Mel, picture by me with a pinhole lens ~ all photos (by Mel) embiggenable
I LOST A VERY GOOD FRIEND THIS WEEK. IN FACT, the only photo friend I have ever had in my entire life.
I am pleased to write that in all our time together we never once talked about gear. Photo wise all we ever discussed was photos, primarily his and/or mine. Over the years we would send-emailed-each other some of our current our photos (he lived in New Jersey) to keep abreast of what we were picturing. During the past few years I was “mentoring” Mel with his fascination with making iPhone pictures.
I met Mel through my wife’s sister, they were neighbors. It seems-without much exaggeration-that every time we were visiting my sister-in-law, especially when other family members were present, Mel was there with a camera documenting the goings on. And again without exaggeration, he must have amassed hundreds of pictures of the family’s gatherings; pictures that he made without ever putting the camera to his eye.
Mel was, without a doubt, in his professional career an exceedingly successful photographer. He leaves behind an amazing body of work which, iMo, deserves nothing less than a retrospective exhibition and a series-too much work for a single monograph-of books. Read his obituary to understand the volume and breadth of his work.
In any event, if such an exhibition / book(s) never happens, he would rank as one of the top unknown photo making greats.
FYI: from his obituary … “For over six decades, Melchior “Mel” Di Giacomo has captured moments through his camera, spurred by a friendly competition with his best friend.” the best friend who spurred him on was Jay Maisel.