James Moore and John Duddy got together with their good friend Lou Dibella at B.B. King’s the other night. The two great Irish boxers were there to support Seanie Monaghan, who won a unanimous decision. A good time was had by all.
©MMXI Joe DiMaggio
As some of you may or may not know, I was born and raised in Greenwich Village, New York, bouncing between 63 Carmine Street and 101 St. Luke’s Place. It was the DiMaggio’s side of the family and the Pennino side of the family. It wasn’t until 5 years ago that I discovered my grandmother and her sister worked at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. She was 16 years old and her sister was 14. On March 25 1911, the most devastating industrial disaster. Both my grandmother and my aunt made it out safely. 146 women and children did not make it out. As a photographer, every time I photograph my grandmother, there was something that was deep and troubling in her eyes. She had a beautiful smile, but that smile was always accompanied by the troubled eyes. I love my grandmother. It was unnerving to me. I never knew what she went through. She must have been terrified her whole life by that ordeal.
“The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city of New York and resulted in the fourth highest loss of life from an industrial accident in U.S. history. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers, who either died from the fire or jumped to their deaths. Most of the victims were recent Jewish and Italian immigrant women aged sixteen to twenty-three;[1][2][3] the oldest victim was 48, the youngest were two fourteen-year-old girls.[4] Many of the workers could not escape the burning building because the managers had locked the doors to the stairwells and exits. People jumped from the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factorysafety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, which fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire
Thanks to everyone – it was a fun day. Thanks, JoeD, for the great workshop, and thanks Dylan, Larry and Monica, for all that you contribute to making these photo workshops possible.
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| ©Ann Raine |
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| ©Rhonda Griscti |
Thanks for a great day. I learned so much and I have about 100 photos that I really like from the day. Below are a couple of my favorites.
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| ©Rhonda Griscti |
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| ©Rhonda Griscti |
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| ©Rhonda Griscti |
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| ©Rhonda Griscti |
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| ©Rhonda Griscti |
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| ©Rhonda Griscti |
Thanks again for a wonderful workshop and learning experience. It was truly a good day and being surrounded by talented individuals made it even better! I truly appreciate the clear cut way you spoke about photography, techniques, and stressing how everyone should be having fun. I’m very glad to have taken part of the Dumbo workshop and will look forward to future workshops with you.
Angelica Y. Criscuolo
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| ©Stephen Wakschal |
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| ©Stephen Wakschal |
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| ©Stephen Wakschal |
“There was a time in my photographic career,” says veteran freelancer Joe DiMaggio, “when I had 30 or 40 different filters in various sizes. In those days, there were several types of black-and-white film, and two or three color films that often needed a little more pop.
“With the advent of digital, I found myself asking who needs filters anymore — especially with Photoshop? Like many other things I’ve done over the years, if I wait long enough, I’ll prove myself wrong. Turns out that my filters are often the difference between success and frustration.
“The reality is that I now actively and exclusively use what I feel are the best filters available: Singh-Ray. My relationship with Singh-Ray goes back to 1974 when I purchased my first filter to correct my underwater housing, and it worked very well. I’ve found Singh-Ray filters to be expertly crafted, and all their designs are definitely outside-the-box. Each one has a specific application. You may not need them all. For that matter, I may not need them all, but there are several I find absolutely essential. TheLB Color Intensifier is number one. Another is the Singh-Ray Gold-N-Blue Polarizer. Since the arrival of DSLR video, the Gold-N-Blue is drop-dead great. Anybody who follows my work knows that I like long exposures, very long exposures. So, the next favorite filter in my camera bag is the Vari-NDvariable neutral density filter. And I’ve also got to mention my trusty LB Polarizer.
“This Hobie Catamaran photograph above was done with a Singh-Ray polarizing filter — and Kodachrome 25 film — a few years before the ‘lighter, brighter’ version came out. The polarizer really helped me cut glare to get all the color that Kodachrome was famous for. It was taken from the top mast on a Hobie 16. Living on the sea afforded me a window of Northport Harbor. Watching the boats pass by was like a ballet of color and contrast. I made friends with one of the captains and photographed from one boat to another, but I was soon looking for a different perspective. I tried to talk one of the catamaran captains into modifying his boat for my photo. He was interested in seeing the photograph, but had no interest at all in modifying his boat. So to solve my problem, I went out and bought a brand new Hobie 16, drilled a hole in the top of the mast and mounted my camera to the mast and used a radio control tripping device. To tell the truth, John Zimmerman from Life Magazine did a photograph of a docked sailboat from the Bosen’s chair, which I always admired. His image intrigued me but I wanted to add color and motion to my version. In the final analysis, we have to thank all great photographers for the inspiration they provide us to make our own images.
“I used my ColorCombo for this image of my puppy, Ace. He’s also a big fan of my filters — he likes to lick them… although I’m pretty sure that’s not the recommended cleaning method.”
