I did many parties in the 30 years I spent in New York sometime I was single somebody out that looked interesting and shoot a bunch of photos of them then explain to them I need them for my site portraitsofnewyork.com
If you go to the corner of 74th and Roosevelt in Queens you’ll see the first gay sports bar within a three block radius of that bar you will see every type of female impersonator and transvestite whatever type of action you’re looking for it’s in that neighborhood I spent two years doing a documentary on that area and club if you go to my main website portraitsofnewyork.com And go to the category in and out you will see hundreds of pictures of the evil wicked night life that goes on there
There is 65 masks left from Sal’s collection they are all at our house here in Florida these two were created 1937 They were used in many of Sal’s mind reading ask and hypnotizing people they weigh over 40 pounds and are over 2 foot tall I have very special ingredients in the papier-mâché mix pyramid scrapings from Egypt, Haitian voodoo dust Cambodian opium and secret potions from around the world these two are hanging in our mask room here they definitely have special powers I speak to them from time to time
In New York City there is hundreds of modeling agencies I have worked for a bunch of them if I wasn’t working for them I would go to all the events in the city my press pass portraits of New York carried a lot of weight before a runway show with stars I would go to the dressing room and take a lot of pictures of the make up artist and the designers they all like that if you go to my digital library mia5.com You will see thousands of photographs that I have taken some real true beauty’s
Great story here I could tell it 100×1979 key west Florida I pulled up on my bicycle into Captain Tony’s I noticed across the street a new girl at the bikini store she had a spectacular summer dress on I could see her spectacular breast from across the street with her heels on she was definitely a little over 6 foot I almost crashed my bicycle into the front door Of the bar real long story short I went across the street to talk to her her name was Lisa Jo Burke She was like one of those girls from petticoat junction or the Beatles song she’s just 17 you know what I mean she actually was 17 and I was 23 we fell madly in love with each other live together for two years on that crazy island split up never saw each other again for 37 years met on Facebook four years ago Got married it’s never too late to live happily ever after
One of the great Sal photo mysteries On the proof sheet it says James Earl Jones late 50s I saw him in some movies in the 70s I do not see the resemblance Sal photographed a lot of famous people and you could always see it’s obvious
After six years of battling for my inheritance I took possession in 2002 it took me two years of editing to get the project up and running thousands of large format negatives glass slides and original prints we will talk about the masks and human skulls on another time We had some major book deals even movie deals many bumps in the road they’re all gone now it is smooth sailing with my writer and I get ready
This will blow you away original ad from 1928 Sal was 17 years old he was sent to Chicago to work at these two night clubs operated by Frank Costello big crime boss coincidently my great grandfather Luigis cousin also Sal And Captain Tony’s father by the way our real last name isn’t Terracina it’s Costello Luigi my great grandfather did some bad things in Italy changed his name
One of my publish photos during the Cuban boatlift and the key west citizen newspaper and UPI the coast Guard saved 160 people their boat was sinking coming to America
Back in the early 90s if you dialed 900 hot girl you could talk to a hot sexy woman for two dollars a minute these weren’t the girls you talk to they are the ones I took pictures of for the ads I published over 80 of these girls all they had to do is hold the phone it looks sexy sometime we didn’t use a phone are used to hang in the 900 office and listen to the girls talk to the customers it was a riot
