For over 40 years I have been doing portfolios of beautiful women and publishing over hundreds of them I have this massive collection of proofs only because I was in the business I have about 1500 original prints an over 40,000 negatives probably one of the largest collections in the world i’m not talking about all the women I photographed with the digital camera in night clubs the last 20 years of that I’m talking about film I decided to revamp my website that you’re on right now I had it for almost 20 years going to be putting up some great images and then every couple days throw in a group of what I think beautiful women I’m tired of the suspensions on Facebook especially this one for a month now
Being in the right place at the right time I became a photojournalist within two weeks
Did you ever see the movie Scarface with Al Pacino you know the Tony Montana guy Well in 1980 I was in the right place at the right time two blocks from my grandfather’s bar in Key West was the US Naval base that’s where all those family members and criminals came in I was very fortunate to be one of the photographers at the Key West Citizen newspaper I was the photographer assigned to photograph all the refugees and the chaos going on there, the way it was Castro would give you one of your relatives but you had to take 10 mentally ill or criminals out of the hospitals an prisons some very wealthy families in Miami we’re paying major bucks to make the boatlift to Cuba not only did I publish 17 photos 10 of them front page I also sold some of them to other newspapers around the country, while I was doing all that some very wealthy Cubans got in touch with me to get some boats this photo right here was one of my front page images I learned a trick these refugees coming across the Florida streets we’re dying for a cigarette so I would bring a couple packs with me sometime actually throw it on the boat before it even tied up I got an a little trouble for that stunt anyway it was an amazing two months for me made a lot of cash brought me to the level of a real photo journalist Key West the way it was
One of my favorite portraits of the captain
Between my great uncle Sal and myself we have taken hundreds of portraits of Captain Tony that Sals little brother and my grandfather We both knew one day Captain Tony might become famous he also loved getting his picture taken this is one of my favorite images that Sal took in New York City mid 70s midtown Manhattan, Captain Tony has no shoes on, back in the hippy days The 60s my grandfather hardly ever wore shoes you would see him a lot walking around his bar in Key West with no shoes on it all started on his fishing boats he fished Cuban style with a hand line the line is always laying on the deck and you have to feel it with your feet If you use that style, you catch a lot more fish hand lining than a rod and reel have to be barefooted I figure I’ll give you that little piece of history that’s how Ernest Hemingway the old man and the sea fished
New Jersey wasn’t just the garden state
New Jersey is a little state but we are known for a lot of cool things first of all we are the garden state best tomatoes, corn, egg plants and cranberries in the country and as far as Italians I have to admit were the coolest Italians I’m sure a lot of people will argue that, But one thing you can’t argue back in the 80s jersey had 203 strip clubs and over 4000 dancers no stare had that many, Florida was close but jersey definitely gets the award I know better than anybody because I was the photographer for the only Go Go magazine in the country at the time mentertainment we actually had two magazines one in New York and one in Jersey we even had one magazine that went to every strip club in America every four months the other magazines were monthly in a three-year-period I published over 1200 dancers with releases also did over 150 portfolios of exotic women, I even supplied Howard some with some Snapple girls I was so well known I was contacted by CNBC to be on the Bob Berkowitz show Real personal that went national I was a smash hit And then at the end of my run and career I was contacted by showtime to talk about some type of interview, At that time I was out of the business and was in a relationship an my first son was on the way so I declined this photo right here was at a place called centerfolds they would always have a little beauty contest there every Wednesday The customers got to judge and we gave away free magazine and T-shirts I did these contests in a lot of clubs in New York also
50 years ago I finally got to meet my grandfather Captain Tony
Captain Tony’s saloon Key West Florida 50 years ago, I remember quite well I was 13 years old and I finally got to meet my wild crazy grandfather that I heard about my whole childhood he used to send me lots of cool stuff to New Jersey shark jaws, cannonballs, some bayonets, and really cool photos I would always show my friends these incredible photos of my grandfathers 60 foot fishing boats the bar and him with giant fish and sexy women I had to meet this guy anyway my dad took us on vacation there what a experience I got to meet my third grandmother and his beautiful stepdaughter’s went out fishing And snorkeling, one night we all went out to dinner the captain took us and he brought some hot blonde date Stacy after dinner we stopped by his bar he hand a acid rock band perform on stage all the bartenders had little T-shirts on with his face on it with no bras after that whole experience I know were I was gonna move when I turned 18 I ended up moving there when I was 20 the rise and fall of Keith west be very careful speeding in the fast lane with no seatbelts on
A 100% must read
One of my favorite original negatives and photo for many reasons, sometime a photo can tell 1000 stories, This one right here 5000 stores first of all the year 1942 its the beginning of World War II that’s my father and his little sister Tonia 78 years ago walking down the street The street there is Elizabeth Avenue The big building in the background is the union county courthouse I know that place a little too well, if you look on the far right on this image you’ll see a barbershop and a gangster type looking guy in front, that barbershop was actually One of the biggest boogie joints In New Jersey Henny Lasals Great uncle Lou worked there as a barber and bedding consultant ha ha and right down the street was one of great uncle Sal’s photo mask studios it was hidden from the public because the police were not fond of great uncle Sal being gay and making Bazaar masks and the hypnotizing of people an reading there minds didn’t help oh one more thing that camera shop on the right upstairs Sal got all his printing paper, chemicals an film, Captain Tony and Sal were silent partners in the business, This is a great example how one photo could tell a story
Party like a rockstar
40 years ago in 1979 Key West had this great new wave rock ‘n’ roll band, they played some great original music that they wrote and did a lot of the talking heads, Ramones, the clash, and Devo we had them during season for two years six nights a week from nine at night to 3 o’clock in the morning beside me taking this photo for the Key West Citizen newspaper I became the bands manager one summer I booked us a bunch of gigs in Fort Lauderdale The button, the new wave lounge, and Summers three great clubs it’s funny my grandfather’s bar was so popular all I had to was tell the other bars in Fort Lauderdale that they were my house band and I’m Tony’s grandson these clubs were very big they paid us a lot of money and put us up in hotels I got to party like a rockstar for a month and a half another one of my adventures miss those guys
I can still do a good job photographing sunsets even with an iPhone
Last month lisa and I went on a little trip to Saint Pete’s Florida that’s on the West Coast Hotels were so cheap One night about an hour before sunset we made a bunch of really great margaritas and jumped in the pool after that we decided to go for a walk on the beach and watch the sunset Big ceremony there that’s what’s great about the West Coast of Florida incredible sunsets my first Roll of film I shot 42 years ago was the famous Key West sunset I sold and published many of those images even did two posters so anyway I see the sun going down I see people on the jetties pull out my iPhone even though I had my big camera with me and took this image I love it
The Kodak frozen moment
He or she was about 6 foot four I was on Canal Street it was pouring out I was going for the Kodak frozen moment when the fill flash went off this giant person said what the fuck are you doing usually I have a quick response for some reason I froze up because this person was closing up their umbrella and then all of a sudden he says can I see the photoI I said sure She liked the photo very much I gave him my card and said just call my cell I’ll send it to you Usually when somebody wants to see the picture I’ve taken at times they try to snatch the camera or knock it out of my hand but everything went well
Saw Heidi a couple times a week for over a year
We had a store right next to Parsons school of design 40th and 7th Ave., Heidi Klun was working out of there for a year since that was my spot where I photographed from I got To take a lot of photos of her I even got to photograph a couple of those runway shows in there Directly across the street Al Sharpton was always in some type of meeting Have a Lotta pictures of him he’s not very photogenic