Approximately 25 years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting an extremely bright, young man who was working for a dear friend of mine, Peter Poremba, who was the CEO of DynaLite. His name is Jason Etzel. Jason is now one of the super heavy-weights for Sony Cameras. When you need information on a Sony, Jason is the man to go to. For anybody who doesn’t know, I took my first snapshot at age 7, I’ve been making snapshots and, occasionally, a good photograph, for the last half century. Unfortunately, Jasons dad passed away on the 24th of April. I never had the pleasure of meeting Frank, but all indications show that he was one hell of a great guy. Jason adopted his dads dog. The following is a text I received from Jason this morning.
“Tristan passed away after a rough night on my lap this morning. Felt his head go limp, then the breathing slower, and his heart stop beating on my leg.
In many ways, it was the best way something like this could happen. No frantic car rides, no anxiety for him going into the vet … my father is looking out for him now”
I have to tell you, I really got choked up. This is the way life goes. My philosophy is that life is not a rehearsal, you only have one shot at it, so you better make it count.
On my way home from Manhattan the other evening, I took a few photographs, which I’d like to share with you. It’s with my new Sony camera and the new Sony 135-1.8.
I don’t remember who the writer was who said you can never go home again. Whoever wrote it was certainly right. I was born and bred in the West Village on 63 Carmine street. At the ripe old age of four, I went to NYU for the first time to see my father graduate. This was of course, after he served 4 years in the U. S. Army Air Force as a waist gunner on b-17 flying fortress. With the combination of “the rent being too high” and 9/11, JoAnne and I made a decision to no longer keep our studio space full time in Manhattan. I must say, we still consider ourselves NYC photographers as it was our original base.
We have a dear friend who is an entertainer by the name of Ronny Whyte who was playing at Pangea in New York this past Wednesday and we decided to go in to see him perform. I took advantage of the time there to revisit my old neighborhood and take some of the rust off my street photography. Twenty five years ago, I was quite good at street photography – not sure I am anymore! If you don’t use it – you lose it! Washington Square really did not change much since I was there last. Great music, people playing sports, lovers and families, dogs and people of all ages just enjoying being outdoors. On our way to the East Village we bumped into the NYU Stern business school’s pro Palestinian demonstration. My blog is not about politics. Did I say that? I’m pro Israel and at the same time I’m not against Palestine and I’m certainly anti-Hamas! For all the years I’ve been to Israel my brothers and sisters would say they are all cousins and I sometimes can’t tell them apart. However, the terrorists are different! Over many years of being a photojournalist, I’ve only been stopped maybe 3 or 4 times either by security, the military, or the police. I’ve never once been stopped by a 19 or 20 year old child who got in my face on a New York City sidewalk which is known as a public conveyance. If you’re on the sidewalk you may be photographed for better or worse. If I was to photograph someone and was invading their personal space I would stop. However, it was funny because these people were demonstrating but yet did not want to be photographed? To have some little shit challenge me was unacceptable by anyone’s standards. We stared at each other for maybe 2 minutes and with his mask on, I could only see his eyes. There was no doubt he was not Palestinian or an Israeli! He probably was not an NYU student or for that matter not even American! I decided not to cause a riot at my father’s former alma mater. I believe in the first amendment of free speech and believe I also have a right to make photographs. A half block away there were three police officers and a Sergeant. I asked the Sergeant his thoughts about me making a photograph on the street and he said of course it was okay. I casually mentioned the fact that I was blocked by their umbrellas several times. The Sergeant offered to escort me back to make some photos. At that point I said no. We spoke for 5 minutes. The irony was the Sergeant happened to be a muslim Arab. There is no doubt, my father is rolling over in his grave. My dad had a doctorate degree. If he was there and that piece of shit blocked him or got in his face, I’m pretty sure he would have bitch slapped him and God knows what would have happened after that. I guess I did not inherit all my fathers nerve and we’re living in a different time. I’m sharing some photos of my day. It’s been a while since I posted a blog.
Later in the evening we enjoyed listening to Ronny Whyte along with the two talented musician who accompanied him. It was also good getting together at the club with friends Steve, Mary, Diane, Quinn, and Errol. Ronny is a great entertainer. An added bonus all around Pangea was to seeing so many framed beautiful Alan Kaplan pastels adorning the walls.
Circa 1972. There was a small group of photographers in New York City that came together and were not only competitors but friends. Both JoAnne and I met Melchior at a New York Ranger Hockey Game. Suffice to say, Melchior was a world- class hockey photographer. JoAnne and I were just starting out our photographic careers as a team together. Melchior was an extremely generous person. If a younger photographer had questions Melchior would go out of his way to share experience, in this particular case with ice hockey. His eye-hand coordination in the days of single punch photography was again world class. When we moved into motor driven cameras his work only got better. In our business he was known as an under shooter Three periods of hockey, each period 20 minutes and by that, what I mean is every frame counted. He did not waste film. His career spanned over a half century. He was a gem during the Golden Age of Photography.
