Podcast #16 – Through the Lens of a Master: Giuseppe Saitta’s Journey in Light and Legacy

Doug Dvorak (00:01.432)
Buongiorno, Mission Podcast community. I’m your host, Doug Dvorak, and I’m extremely excited to bring you inspiring stories from incredible guests. These individuals are on a mission to create remarkable possibilities that not only enhance their own lives, but also

make a lasting impact on the communities and individuals they serve. Stay tuned for some truly amazing conversations. Today’s Mission Possible podcast title is Through the Lens of a Master, Capturing the Soul of the Moment with Giuseppe Saitta. Giuseppe, welcome.

Giuseppe Saitta (00:50.73)
I’m happy to be here, I’m honored to be here.

Doug Dvorak (00:54.168)
High honor and privilege. I’ve known you for over 20 years. You are the consummate professional. What an illustrious career you’ve had from covers of Time Magazine, Fortune, all over. Just an unbelievable artist with a camera. So in this episode, world famous photographer Giuseppe takes us on a journey beyond the camera lens.

will explore the art of capturing raw emotion, the secrets behind an unforgettable photograph, and how storytelling through images can transcend time and culture. From breathtaking landscapes to intimate portraits, Giuseppe shares his experiences, inspirations, and the evolution of photography in the digital age. Plus,

We’ll discuss the impact of AI on the future of photography and his most memorable moments behind the camera. Again, welcome Giuseppe.

Giuseppe Saitta (01:58.17)
Happy to be here. Delighted.

Doug Dvorak (02:00.0)
So let’s talk about your early career and inspiration, Giuseppe. What initially drew you to photography, and how did you get started in the industry?

Giuseppe Saitta (02:09.624)
Okay, well, that’s a bit of a long story, but I’ll make it as short as I can. I started doing photographs for my high school yearbook and I liked it. It had a nice little 35 millimeter Neoca camera. Old equipment, but good for its time. And then shortly after high school, I joined the Air Force. And when I got through basic training in Texas,

I was at Lackland Air Force Base, I think it was. I sat down at a desk in front of a sergeant who said, told me, said, what do you like to do? And I immediately said, I like to take photographs. And so he just said, I got the best assignment for you. This would be in Michigan.

Selfridge Air Force Base. I became, they handed me this 4×5 speed graphic, which I had never seen before. And I said, you know how to use that? And I said, sure. And taught myself how to use it. And I started taking lots of fun, you know, the name of the newspaper was the Selfridge Flyer.

A long story short, six months I was editor-in-chief of the Selfridge Flyer.

Doug Dvorak (03:41.378)
Wow, that’s an incredible story. Giuseppe, who were your biggest influences or mentors when you were developing and starting your craft?

Giuseppe Saitta (03:51.662)
Well, you know, when I was starting my craft there was no such thing as internet, but there were lots of examples. I’ve got a short list here that I’m going to read because I didn’t want to miss anyone. these people begin of course with Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange, Annie Leibovitz, Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Gordon Parks.

are my very favorite, but there’s lots more great artists out there.

Doug Dvorak (04:22.646)
Excellent. Was there a particular moment when you knew photography would be your lifelong passion?

Giuseppe Saitta (04:30.5)
I’m not so sure if it was a particular moment, as I gradually, you know, basically earned my living in the Air Force as a photographer and an editor, I just kind of slipped into it joyfully. It was just like, hey, this is what I’m good at. This is what I’m gonna do.

Doug Dvorak (04:50.702)
Excellent. Now let’s unpack your creative process and style. How would you describe your signature style and how has it evolved over the years?

Giuseppe Saitta (05:02.602)
that’s hard to say too. I’m not even sure if I have a signature style, but what I want to say about that is in photography, you’re trying to make a record of something that’s before you, that’s happening, okay? Some event, some magnificent scene, some terrible scene. And so for me, the magic always happened when I could observe what was in front of me and then

give it a kind of love or justice or reason for being and say, let’s, yeah, I’m just, you know, I take lots of shots. I edit them and through Photoshop primarily, which is my main editing system, and just make people say ooh and aah about the photographs. And when that’s happening, then I’m happy.

