Category Archives: Friends
Winter comes to the Dolomites and mail order snowmen
When the clouds finally cleared there was snow, and lots of it, just behind our house. Incredibly, I saw skiers today packing up gear at a trailhead parking lot as I mountain biked by. They were muddy but smiling.
For Rika – You missed him by two days
Our time during these wet and cold days have been spent doing lots of office work and a few days with visiting friends Sebastian Panczak and Rika Makino – owners of Jaspa Photography. Sebastian and Rika were at the Brooks Institute with us and are, like us, somewhat nomadic for their work. Yet while we have settled, they have not. New York, Tokyo, Paris, Munich, Florence and more have been home to their incredibly high end and successful fashion and product photography.
Sebastian never ceases to amaze me with all that he has done. Native to Germany, if something sounds epic, Sebastian has done it, and has great stories to tell. In fact, the Sebastian/Rika team is the fashion version of the Dan/Janine program. Sebastian is the lively, marketing man, bouncing off walls and making everyone smile – meanwhile, Rika is the rock in the background. She and Janine had lots of “I understand” looks passed back and forth.
Besides the ring story… Brilliant – getting the wrong size made and then redesigned only to have the jewelry store robbed while storing it… There was also the praying Muslim ferry boat passenger who, as the boat turned at the port’s dock, had to shuffle his prayer stance to align with Mecca, like the second hand of a clock he rotated… and of course the Japanese mail order snowman, $180 for a styrofoam packaged 18 inch snowman, delivered to your door.
Just plain good stuff. Thanks for a great time – see you in Paris.
For Rika – You missed him by two days
Also posted in Random Thoughts
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Back to the Fun
Thanks for bearing with us while we were away – the blogs got a bit ho hum due to our being a bit ho hum – well, we were on holiday so to speak, things should be ho hum, …and we were in Switzerland, now that we are back in Italy life should get a bit more dynamic.
And so it is.
Immediately upon arriving our friend/neighbor Marianna came over to update us on her going’s on. Seems her daily bus ride to work has become more entertaining thanks to a new bus driver for her commute.
Yesterday, while commanding his craft through the Dolomite’s tiny valley roads, he got on his mobile phone and with the entire bus listening in, proceeded to detail his previous nights sexual exploits.
Being held hostage in a bus, minus an iPod as protection against such things is not what I found so odd about this tale. Rather, the fact that the bus driver could drive a bus while talking on his cellphone while behind him sat dozens of commuters – this is what I found comical. And the road he was driving was not your straight American thoroughfare but one barely wide enough for two cars side by side, much less a bus driven by a sweaty, smiling, shoulder holding the phone to his ear bus driver. Reminded me of the time I was on a bus in Tuscany, the driver had the Rolling Stones on full blast for a cargo of old Italian women headed to town for groceries. He pulled over and with the radio AND engine still on, jumped off the bus and ran into a cafe for a coffee, cigarrete and fondling of the barista while we all sat and waited. Classic Italy.
Also of note upon our arrival were two emails from visitors to our new website DolomiteSport – they found it helpful and inspiring to visit this place – and now they are making plans for 2009. This makes my day.
Finally, our return to Brunico had me on my bike right away. Dropping into town I found myself amongst the hoardes of other cyclists enjoying a crystal clear fall day. While riding out of town, I passed the parapenter landing area, saw a friend and stopped to check out the scene as dozens of parapenters were packing it up after a morning of flying over the valleys. Next up was the hang gliders DZ where I was buzzed by one coming in for a landing. And finally, I rolled into the parking lot of a furniture store that is also the parking lot for a major sport climbing crag immediately behind the store, so close in fact that one belays from just outside the cars. And there, on the vertical wall, one pitch up, is a picnic table on a ledge on the wall. A picnic table to take your lunch with a 5.10+ approach. But no worries, bolts are on the wall so you can stay clipped in while you enjoy your panino.
