THERE COMES A TIME…

Posted by Joe DiMaggio on May 1, 2025

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.

The Tomcat

Posted by Joe DiMaggio on August 14, 2012

There are rules, and there are new rules. The new rule is to never look backwards, instead always look forwards. I’m starting to get it; it takes a while but no one ever said I was a fast learner. While searching the archives for my new book, I stumbled across a story I did for Time Magazine on the last F-14 Tomcat that was to be built. The story was very important to me, but I had no idea how important it would actually be. I absolutely fell in love with the Tomcat. I believe the basic design was done in 1966 and it’s been improved upon and modified scores of times ever since. When you talk to pilots about two planes, their eyes will light up; one of those planes is the P-51, and the other the Tomcat. I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing Chuck Yeager at the Reno Air Races and he watched me climbing out of the P-51 Precious Metal. Without me asking a question, he smiled and said “You know what I like about that damn plane? You can fly it 300 feet off the ground, hit the stick and make a hard left around a barn. With these damn new planes, if you want to do that you’ve got to fly to a different state before you can make a left”. We both laughed. I will follow up on Precious Metal next week. To all the ships at sea, let’s go out and make some photos. Check out my Adorama TV show.

http://youtu.be/7DjOy2hN5NI

http://youtu.be/H48CJGZXijo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3YFNXjr-5M&feature=plcp

Photo above: Canon film camera; yes, I don’t remember which one, 14mm lens, on top of a cherry picker, ASA (ISO) 64, 1/15 of a second, at 2.8

Photo below: Canon camera, 300 2.8 lens, ISO 64, 1/100 of a second, at 2.8

2012 Olympics

Posted by Joe DiMaggio on July 7, 2012

To all the ships at sea; still working on the book, looking for photographs of the Olympic trials. This photo was done for Time Magazine, doesn’t really need a caption. Shot with a Canon f1 EOS-1N, 180mm lens, 1/200th of a second, at 2.8 kodachrome 64.

Adorama Inaugural Street Fair

Posted by Joe DiMaggio on June 13, 2011

My dear friend Monica Cipnic asked me if I would come and do a few programs for the Adorama Inaugural Street Fair. My answer was, “Of course!” She put me in contact with Brian Green, who is Vice President of Marketing. Two phone calls, one email, and we were ready to go. To say the program was successful is really an understatement. They had over 9,000 attendees and it was a great cross-section of photographers, beginners to well-seasoned pros. And the bottom line is: It was a lot of fun. I managed to squeeze in 3 separate programs, and from the response on Facebook, that was pretty successful. (Notice how I’m throwing around all those high-tech, modern things like “Facebook”? You didn’t think I knew what that was, did you? If it’s good enough for Lady Gaga and President Obama, who am I to say it’s not cool?) Hopefully, this will be just the first of many. Thank the powers that be for the opportunity.

Joe DiMaggio