Doug Dvorak (05:54.092)
I love what you just said. It really impacted me that you’ve got a camera, but then you bring your love, passion, justice. That is so inspiring. I’ve got some chills. What inspires your creative vision when capturing an image beyond love, justice, passion? You know, you’re in the moment or what inspires that creative vision when you see something with your eyes and then you pick up the camera? What, what?

Giuseppe Saitta (06:07.471)
Yeah.

Doug Dvorak (06:24.086)
What inspires you? That creative vision.

Giuseppe Saitta (06:25.392)
Well, a two-part answer. One is I look at what I’m going to be photographing, either commercially or artistically or spiritually or whatever, and I make sure that my camera is set to the perfect settings for the situation, for the kind of light there is, for the kind of movement and action there is. So when I got my camera set up perfectly to capture everything, then I just take a breath and I try to feel what’s in front of me.

And this is true whether it’s a commercial shot or any other kind of shot. I say to myself, what is this telling me? What do I feel in my heart? Photography is equally about brain and heart, you know. So you gotta have your technology set up so that you don’t try to figure out what the hell you’re trying to do while you’re trying to do it. When you’re all set up for that, all you gotta do is push that button every time you see something fabulous or beautiful.

And if I finish the shoot and I’m genuinely moved and can’t wait to edit and share, then I’m happy.

Doug Dvorak (07:34.094)
Excellent. Now unpack that a little more. Do you have any specific process or routine when preparing for a shot beyond what you just shared with us?

Giuseppe Saitta (07:43.636)
Well, that depends on what I’m shooting. Again, it’s all about appropriate lighting, appropriate shutter speed, f-stop, you know, all these things. They have to be set up perfectly so that I’m genuinely, easily capturing what I want to capture. And then I don’t have to struggle in the moment while I’m looking, you know, now with digital photography, you can see instant results.

I don’t try to get caught up too much in looking at every shot and so forth. I just make sure that things are running smoothly and the images look good and I know I can perfect them in Photoshop.

Doug Dvorak (08:21.198)
Excellent. How do you balance technical precision with artistic expression in your work?

Giuseppe Saitta (08:27.706)
Well, they’re two separate things. yeah, the question is correct. Balancing them is very important. And the best answer to that is once I have everything set up appropriately so I’m not going to miss any shots, then I concentrate on content. So it really is a constant balance between those two.

Doug Dvorak (08:52.33)
Excellent. Let’s talk and you were kind enough to send me some incredible photos that you’ve taken over your incredible career. You photographed some of the most remarkable subjects and locations. Do you have a favorite project or moment that stands out?

Giuseppe Saitta (09:12.132)
Well, let’s see. There were some times early on when I was still at the Selfridge Flyer when we had our Cuban Missile Crisis, where there was lot, you know, you were, my job was to go out and basically interview people for the newspaper. It was a weekly newspaper. I think the crisis lasted a few days. I can’t remember now. But my main objective there was to get a sense of how the people, at least in my air base,

for Jeffery, they felt about what was happening and it was not fun. I mean it was, I think it was probably our first big crisis after World War II, I don’t remember, but it was pretty intense and all I can say is thank God for JFK for helping to solve the problem.

Doug Dvorak (09:59.926)
Excellent. So have you ever faced unexpected challenges on a shoot and how did you handle them?

Giuseppe Saitta (10:07.556)
Well, I hope I handle them professionally always. There can be challenges. There can be uncooperative people that you try to bring over to your side of the project. I remember, you know, I also had a lot of training after the Air Force. We can go into it in a minute, but I had a lot of training in filmmaking. And I remember once I was given the assignment when I was, this is when I was already in North Africa. We can get to that later.

my, my, at the radio TV station where I was working, my commander there and I were up on the roof of this tower and these couple of, forgot the kind of jets, but they were Air Force, powerful Air Force jets. And the idea was to get a shot of them coming in at us and then following overhead and then catching them getting away from us. So I did, I had a 16 millimeter camera, no audio at this point, but

We did have a tape recorder for the audio separately. And my commander and I were up on this roof, we were at our cameras and we gave the command, do the flyby. And so I do my job, zoom, boom, go by. And when I return, my commander was on the ground, kind of almost shivering. He dropped the camera. so the question here is, you know, make sure about your safety.