Feels like home…
Also posted in Humor, Random Thoughts
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A few days of fun in the Dolomites
WARNING : FUN PHOTOGRAPHY AHEAD – NOT PROFESSIONAL…
The content you are about to view is made from cellphones, point & shoots and with an eye, not for work, but for fun and memories. It is not a representation of Dan and Janine, PatitucciPhoto or its affiliates. If you view the following material with a critical eye, it is your own problem, not ours, we have been busy having fun.
Andreas and Janine getting ready to drop to the Scotoni Hut
Not a bad spot to stumble upon in the backcountry – the Scotoni Hut, outside San Cassiano
Janine – Pre
“Ciccione” on the Passo Sella
The content you are about to view is made from cellphones, point & shoots and with an eye, not for work, but for fun and memories. It is not a representation of Dan and Janine, PatitucciPhoto or its affiliates. If you view the following material with a critical eye, it is your own problem, not ours, we have been busy having fun.
After 6 solid of months of work, shooting more than we have ever shot, traveling, daily packing and unpacking of bags, settling into a new home, and building business number two – we have started noticing a slowing down of the energy. Typically this feeling comes in late October, pre Autumn break. So, with great delight, we have been taking some time to ourselves before the fall colors come and we go back to work.
Andreas and Janine getting ready to drop to the Scotoni HutOur friend Andreas Irsara invited us to enjoy one of his favorite trail runs, together the three of us hopped onto the Alta Via 1 via the Capanna Alpina and spent two hours winding our way amongst towers and massive walls. Andreas pointed out a 200 meter deep cave where hundreds of ancient bear skeletons were found, apparently the cave was a destination point for the bears to call it quits. Unfortunately, this variey of bear as a whole called it quits, they are no more.
His next item to point out was the menu of the Rifugio Scotoni where we ended our run. The hut is famous for a platter of goodies straight from the grill, various meats, vegetables and a ball of cheesey polenta the likes of which I have never loved so much.
Not a bad spot to stumble upon in the backcountry – the Scotoni Hut, outside San Cassiano
Janine – Pre
Janine – Post Lunch
After lunch as we sat hoping that the coffee would speed up the early stages of digestion, Andreas, in one perfect line, described life here:
“Now do you see why the area around the hut is so big – lots of places to lay down after lunch.”
Quintessentially Italian.
Next up was a big road ride. Together with two Italian friends, Giorgio and Umberto, we spent nearly 5 hours linking most of the big, famous Dolomite passes; the Sellaronda and the Falzarego. On what may have been the best weather day of the 
year, the three of us enjoyed roads full of cyclists and few cars.
After riding these roads now for over a year, I am still in awe of the beauty and take nothing for granted. Passing through villages, I still marvel at the old houses, the flowers that everyone proudly decorates their homes with and of course the incredible number of people that wave or give thumbs up as you roll through.
On the passes, cyclists are approached by tourists wishing to ask what it is like to ride up the passes, and how fast we go down. They ask to lift our bikes, and laugh when they feel how light a carbon fiber bike is. They pat us on the backs, give an “Allez”, a “Hopp Hopp” or the local “Dai”. The culture understands the bike culture – for an American, this is always special.
Each pass has its hairpins numbered, 27 up the Pordoi, then 33 down the other side, each hairpin like a powder turn for a skier, the roads are banked perfectly and the bike flies through the apex – for me nothing beats this feeling, to be amongst friends, wheel to wheel, the sounds, the other rider to put things into perspective, makes it even better.
“Ciccione” on the Passo Sella
Also posted in Cycling, DolomiteSport, Personal Story, Photography, Random Thoughts
Tagged Alta Badia, Cycling, Dolomites, road bike
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The Piz Bernina : Biancograt
Sometimes the photo end of our lives do not always play out as we would like. Thankfully, what we shoot is also exactly what we want to be doing, so either way, photos or no photos, we enjoy what we do. And so we went to Switzerland’s Piz Bernina, the easternmost 4000 meter peak in the Alps which is home to arguably the Alp’s most perfect alpine line, the Biancograt, or “white ridge”.
