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George Kalinsky
Photographer
For the past 34 years, George Kalinsky has had the enviable assignment as the Official Photographer for Madison Square Garden. His tenure at "The World's Most Famous Arena" has allowed George to create famous images of famous people. Newsmakers such as Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti, Muhammad Ali, Elvis Presley and former Senator Bill Bradley have all stated that George Kalinsky took their favorite portrait. more >>
View His Work
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Questions and Answers
Want to know more? Read the questions and answers below or submit one of your own.
Q: Have you ever had he pleasure to speak to Elvis Presley? What was he like as a person? I read that you have had the great honour of photographing him. - Aaron, 10th Grade Student
A: Dead Aaron. Thanks for your asking about Elvis...
In 1972 I had the priviledge of photographing Elvis in concert at Madison Square Garden. Before the concert I went backstage to meet him and found him to be very humble.
He was very nice and I found THE KING concerned about giving his best performance at the Garden..Because the garden is the Worlds Most famous Arena and has the worlds greatest stage....
No matter how big you are you must give your best in New York....That was how the King was ..
When I looked in my Elvis file 2 weeks ago I thought I had only 10 photos of Elvis but to my surprise I found 100.... Graceland put out a media release saying that we found THE LOST ELVIS PHOTOS ..
In 24 hours it was all over the world..
Thamks again Aaron for asking.
My best.
George
Q: I was wondering if it is possible to purchase prints of your work. I am very interested in your rock music and sports photos. - Jon from New York City
A: Dear Jon...Check out my web site, (http://www.georgekalinsky.com) where you can view my photos. Thanks for asking........George
Q: I adore your books and always wanted to know your favorite.(p.s. my favorite is garden of dreams.)
- Dasha, 5th Grader, from New York City
A: Dear Dasha, My favorite TWO books are the GARDEN OF DREAMS and RABBIS.
The Garden of Dreams is really a photo portfolio of my 40 years at the Garden combined with the 125 year historical text. It was fun to do as well as a priviledge.
The Rabbi book gave me an opportunity to travel all over the world and to do a book that for generations had never been done before. That was very educational and was important to the Jewish religion as a forum to bringing unity to Jews and non Jews.
Thank you for e great question. Have a wonderful new year.
George
Q: You wrote eight books. Which one is your favorite? - Michael, 6th Grader, from New York City
A: Dear Michael,
Of my 10 books I like GARDEN OF DREAMS as the most beautiful book I've done and it also gave me the portfolio to exhibit almost 40 years of being involved with the Garden. Madison Square Garden has had a huge influence on the culture of New York, if not the country.
So this book talks about its impact on our society going back 125 years and everyone, from the Pope to Michael Jordon to Elton John, want to perform at the Garden. It is the world’s greatest stage and I consider it a privilege to have captured so many great moments.
GREAT QUESTION!
All my best, George
Q: How many pitures have you took? - Jacob, 3rd Grader
A: Dear Jacob,
In a span of 35 years I have taken over two million photos. When I think about it and all those photos it seems hard to comprehend. What I do is fun and exciting and feel very priveleged to do what I do. All the best, George
Q: When I use a flash sometimes the bottom half of the picture is black. How can I avoid this?
A: The reason for the black spots on the image is a shadow created by the lens at the time ..... that lens is too thick at times and the flash is hitting it and creating a shadow....solution is a smaller lens or a separate flash on top of camera...
Q: How do you feel about Muhammad Ali? - 11th Grader
A: Ali is the most famous athlete ever...He was the greatest to photograph and to work with....he is a great showman and a very nice person...an icon
Q: Why did you choose to write a book about the New York Knicks? What are your qualifications? - Rajal, 7th Grader, from New Jersey
A: I have been the photographer of the Knicks for the past 35 years and in the late 60s and 70s worked out with them...Other than that my qualifications to do a book on the Knicks were 4 privious books on basketball and in particular the Knicks...
Q: I would like to know how you feel the media is portraying the United States involvement with Iraq and if this porrayal is accurate. - Beth, 12th Grade, from Long Island
A: I do think different members of the media may show different views of the same event relating to how they may want to interpret what they see or hear. However I think our TV, newspapers and general media coverage of the war has been pretty honest and in some cases brutally honest. The question is a good one and is one we all must ask. This being an election year come 2004 your question has even more importance. There are many gifted journalists who have given their lives so that we may have a better view and understanding of what is going on in IRAQ....... -GK
Q: What equipment do you use for still photography?- Is it film or digital? What type of lighting? What kind of lenses? - Student, 9th Grade, from Connecticut
A: I use Canon EOS cameras for film, and Canon D60's and 1D's for digital, which is becoming more popular and fun. The D60 is a good body for most photography and zoom lenses such as 70-200mm and 35-70mm cover a lot of ground. It also has a built-in flash which makes it very handy. For film I use a Canon Rebel with the same lenses and it's my favorite for most photography. Thank you for inquiring about my secrets on equipment. -GK
Q: Where did you learn your photography skills? - Eric, 7th Grade
A: Dear Eric,
The answer to your question is an interesting story. Thank you for your curiosity. The story of how I became the official Madison Square Garden photographer is wonderful tale. Like many Garden stories, it's about talent, timing, and the courage to go for it all. While vacationing in Florida, I spotted Muhammed Ali and famous sportscaster Howard Cosell walking into the Fifth Street Gym. I went inside, only to be stopped by Ali's trainer, Angelo Dundee. Up to that point I used my camera only to take pictures of family or friends. I asked Angelo for permission to take a few shots and jokingly told him I was the photographer from Madison Square Garden. The words just came out of my mouth and I don't know why. Dundee said, "Why not, Mr. Comedian?" I took 12 shots of the Champ training, never realizing that a career was beginning.
That evening I heard on the car radio that Ali's next championship fight was being canceled. This was the top story, so I drove to The Miami Herald and asked if they were interested in my film. They developed the roll and sent the photos by a wire service to papers across the country. I was on a roll, so to speak- my first photos of a celebrity and the world got to see them.
I owe my photography career to John Condon, an elegant man who was president of Madison Square Garden Boxing. Up until that point I was a graphic and industrial designer, and I had been an art director for a New York agency. John Condon was a public relations genius and a deeply sensitive human being. It was because of John that so many other careers started or blossomed. LeRoy Neiman, Don King, and actor Danny Aiello got their starts with John's help. Boxers like Joe Frazier, Muhammed Ali, George Foreman, and many more trusted in John as an advisor and as a father.
I decided to go to New York to show the photos to John. I told him this was the only roll of sports photos I had ever taken in my life. I explained my art career and my background in design and he seemed genuinely interested. He said my approach to photography was very different from other photographers' and that he liked the emotion and composition in my one roll. On a hunch, he hired me to take photos for the Garden. A career was born.
I hope that answers your question, Eric.
Q: What is creative/design directing? - Ebenezer, 12th Grade
A: Dear Ebenezer,
An Art Director is in charge of a creative project such as magazine and fashion ads or products to design such as furniture, jewelry, cosmetic packages or games to name a few. What ever the creative project is the art or design director is in charge of producing that project. Thank you for your excellent question. -GK
The responses and opinions contained herein are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Power to Learn or Cablevision.
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