These jets were probably a hundred feet above us. They weren’t going to hurt us, but they were loud. And so I just did my job, you know, and the thing, and if you’re going to be a professional with a camera, whether it’s motion, video, still, whatever, just get your ducks in order and follow the program to get good results.

Doug Dvorak (11:41.016)
Wow.

Doug Dvorak (11:58.542)
Beyond that story of the jets in North Africa, what’s the most adventurous or risky shoot you’ve ever done?

Giuseppe Saitta (12:12.272)
was visiting some friends in Hawaii and we all decided to take a trip over to the Nā Pali coast, to those beautiful mountains and shore and everything. And I had, I guess, an ocean going single, what do call those things, canoes. And it wasn’t a canoe, was a… Yeah, something like that. Yeah, and…

Doug Dvorak (12:37.39)
Outrigger.

Giuseppe Saitta (12:40.92)
Anyway, I got a little bit, perhaps too exuberant and I got away from my group. There were about, I think 15 of us and I went offshore a bit and then some huge waves came in. Fortunately, my professional gear was in a sealed hatch in the boat, but the boat was completely overturned and I was like out there swimming. was too, I had a life jacket, but I was too stupid to put it on.

And so things got pretty hairy and I thought I was going to say goodbye right there on the Nā Pali coast. And then somebody came along with a, one of these things, forgot what you call them, sail rig, know, board, sailboat. And you say, Hey, how you doing? You doing okay? And I said, I could use a hand. So he got me over to another boat and my life was spared, which was a, that was an interesting.

little episode. I was much younger but you know that’s probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do.

Doug Dvorak (13:48.13)
Giuseppe, what we have on the screen now is your 7-Up picture. It is incredible. Unpack that picture for us.

Giuseppe Saitta (14:24.408)
Okay. Well, this was, after all of my career in the air force, which took me first to Germany, a little back knowledge here. was trained for three months at, Wiesbaden air force base in radio and television news network stuff. So, and then I was assigned to, wheel as air force base, Tripoli, North Africa, where I, in only about six months, I became editor in chief of the.

Armed Forces Radio and Television News Network in North Africa. I was like the Walter Cronkite of North Africa. it was a very big job. And I’m just going to say one more thing about it that after three years of doing that, I was reassigned to Bentwaters Air Force Base in England, which turned out to be nothing but a glorified, you know, sort of a

Doug Dvorak (14:57.398)
Wow, that’s a

That’s a big job.

Giuseppe Saitta (15:20.056)
radio system that only people that could tune into it could get it. I wasn’t very, I was happy, but it wasn’t very, it wasn’t as satisfying as my North Africa assignment. So the base commander wrote me a letter and said, would you be willing to come back to North Africa and get this news department back to the way it was when you were there? Which I said, gladly, I said, yes. And that got me, you know, really involved in radio and television news.

I had a one hour television simulcast every day, you know. So it was great news.

Doug Dvorak (16:00.398)
Giuseppe, when we were preparing for this podcast, you sent me a number of different photos, incredible. Walk us through the 7-Up photo.

Giuseppe Saitta (16:22.872)
Okay, so that was a simple, you know, when I got out of the Air Force, I got this assignment in a very nice commercial studio in New York City, Bob Crandall Associates. And a lot of stuff came through. We had a five-base studio, always something going on. And so now 7UP came to us and says, hey, we got a new label. We’re going to change the look of our bottles. We want you to do a spectacular shot.

with one old bottle in the background and all the new bottles and some 7-Up. And I set it all up, lit it beautifully, and then I had a case of 7-Up and I was pouring it into this glass. And it wasn’t very exciting until I decided, hey, put a glass of water on the set, popped a couple of Alka-Seltzers in there, and it was magic.

Doug Dvorak (17:12.846)
You put Alka-Seltzer in it. That wasn’t just a natural carbonation. Was that your own creative idea? Awesome.