Our idea was to shoot stock, but also to shoot photos for our friends Matthias Larcher and Jürgen Kinzer. They are young Mountain Guides from our town in the Sud Tirol and have just launched into business guiding in the Dolomites and Alps: Bruneck Alpin
Matthias met us there after guiding Mont Blanc, his total sleep for the previous 3 days was roughly 4 hours During our trip, his daily average would not improve. Arriving late, Jürgen decided to wait so they could walk in together, which they did at 2 a.m. to meet us for 5 a.m. breakfast at the Tschierva Hut. While Janine and I took a horse drawn carriage halfway up the approach, the Guides stumbled through the darkness for three hours.
What would be the daily norm for weather started. Mostly clear, blue skies – but – dense fog & clouds swirling amongst the peaks. We climbed in warmth, but with no visibilty. Torment comes to the photographer always rising higher in the mountains only to go the same speed as the day’s rising cumulus. Matthias and Jürgen provided welcome comedy relief and I am sure the four of us could be heard laughing in the mist.
The Tschierva Hut is on the Swiss side of the Bernina and is a combination of hut circa 1800′s and modern 21st century architecture. The staff runs an immaculate and friendly home for alpine climbers. Being Swiss, dinner is at 6:30 sharp, breakfast is at 3 a.m. for Biancograt climbers – don’t be late.
The hardest part of alpine climbing is hearing my Suunto watch alarm go off at 2:50. I have been doing this for 20 years and it never gets easier, the first 10 minutes is a combination of dread for leaving the warm bed for the cold glacier, also for the imminent bone dry bread and instant Swiss coffee that needs to be consumed.
The climb itself was nothing short of perfect. We had perfect conditions, dry rock, little ice, and warm, no wind weather – but the low clouds remained preventing us from ever having more than 5 minutes of view below. The climb itself took us 5 hours from the hut, then another hour to descend to the real fun… The Italian side of the Bernina and the Marco e Rosa Hut.
Matthias and Janine on the final steep section to the summitWhile the Swiss Hut is orderly, clean, and clearly a business, the Marco e Rosa is something more like arriving to your eternal bachelor friend’s pad. The guidebook even warns, “the Hut is run by men, all men” – Italian Men. And these men live together, in complete isolation, at one of the highest huts in the Alps, tucked into rock amongst glaciers. As a visitor, one gets to visit their lives, see their porn posters, listen to their music blaring in the dining room and enjoy all things quintessentially Italian about the hut. I loved it.
Dinner was at 6, but 6 sharp means nothing in Italy, and so we ate at 7:15 and continued until after 9. But here in this hut, we had something I have never seen in the Alps… choices. These 3 Italian men, smelling somewhat of alcohol, manage to pull off an impressive dinner each night, complete with a selection of dolci and even an espresso machine for post dinner caffe. Homemade beer rounds out the selection, also with choices, bionda, rossa or wheat.
Inside the Marco e Rosa HutThe next morning we rose at 4:45 to complete our climb, a traverse of the Piz Palu. Once again we headed out into thick clouds and little visibility. Soon the sun rose, indicated by the brightening of the white environment. Finally like magic, it lifted, and just in time, we were on the summit of the Piz Palu. The warmth was welcome at 3900 meters, we laid out in the sun as if we were on holiday at the beach.
Descending the Palu is a quick affair down the glacier and through the crevasse field straight to the Diavolezza Hotel and a magnificent lunch before riding the tram to the rail station and a train ride back to Pontresina. Once again, a perfect trip. Maybe not for photography, but for the great memories that are stacking up. The Piz Morteratsch, Piz Bernina’s Biancograt and traverse of the Piz Palu – possibly the finest alpine tour in the Alps.
Janine and Jürgen on the Piz Palu as the weather finally clears
Nearing the Piz Palu summit
Ciccione, Jürgen and Matthias on “Holiday”Janine Patitucci… Who is this woman?
She has graced more magazine covers than most celebrities, she has appeared in countless advertisements, been seen on billboards, on the side of a Hong Kong skyscraper, but also, she has photographed for Visa card images and cereal boxes. To date she has Photoshopped roughly 80,000 images, built and maintained numerous websites, speaks three languages (and counting) and even gutted & remodeled our entire house, primarily on her own.
Who is this woman of countless talents?
She is Janine Patitucci – my wife and partner in PatitucciPhoto.