Both JoAnne and I were honored to call Melchior a friend. He went onto being one of the greatest tennis, rugby and overall sports photographers. Once he put his mind to doing something he did it amazingly well. The photographic community has lost a great photographer and a generous contributor.
The average person who knew Alan Kaplan from the many get-togethers parties etc, knew him as a photographer and artist who was married to a beautiful crazy lady by the name of Wendy and also had a lovely daughter by the name of Kyle, although I did not know her well.
Anybody in the professional New York Photographic Community knew Alan as a World Class Photographer and Painter who traveled the world recording amazing images and making films. When I think of f Alan Kaplan I think of him as the “Johnny Cash” of NYC photography. The man in black was a very low key, soft spoken guy who seemed to never raise his voice, not break a sweat, or get pissed off (or you did not know if he did). All and all he was quite the visionary! In the business he was known as a minimalistic and laid back image-maker. In the past 15 years, we’ve had hundreds of conversations on how we should save the world with our art. Rest assured Alan will be painting and photographing on another level of consciousness and will be kicking ass and taking names – but quietly. Unlike some of his contemporaries who are loud, boisterous, nasty and egotistical, Alan was the exact opposite. His talent was what it was all about. He let his talent speak for itself. He did not need to tell anyone how great he was.
I spoke to Alan for a short time last week and only sorry to not have spoke to him longer. Alan, God Bless you and thanks for leaving that signature Alan Kaplan body of work behind for all of us to remember you by. Hope to see you on the other side. By the way say hello to Peter B for me.
Approximately 91 years ago Mr. & Mrs Menscher brought into this world someone I called “Stan the Man.”
Over my career, I’ve had people who became mentors to me and became close friends who have helped me in many ways. You might say, I’ve been a lucky son-of-a-bitch! A long time ago I met Stanley. Stanley was what I would call a visionary. He was up there in my book as being one of the finest advertising photographers in NYC. He had clients like General Motors, RJ R Nabisco, Burger King, IBM and the list went on. He was a master of large, medium, and 35mm format photography not to mention 16mm film. Stan was the second Instructor hired to teach the Nikon Photo Workshop. He was a great teacher, motivator, great husband, father, and a wonderful friend. When it came to the computer and putting multimedia shows together he was far ahead of his time. Stanley would put together 26 projector shows, using two rear screens, and the shows were unbelieavable. Stanley’s heart was full of love and caring for his fellow human being. The only thing I held against him was, he never smoked or drank. That’s me trying to be funny.! He and his lovely wife Kathrin would come visit JoAnne and myself maybe twice a year and we’d always have a great time. I went to see him last year and it was obvious he was not feeling well.
I’ve attached this short funny video I did when we were together last. Stanley Video I want to say, Stanley thank you for the help you gave me and for the help you gave so many other photographers over the years. You were light years ahead of us all! I will always consider you a true visionary and a beautiful human being. We last spoke at Christmas. Kathrin called and told me that you had moved onto another level of consciousness. She said you had no pain and that you went peacefully in your sleep. Rest in peace Stanley. Several friends of yours shed some tears. Love you Joe D
Last September Ace, our Springer Spaniel of 15.5 years old, passed away. Months later, JoAnne would be still on the couch at 9:00PM checking her emails and she’d break into tears. She missed Ace. I called in some serious favors and Charlie, a world class English Springer Spaniel, appeared on our doorstep at about four months old.
Charlie is the fastest Springer we’ve ever had, and we’ve had quite a few Springers, She has blinding speed, and unbelievable agility. She flies from one couch to the next couch then over the coffee table and then and over my head, flies over the other couch again and lands on the floor of the dining room. She then makes a severe right hand turn into the kitchen, crashing into the storm door, and will turn around and do it again. That is when she’s in her wild and crazy, I want to play mood! You really can’t make this up! She is certifiable crazy. The breeder where Charlie came from won West Minster three times in the past 30 years. Charlie is royalty. I was told “the dog will love you, be your best friend, go hunting (if you want to go hunting) or can be a show dog if you want her to. You’ve got an amazingly great dog!” “However, she has a little attitude (maybe because she’s so smart).” “Charlie will look you in the eye from time to time and give you a look that says, “What’s in it for me?” Believe me I have gotten that look a few times since she’s arrived!