Giuseppe Saitta (17:18.412)
No. Yes. And it’s all, it’s part and parcel of what we do in advertising. You know, I’m not, I’m not crazy about it, but you got to get the shot, you know? So nobody knows whether it’s 7up or Alka-Seltzer. So I, yeah, and they loved it. You know, actually I made a lot of money when I was working commercially in New York. It was good.

Doug Dvorak (17:33.664)
Alka Seltzer. That’s a great story. Keep going.

Doug Dvorak (17:44.746)
Excellent. Giuseppe, let’s talk about the art of storytelling in photography. How do you approach storytelling through your photography?

Giuseppe Saitta (18:01.252)
Well, I guess I’m fortunate because I got my degree in college in filmmaking. And so, as you know, as everybody knows, filmmaking is not about one image, it’s about something happening, moment to moment, second to second. So there’s a story built in, whatever you’re shooting with a motion picture camera. And so I automatically translate this to, and I ask myself, is this a single shot that I’m doing?

that I want to make absolutely memorable or is this a process of explanation of some event or something that’s happening and we want to give different views of this topic or subject. And that’s especially true in architectural photography because basically you’re trying to give the best possible representation to some architect’s idea or creation. And so that’s a story right there.

Doug Dvorak (18:44.673)
Mmm.

Giuseppe Saitta (18:59.298)
if it’s architectural work, unless it’s a one single shot of the Eiffel Tower or something like that, you know. And then the same thing happens, for example, early on when I was struggling to make a living, I did a number of pretty high-end weddings. And so, you know, when you do a wedding shoot, there’s a whole story there. And you cover the whole thing from beginning to end, often from…

dressing the bride and rehearsal dinners and ride down to the drive away with the car. So there are stories and the thing about stories is that you want to try to be as clear and explicit as possible to your audience so that there aren’t any difficulties in understanding what you’re trying to promote or the tell the story you want to tell.

Doug Dvorak (19:56.59)
Excellent. Giuseppe, in your opinion, what separates a good photographer from a truly great photographer?

Giuseppe Saitta (20:09.064)
that’s hard to say. I’ve been called a very good photographer. And I think what separates a really great photographer from an average or even good photographer is that a really great photographer gets themselves completely involved in what they’re shooting. If it’s a person, you want to know about them. If it’s a problem, you want to try to help solve the problem.

If it’s a very difficult, complex situation, you want to try and simplify as much as possible with individual shots. The thing is, always try to simplify. Either it’s a series of photographs or a single photograph. Simplify and beautify, so people can get it.

Doug Dvorak (20:57.4)
Simplify and beautify. Excellent.

Giuseppe, how do you capture raw emotion and authenticity in your subjects?

Giuseppe Saitta (24:39.034)
Well, first of all, the best advice I can give a photographer who’s confronted with a difficult situation is to take a breath, remain calm, and assess what’s going on. If it’s really dangerous, then I urge you to take care of yourself. You know, I mean, you’re not going to be able to take any more pictures if somebody takes a shot at you. However, no matter how difficult the situation is,

Doug Dvorak (25:03.383)
Right.

Giuseppe Saitta (25:07.898)
there’s always a way to kind of calm things down. As the photographer or the author of capturing what is happening before you, you’re not going to do very well if you get all excited and emotional and what have you. It’s okay to get emotional as long as you contain that emotion and maybe even bring it to your heart and make you more sensitive to what’s happening. If you’re a war photographer and there are

people suffering in front of you, the best thing that you can do is not get too emotionally involved and just try to capture the situation as carefully and as literally as possible to show the world what’s happening. So maintaining a friendly, calm attitude is probably number one for me.

Doug Dvorak (25:59.374)
Giuseppe, again, in all those great photographs you sent me, specifically, you you’ve been on the cover of Fortune magazine several times. Talk to me about that abstraction. That was just a piece of art. Unpack that for our listeners.

Giuseppe Saitta (27:09.008)
Yes, for that Fortune 500, there are so many individual companies and corporations involved that you can’t be favorable to any one of them, really. At least that was the instructions to me from Fortune magazine. So what I did is I walked around New York at night and I, with a tripod and a camera, and I started taking all these

amazing photographs which were a little bit, what I wanted to show in this was the exuberant energy of a metropolis like New York as a background for this 5-Forge or 500 and they just loved it. They picked this image. Oh, I think it may have been between 10 and midnight. I don’t remember exactly, but you know, I lived in New York. I worked in New York. It was no big deal for me.