And, it is about time she deserves some recognition.
One thing she does not do much of is answer the phone, that is my job. She’ll take the German language calls, but few in English and none in Italian.
She is the rock of PatitucciPhoto. The behind the scenes player that really drives this entire program. In this relationship, our nationalities seem textbook.
Dan the Italian: Fun but occasionally chaotic, fashion over function, excessive energy, prefers to do the talking, waves hands often.
Janine the Swiss: Perfection speaks louder than descriptions. Works, a lot. Likes her chocolate. Too busy working with hands to wave.
It is a match made in Photo Business Heaven.
But why is she in so many photos throughout the years? Well… who else goes scouting with me for 8 hours on mountain bikes? Who else runs around Mont Blanc for fun? Who else alpine climbs in the nasty weather? She is always there, the camera is always there… get it? Consistency.
And so this is how we have done it all these years. A bit of luck and lots of hard work when we are off doing our own thing. Great weather…?
“Janine, quick, let’s shoot something here!!!”
Remember, for us it is a lifestyle choice. We love what we do; we get to do our sports, make photos, be in the mountains, travel, and we do it all together. There happens to be a successful business intertwined amongst it all, we would have it no other way.
Janine hard at work in the Italian Dolomites
Janine and Marcello Cominetti being taxi’d on Italian dirt roads
Also posted in Personal Story, Random Thoughts
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Sardinia: Selvaggio Blu Trip Report
Touted as Italy’s most remote hike, the Selvaggio Blu on the island of Sardinia repeatedly came recommended. Finally, Nicholas over at Planet Mountain advised me to have a look at Marcello Cominetti’s Guide Star Mountain Site for photos, I did so, and was sold.
I contacted our great friend and prolific writer, Tim Neville, we discussed it, pitched the story around to some magazines, and a week later had ourselves an assignment. Marcello provided invaluable information for the article, so we opted to go along with him serving as Guide.
Beginning on the southeastern part of the island in a small village called Santa Maria Navarrese, the trek creeps along the towering limestone seacliffs above the Mediterranean. As you weave your way through forests, wander through limestone corridors, and pass by ancient shepherds shelters, the Mediterranean sea, azure and cool far below, awaits the evening’s descent to camp. The tagline “Most Remote” does indeed hold true. For the first time in my 8 years of trekking in Europe, I never once felt like I would run into anyone along the trail.
The same did not hold true for the beaches we descended to. While we would emerge from the land side of the beach, all the many sunbathers would arrive via boat. The beaches are isolated bits of paradise along what is actually a vertical coastline, access is by water only, unless of course you are working your way along the Selvaggio Blu.
Tim, Janine and I wandered along behind Marcello, listening to all the fascinating history of the area and Sardinia. Sardinia is part of Italy yet has its own and decidedly unique history due to its position as an island between Africa, Spain and Italy.
For our last night, we found ourselves in a cave 40 meters above the water perched in the wall of stone. Our food had been dropped off by boat and in our stash was a bottle of the local red wine. At this point, we realized that all four of us were “working”, and that our “work” was confirmed to be blissfull. We laughed well into the night.
The final day included several rappels and some easy climbing before we stumbled from the trees and straight onto yet another white beach with azure waters lapping the shoreline. That, and a bar with the local beer served ice cold.
Some friends once told us that after all their trips, they do a best of/worst of report. So, while the above is general info for the Selvaggio Blu, now it is time for a more personal report with the results mixed, you decide if it is best or worst of:
- Mosquitos in mass quantities one night, no protection, too hot to lay in sleeping bag. Marcello looking like Rocky Balboa
- The Euro beach scene
- Asino kisses
- Beers in the food drops
- Cell service in our cave
- The color azure
- 3 hours sleep in the car outside the Milano airport
Stay tuned for Tim’s slideshow, including compromising photos of Dan’s photography techniques. Also, a full gallery of some real photos from the trip.
