HBO | Joe DiMaggio

There comes a point in your life or career that you tend to analyze what you’re doing and how you’re doing it.

I’ve learned after my 65th birthday, that some of my decisions are not always right. What I’m about to say is my opinion, not fact. Most friends and clients love me as long as I say yes. When I say no that’s when the shit hits the fan! A whole genre of people really get pissed at me. Obviously, nobody wants to alienate friends, family, or clients. However there comes a time, when you have to stand on your own two feet and say what you believe and yes, that’s when the shit hits! It was pretty obvious to me when I left Sports Illustrated, Time Magazine, and HBO. Actually, I was black-listed after I refused to sign their digital contract giving them all rights to my work.

I am going to ask 12 people to be part of a focus group to listen to what I have to say and then give me their opinion, whether it be good, bad or indifferent on a certain matter. For purposes of this blog I won’t mention names. The reason I’ve not written anything in a while is because I’ve been locked into a project which has taken 8 months and left me bloody. The great news – the client loved it and better than that they paid for it! I also had a slight problem on Christmas eve when I got bumped by a moving vehicle. I’m still rehabbing my ribs and shoulder.

To all the ships at sea, working photographers make photographs for many reasons. One of the number one reasons is money, and it’s not a great motivator. Once every four, five, or six years, you have an opportunity to meet not only a great and powerful person, but a genuinely beautiful human being and you’re asked to do an environmental portrait. In this particular case, that person was Vito Russo. In my opinion, he was possibly the most powerful person on the planet, when it came to being an advocate not only for gay rights, but for pushing the envelope to seek a cure for the dreaded HIV/AIDS. I would love to tell you that we were extremely close friends, but that would be a gross exaggeration. I met him two or three times before I photographed him, and as with all great relationships, my love for him was predicated on respect. Last night at about 10:30, with my eyes starting to drip blood as I was editing 80 gigs of video (throwing out the unacceptable footage), I turned the TV on and there was Vito. Somewhere towards the middle of the documentary, up popped one of the 300 photos I had taken of him over the years. As a filmmaker, I was extremely proud that they held that photo and then zoomed in, and for HBO it was shown for an eternity. Then again, they used it at the end of the piece. Twenty-four years ago, the last thing I remember is Vito and I in a warm embrace at the end of the shoot. Photography is more important than money; it’s history, visual literacy that will not allow us to forget. Sometimes, even I forget the power and beauty of a still photograph.

Joe DiMaggio

Tag Archives: HBO

THERE COMES A TIME…

Vito Russo 1946-1990