Although Joe and his partner JoAnne Kalish are based in New York and the Upper Delaware Valley, they travel the globe on various photo projects and assignments as well as operate the DiMaggio/Kalish Learning Center. To learn more about their many workshops and special events, you can visit their website.
When I started my blog, it was done for only good purposes. Where I could impart some of my photographic expertise to my fellow photographers. The blog was never designed to be an obituary or take on a persona of a bully pulpit. Unfortunately, several very dear friends and loved ones have passed in the last 2 years, and they need to be remembered. The social networks are designed as tools to communicate your ideas, your beliefs, your likes and your dislikes. There is no doubt in my mind that I am at least 10 years behind the curve. But that’s okay. We all can’t be visionaries. I’d like to tell you a little story about someone who, in my opinion, is a brilliant marketer who has learned how to manipulate public relations and genuinely knows how to control the social media. I receive a minimum of 1 email every 10 days or so from him, wanting to show me his new products, his new designs, and his wonderful products. He wanted me to be his friend on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Buzz, Twitter, and email marketing utilizing ReachMail. There is no doubt in my mind that this individual believes that he is a visionary and a renaissance man. And that he’s doing great work for his clients or customers. When you really get down to it, Scott Jordan, CEO and founder of ScotteVest, is in the service business. At least, that is the impression he gives you. Unfortunately, this is where Scott Jordan comes apart at the seams-a lot like his products. If it’s one thing I’ve learned in over 4 decades as a photographer-filmaker (yes I’m in the service-oriented business), nothing is perfect. So when a client of mine is unhappy with my work, you can rest assured I am extremely unhappy. At this point, there is no right or wrong. Without any hesitation, my unhappy client is made happy again. If it requires a re-shoot at my expense, so be it. Whatever is necessary, I will do. Virtually no questions asked. That’s my job. Mr. Jordan says he does the same thing. In reality, he does not. He explained to me that he would be very happy to give me a refund on my vest as long as I didn’t take the tags off of it. Well, I’m too old to run around New York City with 3 tags hanging off my new ScotteVest. Mr. Jordan doesn’t have to live up to my expectations of how business should be done. I’m not so naive to believe that anybody should be held accountable to what I believe in. But for God sakes, stop sending me these damn emails! No, I don’t want to be your friend, and I don’t want to Twitter you. And considering you come off as a friend of the environment with American products, somebody needs to remind you-plastic is not a good thing. And your plastic cards in every pocket is detrimental to the environment. Do you think one card made out of biodegradable material would suffice? Or maybe you could have a free envelope and mail them back to you so you could send them out again. Not very practical, but it sure as hell would help out the post office. You also leave something out of your brilliant marketing, your excellent overall advertising, your extremely slick expensive heavy-duty four color brochure, and all of your social media- you don’t tell people about your washing instructions. And what you can and can’t do with the zippers. Until, of course, they’ve taken the labels off your particular product. When push comes to shove, I guess it’s my fault. Every once and a while you forget the old adage: Buyer Beware. Mr. Jordan, in my humble opinion, you make garbage. I happen to be in a major department store. Saw a vest for 19 dollars. Bought it as a throw-away. It is 20 times better product than your vest. Just my opinion. To all the ships at sea, Buyer Beware!
Over the years, I’ve read hundreds and hundreds of books, but I’ve only read three cover-to-cover in one sitting. The first was To Kill the Potempkin and Mexico Bente Uno, both written by Mark Joseph. The third was Joe DiMaggio: The Long Vigil, written by Jerome Charyn. Someone once asked me how I could tell a great photograph, and I said to them it’s when I bite my bottom lip and under my breath I scream “I wish I made that photo!” That’s how I feel about Jerome’s latest book. I wish he wrote this book 30 years ago. It would have really helped me understand Joe DiMaggio the Yankee clipper as applicable to my relationship with him as a photographer and member of the press. I found myself screaming “Oh My God I understand now!” Hell, if Joe D. was alive today, he’d understand himself a whole lot better! (A quick antidote- I was photographing a Gerry Cooney fight in San Fransisco for Sports Illustrated and somewhere around 3 o’clock in the afternoon in an almost totally empty cow palace. DiMaggio walked in ringside, sat down in his seat alone. I was approximately 40 feet away setting up a remote camera. I looked over, smiled, no particular response. I went back to where my camera bag was, took out a 300 mm 2.8 lens, focused on a chair near DiMaggio, flipped it to a vertical, looked over the lens before I moved it, glanced at DiMaggio-we made eye contact- and I made 3 frames. Before my finger hit the shutter release to make the 4th, DiMaggio, without saying a word, mouthed “THAT’S ENOUGH”. It might as well have been an earthquake.) Mr. Charyn, thank you so much for clearing this up for me. You have written one hell of a great book. I’m going to buy a dozen copies as gifts.
Joe D.
Joe DiMaggio 