Many Thanks to these outstanding hosts…
Guide Star Mountain: http://www.guidestarmountain.com
Rifugio Goloritze: http://www.coopgoloritze.com
Albergo Santa Maria: http://www.albergosantamaria.it
Also posted in Photo Business, Photography, Random Thoughts, Travel
Tagged backpacking, hiking, Sardinia, Selvaggio Blu, Travel
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Ticking items off the life list
Tonight I am standing in the kitchen, cleaning tiny octopus, mincing garlic & onions and sipping on a local white wine. Toni and Marianna are coming for dinner, the theme; seafood.
For someone interested in cooking, the ingredients here in Italy are like a fine set of tools.
I love to cook, and I really love to eat.
As the second glass of wine gets poured, I start to think…
I live in Italy, I have access to all these amazing things.
Today I went for a 4 hour ride that was, for a cyclist, equal to skiing bone dry, waist deep powder. Superb Italian roads and Dolomite passes.
All of this happened, quite possibly, because of Steve Elia and his continual updates of how his life list is progressing.
Three years ago Janine and I traveled with Steve and his wife Barbara. Steve, like me, has a bit of extra energy. “Oh, gotta put that on the life list.”, is regularly announced when something is:
a) fun
b) worth repeating
c) screwed up the first time but worthy of a second try
d) seems like a good idea
Other notable Steve lines are, and this is for just about everything:
“Why wouldn’t you?”
And:
“Get rid of the money”
…For, well, just about everything.
His enthusiasm stuck in my head for quite some time. He really does have a list, and he and Barbara have recently ticked off a major project, adopting two children from Guatemala.
So a year later, we made our own life lists and I went straight to work on some of my items.
2 years later, I have lived a dream of being a full time bike racer in Italy, and then even getting our own home in the Italian Dolomites. #1 and #2 on the list, check and check.
Janine’s is a bit more complicated as space travel is still not available to everyone, but she did build a beautiful greenhouse in which she loves to grow many things.
Little did Steve know how influential his life list would end up. When we live honestly, and true to our vision, the power from the reality we experience has the ability to positively affect the lives of others.
Also posted in Humor, Personal Story, Random Thoughts
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Work & Play
I unlock and swing the door open just in time. My backpack, skis, poles, boots, groceries, mail and travel bag all crash to the floor in one pile.
Home!
The better part of one month has been spent living in mountain huts in Italy, Austria and Switzerland with little privacy, earplugs in, smelly blankets and dealing with certain nationalities more prone to farting and snoring. The flipside to the glamorous world of being a mountain sports photographer.
After dropping Janine and our friend John Dittli off in Innsbruck for their flight to the US, I speed home savoring my solitude. With two weeks to myself and just a bit of shooting scheduled, I look forward to some quality time with my Apple laptop and my bike. Being away so much actually has me looking forward to staring at my 17″ screen as much as staring at my 1″ bike computer.
And so I step over my massive pile of gear, log in, check email and the news.
Scanning through all my hundreds of emails my eye settles first on Tim Neville’s update. Tim is a good friend and a writer, a great writer, regularly featured in Outside, NY Times and many other top pubs. I am always anxious when he is featured in my Inbox for I know he’ll have been up to something fun.
Just back from his own travels he has posted a slideshow, Sushi & Croissants, at his website. I watch it, mesmerized, lost in his work, feeling as if I have never traveled but wanting to so badly. Tim has made me smile, made me feel excited about my own upcoming plans. His photos have his energy, his joy for living and sharing. Someone who loves what they do.
“He does this for work?” …this before reminding myself, “Uh Dan, you do the exact same thing.”
Yet still he has influenced me, made me vibrate with enthusiasm for life, made me want to just gather up all my stuff I just let plummet to the floor and go right back out there. We are of the same breed. Mostly he has reminded me of what it feels like to be inspired, and it feels good. What else is there but to live, and to live with enthusiasm? Thanks Tim.
Janine and Elinor Fish during one of the few hoursthe sun made itself present in the month of April
Dan sending the yellow problem inside an Austrian Hut while a blizzard rages outside. The inside temp was at least 52, making conditions slightly unpleasant.
John Dittli and Janine finding that perfect powder can turn to death crust in one turn
Also posted in Personal Story, Photo Business, Random Thoughts, Skiing
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