I have been a very lucky successful photographer for over 40 years I worked for a couple of bikini companies, three different modeling agencies in Manhattan and to put the cherry on the cake I published over 1200 exotic dancers in the late 80s in three different magazines I also had two studios at that time This photo right here means a lot not only because I was living with Miss Lisa Jo Burke on the left In Key West for two years The crazy thing is we didn’t see each other for 37 years after we broke up we ran into each other on Facebook after one week of talking we both realized we made a big mistake for decades ago we figure we better catch up on lost time we got married four months later it’s never too late to live happily ever after This was one of my first model Published Photos Key West 1980
This is my mask room where I do most of my thinking writing And posting there’s 35 packed in boxes that I take out once in a while I switch them with the ones on the wall most of these are 2 foot tall and were made in the late 40s they weigh about 10 pounds the really large ones are throughout our house those are massive the big masks have some crazy special ingredients in their papier-mâché mix pyramid scrapings from Egypt, Real authentication voodoo dust, And some crazy secret potions from around the world Definitely don’t fuck with them they’re over 80 years old and have been used in all of Sal‘s mask photography Studios as far back as the mid-30s I also had them in my studios in the last 20 years there is also a cool collection of masks that you could wear with their mouth cut out you could see one of them in the middle of these masks they were used in Cuba Indonesia And above Captain Tony’s saloon in the 60s if these mass could talk Tennessee Williams and Shel Silver
of you stay on this category you’re going to go through a incredible visual journey There over 900 images with some pretty wild stories it spans over a 90 year. My great uncle Sal opened up his first studio in 1929 and was published until his death in 1995 I myself have been a published Photographer since the late 70s not your normal photographs trust me, and if he didn’t know it or not that famous grandfather of mine Captain Tony was taking pictures in Key West from the late 40s through the 80s That’s a picture of him right there that Sal took in 1934 My grandfather was only 18 right there and already working for the mafia and doing all kind of crimes he eventually fled to Key West and became famous and then the mayor there is a great family history on this category as you go through it It is a totally new style a viewing our family history it’s an art project still in the works I post every night we have a half 1 million images between all three of us enjoy
I’m sure you all heard of the Sopranos a incredible series on HBO it was filmed in Elizabeth and Newark New Jersey that’s where my family is from there was always lots of rumors flying around that my grandfather Captain Tony and his father my great grandfather Luigi Where in the Mob as far back as the mid-20s, well it was true it’s been published in people magazine the New York Times My grandfather’s book and his movie this photo right here was taken by my great uncle Sal at a club called the Coral Lounge A notorious mob joint Pretty much the same bar in Goodfellas the difference with this bar my great uncle Sal was a piano player there and did his mind reader act, his name was actually in neon out in front of the club for years and he had his own little private photography studio in the basement he also did private readings and lots of other things down there my grandfather the captain played many card games upstairs as you continue on this category you’re going to see a l
In the late 70s And early 80s I got very lucky and got a job with the Key West Citizen newspaper as A photographer One of my first big assignments was covering the largest drug seizure in South Florida 200 tons of panama red I also covered the Cuban boat, On top of that I was working for Kennedy Studios publishing a lot of Framed photos and posters they had nine locations throughout the country and the Bahamas I was rolling In the peak of all that I had to leave Key West kind of get out of Dodge anyway 40 years later Lisa and I Took a vacation to longboat key on the West Coast of Florida I wanted to see if I still had it so I took to sunset picture
Since the family has over 90 years of photography that means close to half of 1 million Images Lots of large format negatives glass slides digital chips and 35 mm black and white color negatives I could post five images a night for the rest of my life so I decided to post over 900 of our images on this category with cool stories like this image right here Sal took it in the mid-60s in Chinatown in New York it was in front of one of those Chinese mob joints that were working with the Italians I cropped this image out of a large format negative that’s one of uncle Joey‘s Italian buddies with the hat on
This is not one of my professional photos but it means so much over 40 years ago Lisa and I lived together in Key West for two years Some pretty wild times be very careful speeding in the fast lane with no seatbelts on anyway after not Seeing her for 37 years we met on Facebook realized the first two weeks of communicating we made a big mistake we have been married now for four years it’s never too late to live happily ever after We have been writing a hell of a book together with some pretty cool photos Lisa was a super hot model back in the late 70s and 80s you’ll see some images as you go through this category
You have entered a amazing category on this website There’s over 900 images with some really cool stories, I have been working on this art project for a long time it is still an art project in the works it coversover 90 years of three different photographers but all related Sal, Keith and the famous Captain Tony from Key West these Theses right here most were taken in Sal‘s mask photography studio above the bar from the mid 60s through the late 70s there’s some pictures of me when I had my portfolio done there 45 years ago some of the other ones are from 50 years ago there was more Parties some crazy card games Love that for and of course Captain Tony’s bachelor pad I was fortunate to work for my grandfather is there from 76 to 83 this is just one of the categories in these 900 photos
Don’t worry it’s not one of those political pictures it’s just a portrait my great uncle Sal shot of Donald Trump at a nightclub he was performing at playing the piano and reading peoples minds he also hypnotized a lot of people there The nightclub was called the Straw Hat a notorious jetsetters club-this is an original 4 x 5 negative of Mr. Donald Trump I think Sal hypnotized him especially when I printed up this image There is definitely a special glaze over his eyes this image right here might end up being the sharpest Image ever shot of Donald Trump at this time in his life so use it amazing camera and spectacular lighting And this negative is for sale
If you stay on this category you’ll end up seeing 900 really cool photos with a little stories attached, what you’re looking at here Is a composite sheet my great uncle Sal started doing portfolios in the late 20s till his death in 1995 He photographed lots of famous people like Gene Hackman James Earl Jones hundreds of TV actors you’ll see them on this sheet he had three major mask photography studios in New York City two of them in New Jersey and one above his famous little brothers bar called Captain Tony’s Saloon in Key West it was originally the Hemingway bar Tony was also a published photographer in Key West from the late 40s through the 70s I came around in the 70s and ended up publishing lots of photos and working for the Key West Citizen newspaper as their photographer I also had a studio in New Jersey and New York publishing some very sexy women in three different magazines you will see some spectacular nudes of this category all three of us were on a mission