John Dominis

Sun, 7 April 2013 00:10:00 +0000

John,

I hope you are well -- I hope this website is out of date and you are back on your feet again.

I am writing because in 1969 my brother took me to the Woodstock festival as a birthday present. A more amazing gift could not have been imagined.

As it turns out, you took a photograph of him standing behind a woman washing her hair. This is the shot: http://timelifeblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/17_110978887.jpg?w=636. We were all astonished by his good fortune at getting recorded this way.

Since he passed away not long afterward, this photograph means a great deal to me. Is it possible to get a print? I've searched and not found a source for it.

Thank you and I hope for your good health.

Eric Peabody

Wed, 6 February 2013 15:55:16 +0000

Hi John,
I hope you're feeling better and that this story brightens your day. I am the girl watching the baby calf in the Woodstock photograph that you took. I was waiting for a friend who was looking down the 'Groovy Way' and other paths who eventually came back with info about the soup kitchen... then we went for something to eat. Getting there was crazy. I was 16 and didn't have permission from my parents to go. I told my mom that I was going to a friend's house in Baltimore (I lived in New Jersey). She came to pick me up and my step-dad said that he wanted me to call collect from Baltimore when I got there, so we drove to Baltimore to make my phone call. We also picked up a friend of her's who had received his draft notice and decided to dodge the draft. As the FBI came through his front door, he was climbing out the window, ran off and was wandering the streets. We spotted him wandering around, picked him up, drove back to New Jersey to collect another friend and off we went to Woodstock. We took a wrong turn and ended up at Harley Hinkle's farm. From there we just followed our noses and managed to avoid the 10 mile tail-back when the back road we had stumbled across led us up to the campsites! What luck! The photo when in Time Life had a Canned Heat quote attached, "Goin' up the country, girl do you want to go?" Iconic at last! Again, I wish you a speedy recovery. Best wishes, Beth

Mon, 4 February 2013 13:12:17 +0000

Hi, Dad,
Years ago you shared Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" with me, and now I think it's more appropriate to both of us than ever.


If—
By Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Source: A Choice of Kipling's Verse (1943) I love you, Dad,
Paul

Fri, 18 January 2013 15:20:58 +0000

Hi John, The last time we met was at Gabriel's Restaurant with Evelyn several years ago and we had a wonderful dinner, reminiscing about the times I assisted you at LIFE, working together at the old TIME-LIFE Studio on the Great Dinners series. We laughed about how many takes it took to get the trout to come out of the almond bed in one piece. You finally froze the fish and got that fabulous picture of the flying trout! I also remember fondly our occasional tennis matches in Central Park and how you recall playing with John Zimmerman on his home court in the Canyon above Beverly Hills. Zim would not start play till he plied you with several martini's! I'm deeply indebted to you in what you taught me as your assistant at LIFE and how that played a huge part in my success as a photographer at Sports Illustrated. You were also the best picture editor at SI I ever worked for. I'm hoping you will recover from the surgery and be back on your feet asap. I tried calling you. I'm still your neighbor and perhaps we can take in a movie & dinner when you're up for it again. Looking forward to catching up with you again. All the best, Manny

Tue, 25 December 2012 21:02:56 +0000

Dear John:

Merry Christmas. I hope you are feeling better and I know Evelyn is taking great care of you. A hospital isn't a great place to be on a holiday (I've been there) but try to keep your spirits up and know that a lot of people are thinking about you.

Best, Holly

Fri, 30 November 2012 13:08:39 +0000

John, just wanted you to know the travels your work took me on yesterday. I spent some time in Spanish Wells (which you must have spent weeks shooting, there is so much material), then I inspected the grapes at the Alex Lichens vineyard (it was a good year), on the Vicenzo, Italy for some sun, then to China just to make sure Nixon was behaving, and a few short layovers in Chinatown (NYC) and Washington, D.C. Not bad for a day's work. So thanks.
I also want to thank you and Evelyn for the wonderful photograph of you with the lions. The lions are good but your smile makes the picture. Hope you're feeling better. I miss you. MC

Fri, 23 November 2012 00:07:04 +0000

Hi Mr. Dominis, you don't know me, but I'm a fan of your work. I studied some of your pics in college, and am constantly amazed as I look at more of them. Your cats, your work in Vietnam and Korea, the celebrities, the food, the olympics, on and on, your pictures are beautiful, tell such stories, display your brilliance and bravery so clearly. I'm awfully sorry you're sick. I just wanted to say thank you for all the photos you've given us, these priceles views into times and places most of us can never hope to see firsthand. You've really made your life a gift to the rest of us. I hope you appreciate how many people you have touched and will continue to touch in the years to come. Feel better soon!

Wed, 21 November 2012 22:45:12 +0000

Dear Great Uncle John,

What a gracious, humble man you are! I remember seeing you for the first time since I was a little girl, and being at your wonderful art exhibit down by La Brea, that was given in your honor, highlighting many years of incredible photography. I remember feeling so proud to have such a relation! Several years back, I was given several of the cookbooks that you illustrated with your pictures, and I so enjoy looking at those. Also, what a fun celebration we were invited to for the Surfers Walk of Fame in Hermosa Beach to see you join the legendaries by the pier. You were a good sport, letting me take pictures of you with our family down near the Sea Sprite motel and enjoying dinner together at the restaurant. You, the photographer, were complimentary to me about the digital pictures I was taking. Thank you! Very encouraging. It was also a highlight to be at your 90th celebration at cousin Pat's home, with all your kids and grandkids and special friends. What a wonderful memory that was. We are praying that the Lord above gives you comfort and peace as you lean on Him for your strength during this time. You are very loved by HIm and us all! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We all have been so blessed, and you are a blessing to us all.

Love and prayers, Your Grandniece, Heidi for nine lives

Sun, 18 November 2012 19:22:04 +0000

Hi John,



Here's a snap made this evening of people appreciating your contribution to USA-Chinese relations: Nixon and Zhou Enlai sharing a toast in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, 1972. A copy of your photo hangs permanently on the walls of the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club, above a photo of Mao toasting Chiang Kaishek at the FCC in Chung King, circa 1945. Like they say, "It's History." You have always been an inspiration for me and for generations of photojournalists around the world. Please hang in there and give us "just a few more" before you ship the film. Albest, -

Robin