This portfolio is just a sampling of my work. It's not just a chronicle of intriguing faces and settings-- the images in part reflect the photography of the 1950s and 60s when content, space and scale coalesced the result could be quite mythic.

Its a personal odyssey as well. There's a sun-drenched street in Molfetta, Italy, where I was born; there's a poignant blurred image of my wife and baby son Leo; there are studies of places I've traveled to over the years- Rome, Port-au-Prince and Naples.

Then there's the photograph of a stable in Athens, Georgia. This was one of the pictures that intrigued Edward Steichen who had just become the director of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He sent it, along with others, to art director Alexey Brodovitch at Harper's Bazaar.

That's how I got my start.

I would shoot for Bazaar for six years, and for Vogue, and for many other publications.

What you see here is the tip of the iceberg in an archiving project that has been going on for the past two years through a little company called Wonderbred.

Check out my web site for more images.

My foundation retains exclusive copyright on all of my work -- no images may be reproduced, manipulated, edited or otherwise used in any form either online or in print without my express written permission.

Contacts (414)

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Testimonials (4)

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    (Eric Rose) says:

    "Such a fascinating photostream. Tom is a true inspiration. I'm moved."

    22nd June, 2008

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    carima maheo says:

    "I discovered by coincidence, this site and immediately I found a world that I knew, little girl with my mother. She was very nice and followed the fashion, and as it was a beautiful woman, while he was going. On this site, I found this world a half tint, sophisticated and discreet, the "good taste" after all. I love to come and take a tour, the pictures are very beautiful and tell without any show in a world disappeared, strangely I think of William Somerset Maugham.(The Razor's Edge)
    In short I love the job full sensitivity tompalumbo"

    15th June, 2008

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    astridav says:

    "Most people don't know too much about Tom because he went into advertising in the mid 1960's. Then later he folllowed an interest that originally had ealier led him to become a member of the Actors Studio, he directed theatre.

    Theatre makes sense because when you look at a lot of his contact sheets you can see his mind at work, these are stage sets, the models are actors, and the play is about finding the perfect frame."

    6th June, 2008

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    *wonderbred* says:

    "After going through 14 or 15 thousand negatives so far what you see here in Tom's flickr is really the tip of a mighty iceberg. There is much more to come.

    Of note are his Miles Davis images which were found in the cache of negatives from 1953-1956. They had never been printed before and although they did finally appear in the first issue publication of a magazine called MOVIES ROCK in November 2007, we're not sure that many people noticed.

    The Miles Davis are remarkable because they show Miles laughing and smiling, something he never seems to have done later.

    Perhaps the reason the negatives were not printed at the time was that Tom knew that Miles would not have liked these pictures which most definitely conflicted with that 'cool guy' persona that we see in most images of him.

    Either way, its a fascinating time capsule..."

    15th January, 2008

Name:
Tom Palumbo
Joined:
January 2008
Hometown:
Molfetta, Italy
Currently:
New York, NY, USA
I am:
Male and Taken
Occupation:
Photographer & Director of Theatre
Website:
www.tompalumbo.com