Doug Dvorak (27:46.638)
Mmm.

Doug Dvorak (27:51.244)
What time at night was this?

Doug Dvorak (27:57.003)
Okay.

Doug Dvorak (28:01.624)
So you were literally walking the streets.

Giuseppe Saitta (28:04.172)
Exactly. Walk in the streets, say what’s here, what’s there. This may be somewhere around Times Square. I can’t remember exactly, but it doesn’t matter. What matters for me is that does it give you the sense of, you know, this is exciting. This is a big city. This is big corporation stuff. So main thing for me is that they bought the image and they loved it.

Doug Dvorak (28:26.062)
Excellent. Let’s switch topics into photography and technology. How has technology, including AI, changed the landscape of photography?

Giuseppe Saitta (29:54.81)
Well, it has totally transformed the very idea of photography. Early on, just press a bulb or push a shutter and capture something in film. Then you process the film, and then you go to work on making it look great. Now we have, then came digital photography. And back then, I was using all Nikon equipment. had great, you know,

14 lenses and three bodies and stuff and I kept writing to Nikon, when are you guys gonna switch over to digital? It seems to be the coming thing and I kept getting, know, we’re working on it, blah, blah, blah, blah. In the meantime, Canon had come out with some fabulous digital equipment and so I sold all my Nikon stuff and bought Canon equipment. Yeah, and I just completely, I never forgot about film, but I said, hey, I’m working. In fact, the impetus came from my

Doug Dvorak (30:41.698)
Really?

Giuseppe Saitta (30:50.754)
editors and people who work with us say, we don’t have time for you to process your film. We need the images right now. So I made this change, which was interesting and for me it was fabulous because I got instant feedback on what I was doing. And so I think that stepping from film to digital, that was an immense step in photography and filmmaking. Okay. Then comes AI.

And I don’t know what to say about it. I mean, it’s a whole new universe. So I think that AI can be very good, very powerful, and very useful to photography and many other disciplines. But I’m also a little, not afraid, but skeptical of its misuse. I mean, we know there are a lot of evil people on this planet. And if they can figure out how to turn something against

Doug Dvorak (31:24.066)
It is.

Giuseppe Saitta (31:48.836)
humanity, they will do it. So I say to myself, I welcome artificial intelligence, but let’s just remember that it’s artificial. It’s not us. Okay?

Doug Dvorak (32:00.984)
That’s true. And the real beauty of life is human nature, nature, human beings, love and being face to face. I’d like to share a short story with you. My first house in Chicago, very small bungalow.

My roommate, great guy, Kurt Ackman, was a DJ and he had over 10,000 albums. Then I got married, Kurt moved out, and he didn’t want those albums. Guess what I did? I threw them out. My point is of this story is people are going back to vinyl, that great sound, sort of film to digital. So what are your preferences, film or digital?

Giuseppe Saitta (32:59.408)
Okay, my honest answer is I love them equally. I think that there’s aspects about film that you cannot even approach with digital or AI or any of that stuff. Especially large format. You get so much information on a 4×5 image that even today you would struggle to capture that digitally.

Doug Dvorak (33:25.086)
And Ansel Adams, I mean, talk about enormity of those incredible pictures. have a print of one of his incredible landscape photography’s. Giuseppe, what are your thoughts on digital manipulation in photography and where do you draw the line between enhancement and authenticity?

Giuseppe Saitta (33:54.576)
Okay, me, authenticity comes first. Authenticity is number one. Now, with digital photography through Photoshop or other means, one can take the image and enhance it, make it a little sharper, maybe boost the colors a little bit, maybe boost the contrast a little bit. But the minute you stop from, you step from the idea that it’s believable, it’s real, it’s beautiful, it’s even intense.

to, that’s not really very credible. I mean, I see so much stuff on the internet now that’s just unbelievable. And I just pass it by. I used to look at it, I used to spend a little time with it. Lately, I just pass it by because I know it’s basically BS. Okay, if a person takes an image and makes it his own or her own through digital manipulation, and makes it an entirely different thing, even a totally abstract image, and admits it,

and says, is my artwork, this is what I’m having fun here, then I applaud them and I say, good work, you know, enjoy. But the minute you try to sell me an image that’s been heavily manipulated as a real image, then I say, bye-bye, you know, you’re not fooling me, I’ve been around too long. Exactly, exactly right.

