy. They pay me and they expect to get what they want, when they want it, and how they want it. That’s my job and I do the best possible job I can do. Of course, you always try to push the envelope or think out of the box, all of those cliches, which I interpret as putting a little of your own style into the visual medium. As a mentor and a teacher, I feel the same obligation. I take it very seriously and sometimes I go back to the studio and I wonder, “Did I do a good job, did they get it, were they able to make a better photograph?” Sometimes you know, sometimes you don’t. In every workshop there are a few photographers that shine brighter than the rest. They’re not necessarily the best photographers, but they put forth one hell of an effort. Ann Raine is a California girl who’s been transplanted to the East Coast. She loves Arabian horses and she loves photography. Attached you’ll find three of her photos and a link to several more. I’d like to thank Ann for the kind words. She motivates me to do a better job. As the truth be known, I constantly learn from the students. The student becomes the teacher, and the teacher becomes the student.

Photos ©Ann Raine

“I’ve attended numerous photo-walk workshops with Joe DiMaggio over the last several years, and I keep returning for a number of reasons: Great mentoring, interesting photographic venues, but most importantly, every time I participate in one of these day-long events, I feel a freedom to experiment, a license to open up and go-for-it (photographically speaking.) I am not as concerned about getting every photo perfect as I am in pushing the limits of my skill and knowledge, by practicing and experimenting to ultimately get the great photo!”
– Ann Raine