William L. Palminteri

William L.Palminteri is an avant-garde photographer and musician currently living and working in New York, USA.

Considered an "outsider" or "renegade" photographer, he is known for his highly manipulated portraits, though he shoots totally unretouched skylines and sunsets as well. Mr.Palminteri does not use "Photoshop", except in rare instances where he wants to restore a very damaged negative or print. Never without an opinion, Mr. Palminteri says "Photoshop is like karaoke for picture-takers. Most of these people shouldn't sing either. All that tells me is, maybe you should learn how to take a proper photograph in the first place".

"I picked up a Nikon 'Nikkormat FS' in the late '60's and started learning 'Wet photography' with my friends, who were all showing an interest in photography at that time. With the need for an external light meter, this setup forced me to learn the craft from the ground up. We set up a darkroom in the basement of Savino's home, and developed negatives, made prints, the whole thing" Mr. Palminteri remembers.

"That was a very time and labor intensive process, but the discipline was invaluable."

Today Mr.Palminteri uses a Nikon D70S for most work, though the Nikon 950 still gets pressed into service from time to time. "I enjoy using the computer to manipulate photos. I know that sounds like a complete contradiction to what I said earlier, but I am on a totally different path from the usual 'Barbie Doll' retouching that seems to be the norm these days."

Mr.Palminteri also has a distinct aversion to flash of any type, except when re-creating that classic seamy newspaper shot of decades past. "Those were great shots, and only a flash will give you that nasty 'flash' look. I like a 'hot set' for indoor work. I can see what I'm going to get without the need for a polaroid, etc. With a flash, by the time you see what you've got, the mood is lost, the model is getting cranky, there's no spontanaity left. Hot lights are definitely worth the extra effort."