Category Archives: portraiture

Pete Seeger

Posted by Joe DiMaggio on

© Joe DiMaggio

Last night I was pleasantly surprised to see my old friend Pete Seeger looking young and vibrant. I met Pete for the first time in 66— oops, I’m only 29— somebody’s not telling the truth. There is an expression that is overused, and that expression is “he or she is one-of-a -kind.” Let me be perfectly clear; there is only one Pete Seeger, and there will never be a second. He is truly one of the greatest human beings God put on this earth. At 93, he sounds like he’s 53.

To all the ships at sea, get a glass of wine, a beer, or cup of coffee, and sit down and listen to a a little bit of Pete Seeger’s music. By the way, he’s got a new book coming out and I certainly will be purchasing one

© Joe DiMaggio

© JoAnne Kalish

Hannah

Posted by Joe DiMaggio on

© Joe DiMaggio

I had an opportunity to photograph Paul Newman six or seven times. One of the most beautiful things about Paul is he was a regular guy. He rolled up his sleeves (sometimes a sleeveless T-shirt), got dirt under his fingernails, and treated everyone as if they were his equal. Not pretentious, not a superstar (but of course he was!). In an impromptu environmental portrait I asked him why he was so comfortable in front of the lens; whether it was film, or film. He said to me when he was making a photograph, he tried to put the person at ease by saying “You’re beautiful, and you’re as pretty as you feel”. Please understand I didn’t tape record the conversation, so obviously, I’m leaving a few things out. He then said to me “Sometimes the camera falls in love with the person you’re photographing, and you cannot make a mistake. If the camera loves you, it’s all good”. Hannah is obviously no Paul Newman, but the camera loves her. I always remember that I am not the most important part of the photo; it’s all about the person you’re photographing, both their inner beauty and their outer persona.

Equipment used: Canon 7D camera, 24/105 zoom 100 macro lens, Dynalite 500 watt second Powerpack, studio head rhyme light, octagon modifier, Dynalite bare bulb, two silver reflectors, and a Manfrotto air lightstand.

ISO 100, 1/200th of a second, f8.

Use it or Lose it!

Posted by Joe DiMaggio on

One of the biggest complaints JoAnne and I hear from amateurs and pros is that they have nothing to photograph. When I hear that sometimes my jaw clenches, and if I’m not careful, I could break a tooth. The reality is you could spend half a lifetime in your backyard and never make the same photograph twice. Let’s beat up two more cliches, Practice makes perfect. The other complaint I hear is that, “I don’t have enough time in the day to make great photos.” My answer is, MAKE THE TIME! One of my students, Larry Malang, asked if I would do his portrait for his webpage. Of course I would be happy to do his portrait for a $1500 sitting fee. Larry thought that was fair. We spent about 20 minutes in the studio, had several usable frames. Oops! I don’t mean frames I mean digital images. Sometimes I fall back to  ASA. Okay, I know it’s ISO. One of the reasons I jumped at this photographic opportunity is because he is an extremely bright and creative gentleman. He has been reincarnated several times. I find his face and his intensity charming. Larry, the check is in the mail right?