Doug Dvorak (35:10.818)
Digital Botox.

Giuseppe, do you think traditional photography skills are still essential in the digital age?

Giuseppe Saitta (35:27.05)
Absolutely, no question about it. These other systems, these newer, you know, fabulous systems are just another way of capturing an image and then presenting the image. So you capture it, you manipulate it intelligently and skillfully, and then you present it. And so to me, a photograph is still a photograph. I don’t care how you produce it, just

Am I loving it? Does it bring pleasure to my eyes and my heart? Or if it’s a, you know, reportage or news, is it accurate? Is it real? You know, that’s all.

Doug Dvorak (36:10.69)
I love what you said, not only to my eyes that is impactful, but to my heart, emotion, that’s great. What a great response. Let’s sort of morph off and talk about some advice for aspiring photographers. What advice would you give to aspiring photographers looking to break into the industry?

Giuseppe Saitta (36:22.597)
Right.

Giuseppe Saitta (36:37.464)
Okay, I think number one is, actually number one would be get yourself a really good mentor. Somebody who loves the process and is a good teacher and patient and willing to teach. I’ve had many photography students. I even taught a class in filmmaking not too many years ago here in Idaho in Boise.

So the thing is, find yourself a good mentor, somebody who loves photography and loves teaching photography. And then be responsive to their needs. I mean, just don’t empty your bucket out into their brain. Find out what they want to do. Find out what their loves are in photography, and then try to promote those and show them ways to become really great at what they hopefully want to do.

Doug Dvorak (37:33.002)
Excellent. What common mistakes do young photographers make and how can they avoid them?

Giuseppe Saitta (37:39.524)
Okay, let me see. Number one mistake when you’re shooting people, watch the head room. know, the space between the top of the head and the top of the page should be a reasonable amount, but not too much and not too little. You don’t want to scalp the person. You want to give them a little breathing space. Okay, that’s number one. Number two is watch your background. You know,

Doug Dvorak (37:58.104)
Hahaha

Giuseppe Saitta (38:07.93)
How are you going to set this up? Is it a portrait? Do you want to show an interior, a beautiful interior? Or is it an outdoor portrait? Do we have pretty flowers or trees or skies? But always the framing. The person should be framed as, you know, head sharp, head and shoulders, you know, and so on. So the framing is very important. I don’t like even a video of somebody that shows, you know, their head in the middle of the screen.

We don’t need the head in the middle. We need to look at the person, not the background so much. So watch your background to image, to subject. It’s very important.

Doug Dvorak (38:48.376)
Talk about lighting, the importance of lighting.

Giuseppe Saitta (38:50.594)
lighting is instrumental. I mean, some of the best portraits I’ve ever done, of course, were done with artificial light. And I have my studio lights and I know how to set them up to get the best kind of, you know, to get the best rendition of the person before me. Right now, if you look at my photograph of this image, it’s not exactly the way I would like myself for a beautiful studio shot.

But it’s important because it shows me and it shows, you know, books in my background and it’s not objectionable. So the first thing you want to do in an image is make sure that it’s pleasing to the eye. Secondly, look out for problems in the background. And then a very important thing is always help your subject to relax, to feel at home, to feel welcome, to feel not intimidated.

Doug Dvorak (39:43.502)
Excellent.

Giuseppe Saitta (39:48.431)
and you’re gonna get great results.

Doug Dvorak (39:50.378)
Excellent. Giuseppe, how important is networking and building relationships in the world of photography?

