You’ll Never Know?

© Joe DiMaggio

© Joe DiMaggio

While teaching a class that started at Grand Central Station and ended at Times Square I had one camera and one lens, a 16-35. Did not imagine I’d be doing any portraits. Even though the 16-35 is not a portrait lens, this is an environmental portrait of a gentleman from London. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

© Joe DiMaggio

© Joe DiMaggio

20×30 Adoramapix

Over the years I’ve had two major printers. One was Par Excellence in Shreveport Louisiana, the other was Ken Leiberman in New York. There is no doubt Ken was and still is a great printer. If you’re going to have a show at MOMA, or a San Francisco gallery, he may be your choice. Par Excellence is unfortunately out of business. My partner and best friend JoAnne Kalish is a master printer “and one hell of a great photographer,” she produces some impeccable  “Giclee” prints to die for.  As great as they are they just are not a photographic process per se. Without telling JoAnne, I made 60-20×30’s, and 12-16×20’s. They are awesome and if you would like to come by our Learning Center to look at them, make an appointment and I will gladly show them to you. The key is – the blacks are black, the white are white, and the skin tone is dead on, it does not get any better then that. Info on this photo is, Shutter Speed-1/10 second, Lens-100 mm macro, ISO speed-50 and it was taken on the new Manfrotto carbon fiber tripod 190cxpro3.

There are no miserable days, there are only great photographic opportunities

©Dylan DiMaggio

Well here we are, the day after a very cold, windy, torrential rainy, Joe DiMaggio workshop with and international cast of players. With all of the adversity and all the logistical problems, I think my students kicked ass and took names. As we were starting to peel off in the early evening, someone thanked me for conducting a great workshop but I said without their participation, there is no workshop. My job is to motivate and inspire but the student is the person who does execution of the visual literacy which will result in a strong photograph. It was a small intimate group of 15. Thanks to the FDNY Firehouse Engine 205 & Ladder 118, one of the oldest fire departments in Brooklyn allowed us to not only do a photographic tour and environmental portraits but they were kind enough to have a real fire call so we all got a very up close and personal look at what these great people do to protect our lives, family and property. As some of my close friends know, I lost two firemen friends in 9/11, Terrence Farrell and Doug Miller. Many thanks to my partner JoAnne Kalish, Dylan DiMaggio, Larry Malang and of course Monica Cipnic.