To all the ships at Sea,

My partner and my son decided they have to have iPhones.  I tried to resist strongly for a while but figured if they had to have one there was something to it.  It was something I just did not want to do, but figured maybe I was behind the times.

Our son insisted that my iPhone be encased in a heavy duty Otter box case because I am sometimes tough on my phone. I guess that was a good thing because yesterday I went to physical therapy for almost two hours then came back and decided to take me best friend Ace for a three mile walk. Getting into the car I decided to take his bell off, but my hands were full so I placed my iPhone on the roof of the car. I drove the four and half miles home, went in, and went back to the studio for some editing work. Dylan was just back for a visit after  being out at sea for a month filming tuna fishing. He took the car downtown to get the mail, I didn’t think anything of it but he was gone for an hour and a half. He walked in and said something to the effect that there was a minor problem with an iPhone.  Told him that if he broke his company iPhone I was not going to replace it (he has the iPhone 4). He then began to tell me on his trip back he heard a scratching sound and then a thump, the phone hit one of the struts on the roof rack before it decided to fly out at 60mph on route six. My son looked into the rear view mirror when he hit the bump and he saw the phone hit the pavement and preceded to do a Nascar tumble, all this time I’m thinking its his phone, and I’m not happy. Then he informed me it was my phone. He handed back to me a phone without a mark on it, the case was a little chewed up but it worked perfectly. It wouldn’t allow me to make any phone calls but with ATT that was normal.

If you are crazy enough to buy an iPhone I strongly suggest you buy an Otter box case. By the way I’ve dropped it three or four times without any problems. What the hell does this have to do with photography? You forgot my iPhone is a camera. Next week I’ll tell you a story about a Nikon F, Yankee  Stadium and a Volkswagen. The Otter box case is drop dead stupendous, it is more than enough protection I will ever need to protect my iPhone camera.

Signing off,
-Joe DiMaggio

As most of you know I  had bilateral hip surgery late April. I’ve just been informed that I have graduated from my physical therapy. I have been taking physical therapy at the Drayer physical therapy institute.

Dear Mr. Drayer:
I’ve just been handed a patient satisfactory survey. In filling it out I realized that I would be unable to tell you how I feel about your company. I think it needed more of a letter. In the past 30 plus years, as an internationally known photographer and filmmaker, I’ve had the pleasure to work with several Fortune 500 companies- IBM, Apple, ATT etc.

Let me get to the point, I judge a corporation not by its logo, color scheme or proximity to a major road. The most important thing is service and people. You’re a lucky man. every person that i have ever dealt with at Drayer has been 100% helpful and wonderful. what you have are great people and that’s what makes a great company.  the interesting part to me, is NO not in their vocabulary from the Senior PT gentleman Chris Ferlo, to the young female receptionist.

If you were a public company I’d buy your stock. I presume their passion and their understanding must come from the top man at the company and that’s you.

Sincerely ,
Joe DiMaggio

Just to bring everything full circle Chris has offered me a health maintenance program which I jumped at, so my relationship with Drayer will continue for a long time.
Great people, great leadership, great attitudes. WHAT A PLEASURE ITS ALL GOOD.

A photographer has to have some basic fundamental skills in lighting, composition, impact, structure and dynamics that all come down to visual literacy. The other thing a photographer has to have is a great personality and he has to understand and emphasize with the people he is photographing. For the most part you become an amateur psychologist. The personnel at Drayer have a wonderful understanding of the individual problems that people go through not only physically but mentally. The key with my family at Drayer is they genuinely care, they understand and they’re there for me. They’re there for the high school student who hurt their ankle the senior citizen who broke a hip, the police officer who dislocated his shoulder.

The reality is they are really amazing people who are motivated to help people. You just couldn’t get a better group. Thank you to the crew; Chris, Nancy, Christina, Ryan, Penny, Toni, Tracey, Carol, Jess, Stacy, Connie, Danielle, Chrissy, Jean, Scott, Kevin, Dale, Laura, Denise.

You guys are great,
-Joe DiMaggio

I was driving back from a gig in Montauk Point at 1 AM and heard two back to back songs from Patty Smith. It kinda blew me away and got me thinking. I photographed them several times, but of course that was film. Trying to find the negatives was not going to be easy. My filing system leaves a little bit to be desired, okay it leaves a lot to be desired. I did come across a work print, which i put in my Epson scanner. I’ll continue to look for the negative. I guess this is Joe D. just reminiscing. But that is not a bad.TRIX at 1200, 85mm 1.2 500 of a second at 1.4. That’s it. Signing off Joe D.

The combination of severe backlight, high key, and a half to three quarters of overexposure will give you some very dynamic photographs. It is simple, straight forward, and works all the time. I was finishing up a three mile walk with my puppy and I stumbled across this American Flag blowing in the wind. There are a few variations here. The lead shot is my favorite. They were done with a 17 to 50, 2.8 Sigma lens. At the end of a fall day the sky was gray. By blowing it out, we now have a white sky. Cropping in the camera is mandatory, moving it as close to possible and cutting down the air space between flag and lens is also critical. Have fun with the shutter speed. You could also fill it with flash. It’s a fun little project.

I love simple, probably because I’m not that complicated. On my first trip to Japan, I was working on a extensive essay with and extremely bright anthropologist. The articles that we did turned into a small book. We went up North of Tokyo about 150 kilometers to experience a Japanese tea ceremony/ Tea House, and also a Japanese garden. I was very taken with the fact that the garden, approximately 150ft long by 70ft wide, had three rocks and a bed of pebbles. After spending the better part of 45 minutes I finally got with the program, I figured out that within the simplicity of this garden was complication. It is all about allowing your mind to be part of the artwork, because that is true art. The experience drastically changed my attitude towards simplicity in my photography, and film making. Granted, there are times that my photos do not meet those standards, not because I haven’t tried, they just didn’t work out. The photo above is a photo that is specifically taken for me. I was thinking about that Japanese garden when I made the photograph. Tune in next week for Patty Smith. Signing off, Joe D.

Good friends try to keep their requests for assistance down to a minimum. Every time I’ve asked Bert Sugar for a favor, he’s always come across. There is an old italian word for bert. He’s a real “Mench” You can tell how good my Italian is. Bert joined me and Dylan yesterday as Gleasons Gym to interview Oscar De La Hoya. Bert being the profesional that he is, made a few executive decisions. We managed to get through the day unscathed and with all of the information we needed for our film “In This Corner”. Oh my God, that’s the name of the blog! What a coincidence! As day was winding into early evening, Bert wanted to go for a cocktail. Anyone who knows Bert, has to get used to three things; his fedora, his cigar, and his double Chivas Regal neat. I’m pretty sure that’s scotch whiskey! So we left Gleason’s and strolled over to a lovely little wine bar, 7 Old Fulton. It was way to early for dinner, and way to late for lunch. It was perfect timing for us to kick back and exchange war stories. Bert just returned from Miami, where he helped our mutual friend Angelo Dundee re-open the 5th Street Gym, after having been closed for 17 years. Boxing is coming back to Miami in a big way.The principles at the restaurant were of Italian heritage from Triest. The decor was beautiful, the food spectacular, and a genuine warm place to go with some friends  for a cocktail and dinner. I affectionally call Bert the “Bertster”, and he calls me Uncle Joe (don’t ask.) It was a great day, a hell of a lotta fun. That’s it, Signing off. – Joe D.