Giuseppe Saitta (39:56.964)
Very important. From the time that you start shooting as an amateur or professional photographer and you begin to build a collection of images that are yours, that represent you, your almost simultaneous process here is to get other people involved as critics, as advisors. Do you like this? Is there a photo club I can join? We used to have a wonderful photo club here in…

that’s no longer with us, but every week we used to get together and just talk about photography. So getting together with friends who are into photography, either as admirers or as technical creators, form your liaisons, your friends, and then put together groups of people that love shooting a particular thing, like architecture or outdoors or people or whatever.

Put a little club together and go out and shoot to your heart’s desire.

Doug Dvorak (40:59.662)
Excellent and again you sent me an incredible amount of Beautiful art pieces of art your photos. I counted eight covers of Time magazine. I think that is a record For the photographer at the most covers of time talk unpack for us your your time at time and What were the most? interesting unpack a couple of those those

cover covers for us.

Giuseppe Saitta (41:32.752)
Well, let’s see, I’m looking at my other screen here, and probably, let’s see, my all-time favorite, I’m going through these, I think that my all-time favorite is that March 16, 1970 car, we had a model in a studio, and I shot an interesting graphic of a syringe, which I then threw

mechanical means, which are not easy when you don’t have digital. I put this photograph of this green syringe in front of the kid’s face, which is sort of nonplussed, a little bit perhaps troubled. I was trying magazine in 1970, March 16th, it said, heroin hits the young. And it’s only gotten worse ever since, but at least this was a wake up call.

Doug Dvorak (42:14.775)
And that was Time Magazine, March 16th, 1970.

Wow, what a piece of art.

Giuseppe Saitta (42:29.7)
I must say I’m proud to be part of that.

Doug Dvorak (42:31.854)
Good for you. Let’s talk about your future and legacy. What’s next for you? Any upcoming projects or aspirations you’re excited about?

Giuseppe Saitta (42:37.088)
well, my numero uno project right now is not in photography, but it’s in literature. And I’m writing a novel. I call it a semi-autographical science fiction novel. It’s called Icarus. And it’s about a flying city.

Doug Dvorak (43:06.934)
Opposed to Icarus flying too close to the sun and melting.

Giuseppe Saitta (43:07.156)
And exactly. And I explained in the book why we named the city Icarus because it’s a reminder of a terrible incident which could have been avoided. But anyway, we have this flying city and I also in the same novel invented a five kilometer long dirigible. And it’s a story, it’s a science fiction novel about the essentially the

hate to say this but the stupidity of humanity, terrible things that we do to the environment, environmental collapses and generally a story about a guy, know, a little-known guy from Idaho who designs this ship, this floating city that helps to save humanity. So it’s kind of a fantasy novel.

I’m about three quarters of the way through it. I hope to get it published this year. We’ll see what happens.

Doug Dvorak (44:23.926)
Here’s Icarus, the flying city with Giuseppe’s new novel coming out.

How would you like your work to be remembered in the world of photography?

Giuseppe Saitta (44:46.522)
boy. Well, I think it’s an honor to be remembered at all. And if there are collections of my work for my friends and clients, if they use them as kind of a memory locker for them, if I help them to achieve some kind of a saving of their

ideals and hopes and dreams and whatever they created if I helped to Make memories for them Which are wonderful I’m satisfied. I don’t need anything else. You know, I don’t need to be memorialized here or there or everywhere You know, I’ve got lots of stuff online people can check it out often I get

Doug Dvorak (45:38.2)
You’re a great artist and you’re very humble and genuine. Giuseppe, if you could photograph anyone or anything in the world that you haven’t yet, what would it be?

Giuseppe Saitta (45:49.35)
God, that’s a deeply personal question. And if I could, if I had total control or whatever I choose to photograph, I would simply go back in time and do some wonderful reportage photography on Jesus. That’s it. Nothing else, you know.

Doug Dvorak (46:12.334)
Excellent. And last question before we get into our rapid fire round of questions. Giuseppe, if you could go in a time machine and go back many decades and ask your younger self a question and give your younger self advice, what would it be?

Giuseppe Saitta (46:18.27)
boy.

Giuseppe Saitta (46:40.499)
boy.

I’m not sure I have much advice to give. think if I were to go back to myself in high school or early on in the Air Force or even in New York City, my first big job, I would say just keep doing what you’re doing. As long as you’re in love with what you’re doing, you don’t have anything to worry about. If it’s about just the money, that’s a mistake.