Given my cancer regime, I usually get up at 4:30-4:45, so I walk Charlie first thing in the morning. Then Charlie expects breakfast at exactly 6:00 or she gives me the stink eye! This is the equivalent of putting her paws on her hips and saying “Can we move this along now!” You get the feeling that Charlie is training me, I’m not training Charlie. Well, yesterday, I was running a little late, say 5:20, I got the treats in my left hand and the strap to put on Charlie. I cracked the door open with my foot a little too wide and Charlie exploded past me, she went out to the front of the driveway, squatted down and did a little pee, she looked to the left, the right, and saw a deer. She took off like a rocket ship. Keeping in mind, I’m not exactly, as light of foot as I was when I played college football, but I still move pretty well. I semi-chased after Charlie yelling her name and clapping my hands as she went through the neighbors yard, the next neighbors yard, and kept going. Keep in mind that if anything happens to Charlie, I’m a dead man! Thats not a joke, JoAnne will kill me! I’m chasing her and I realize that I need to go on a diagonal to cut her off. As I crossed the road carrying her red strap and her treats it dawned on me that I was in my underwear. Now granted, I no longer live in Greenwich Village, New York (where you could walk around in your underwear and nobody will say much!) But in Pennsylvania someone might get a 12 gauge and blow a hole in my ass! Screaming before 6 o’clock on a Sunday morning, my voice echos off the charts! What do I do? Charlie is not allowed to cross the road and she’s crossed it twice. She starts running the opposite direction and I try to cut her off before I realize this isn’t working. I put my hands down and I start walking back to our home. I look, I yell Charlie for the last time and Charlie runs straight at me. She comes right up to me, stops, sits down, and Charlie is waiting for her treat. My first reaction is to strangle Charlie, we dont have to worry about that because Charlie gave me the look…What’s in it for me?” and took off again. I make my way to the front door, threw the strap down, got ready to sit down on the front stairs, and Charlie comes by and goes into the house like she did nothing wrong. Now there’s an old saying, “if I’m lying, I’m dying.” I ain’t lying! To show that I was very upset I refused to make eye contact with her and ignored her for the next 24 hours. Well that was a mistake. Charlie just doesn’t give a shit! I’m the one who needs to go to a psychiatrist and find out what’s wrong with me? Attached you’ll find a few frames of our Charlie Girl.
To all the ships at sea, approximately two months ago I did a program at B&H Photography called all things in photography are a compromise. The one thing I would like to make perfectly clear; that is not an excuse for me not to do my best. For that matter, it should not be an excuse for anyone to not do their best. Sometimes your best isn’t really up to code. Attached to this blog is a link to a short film on the great, beautiful, Pete Seeger. It was a work in progress and it was never designed to be published in its present format, but given the fact that Pete has moved to the next level of consciousness, please forgive my one-handed blind shooting. No, I did not intentionally cut his head off but the real sin is the microphone was not tweaked as it should have been. Translated: I had no assistant, no sound man, no PA, and no tripod. However, none of those things are an excuse. https://vimeo.com/85390064
A People to People Photo Expedition: Cuba from Miami January 14 to 21, 2014 with the Center for Cuban Studies, Photographers Joe DiMaggio & JoAnne Kalish and in Cuba, Photographer Rolando Pujól Please contact me for additional information.
Hi to All the Ships at Sea,
Let’s see if I got this right-I don’t like Photoshop, right? Right. I don’t like software where you can manipulate images…right? Right. I believe everything should be done in the camera…right? Right. Never crop, right? Right. Less is more, right? Right. Digital will be just like 8-tracks, it’ll never last. So let’s check out the reality, I guess it’s impossible to be right all the time.
The photograph of this young lady catching a cod-fish off the coast of Prince Edward Island, up until today, was flat, muddy, indistinguishable and almost two stops under. There’s a technical term in photography for a photo like this…it’s blank blank blank blank. Well through a little bit of work in Photoshop and NIK software it came alive. The young lady’s name is JoAnne Kalish.
For veteran New York photographer Joe DiMaggio, July 4th remains a time for gratitude. “I am one of the luckiest people in the world. Many of my friends are artists, whether they be painters, writers, poets, musicians photographers or what have you. What’s the term that is used- starving artists? Every once in a while, I tend to complain and moan about the state of the union. Several friends have reminded me if you don’t like the state of the union you can go somewhere else. To be honest, I’ve been lucky enough to travel around the world a couple of times. Every once in a while, I remember to get on bended knee and kiss the ground as I’m fortunate enough to live in the greatest country in the world. Think about it…
“The photograph of the model’s hand was a silhouette done on a transparent white background with 4 electronic flashes on the white background. The photo was originally done on Kodachrome 25 with the Singh-Ray UV Filter. The film was rewound and reloaded back into the camera and a 2nd front lit image of an American Flag with a fan blowing on it was shot over the silhouette. The original photo had no help from photoshop because it was actually done before photoshop existed. Well what do you know — this older image has just been selected as a magazine cover and the client asked that the transparent white background be changed to blue as it would not work well with their logo. Hmm, have we heard this before? My photoshop skills are minimal at best and I intentionally keep it that way. Twelve to fourteen hours a day is enough work. An assistant gave me a hand and we dropped the blue into the background for the client.
“This second photo was inspired as I was splitting wood for my fireplace and saw the inside grain of one particular piece of wood. I picked up a my EOS 5D Mark III, 100mm Macro with the Singh Ray Hi-Lux filter and made several frames. I then shot one of my small American Flags and my assistant was kind enough to blend them together.”
Joe DiMaggio 