Doug Dvorak (47:12.504)
huge mistake. Find what you love to do and do it the rest of your life. And if you find what you love to do, it doesn’t seem like work. As you know, I’m a public speaker author. My job is more fun than fun.

Giuseppe Saitta (47:13.732)
Yeah.

Giuseppe Saitta (47:26.864)
I See, I’ve followed you over the years and you’re always, you’re very kind. You bring the best in people out, you know, in your interviews. And I think that’s wonderful. There’s too many interviews that are basically at your throat, you know, trying to make an impact, trying to do something, trying to make yourself look better than who you’re interviewing. None of that works, you know? Yeah. Interviews are just like this. Two friends talking.

Doug Dvorak (47:49.122)
No, it doesn’t work. It doesn’t work.

Two friends having a conversation.

All right Giuseppe, we’re almost at the tail end. I don’t know where this last 45 minutes has gone. I always love talking to you. This is called the rapid fire round of questions.

Giuseppe Saitta (47:56.432)
Exactly.

Giuseppe Saitta (48:04.688)
Okay.

Giuseppe Saitta (48:11.588)
Absolutely.

Doug Dvorak (48:23.84)
Short answer is one word or short phrase. Are you ready? Film or digital?

Giuseppe Saitta (48:27.478)
Absolutely.

Giuseppe Saitta (48:31.662)
I’m going to say digital now.

Doug Dvorak (48:34.114)
Favorite camera you’ve ever used?

Giuseppe Saitta (48:36.612)
Hasselblad.

Doug Dvorak (48:37.976)
Black and white or color?

Giuseppe Saitta (48:41.114)
I’m gonna say both.

Doug Dvorak (48:44.012)
most photogenic place you’ve been.

Giuseppe Saitta (48:47.951)
my, I think it may be Machu Picchu in Peru.

Doug Dvorak (48:51.864)
Machu Picchu.

Doug Dvorak (48:58.486)
One person, past or present, you’d love to photograph.

Giuseppe Saitta (49:23.408)
I’m going to say if I could travel in time and space, I would go back in time with my best commercial equipment and take some memorable photographs of Jesus.

Doug Dvorak (49:36.244)
Excellent. favorite time of day to shoot

Giuseppe Saitta (49:43.865)
I’m gonna go dawn or dusk or shortly before and after both times. That’s my favorite time.

Doug Dvorak (49:58.688)
What’s harder portraits or landscapes?

Giuseppe Saitta (50:06.126)
I think portraits.

Doug Dvorak (50:07.712)
A photography trend you love

Giuseppe Saitta (50:17.194)
gee, a photography trend I love is any system that makes people look good and love themselves.

Doug Dvorak (50:28.44)
A photography trend you dislike

Giuseppe Saitta (50:38.678)
lying in photographs.

Doug Dvorak (50:41.686)
If you weren’t a photographer, what would you be doing?

Giuseppe Saitta (50:45.858)
I love abstract painting and I’ve done lots of it and I would probably have continued along that path.

Doug Dvorak (50:52.952)
Thank you. Well, Giuseppe, this has been an incredible honor and I always love to chat with you. Thank you very much for the privilege and high honor of your time. And thank you Mission Possible podcast community. Check us out. But before we leave Giuseppe, Giuseppe, if somebody wants to get a hold of your artwork, your new book, how can they reach you?

Giuseppe Saitta (51:20.071)
Well, it’s hard to say because I’ve always been trying to get a website set up, but I never have. I’m always seem to be too busy. Look for me, Giuseppe Saitta on Facebook. Call me anytime. I’m happy to work with you and give advice freely when the time is right.

Doug Dvorak (51:41.186)
And what’s your number, Giuseppe?

Giuseppe Saitta (51:43.408)
My phone number is 208-250-9777.

Doug Dvorak (51:52.76)
Giuseppe, thank you for your time. Ciao ciao for now. And thank you Mission Podcast community. Check us out at missionpossible.biz and Carpe Diem.

Giuseppe Saitta (52:03.44)
Thank you.