A man who could ‘catch lightning’
Boisterous journalist charmed children, outlaws, fashion icons — and colleagues
Star photographer Vince Talotta had a ‘supernatural ability’ to put his subjects — no matter who they were — at ease.
For many, being in a room with Vince (Vinnie) Talotta meant being at ease, comforted by a boisterous presence who could chisel a smile into the most petrified face.
“Vinnie was a charmer, but it was genuine because he treated everyone the same,” said former Toronto Star journalist Michelle Shephard, whom Talotta often worked with as a photographer.
Talotta would disarm people, again and again, she said, no matter who he talked to — cops, politicians, lawyers, gang members serving double life sentences, the chip truck guy. In a more than 30-year career at the Star, Talotta photographed everyone from world leaders to outlaw bikers to runway models. He had a reputation for making any wolf he was thrown to smile and pose.
Wrote columnist Joey Slinger in 2003: “Shot by shot he’s making the stuff we write entirely secondary to his pictures … Vinnie is turning what we once thought of as window dressing into the narrative.
“Vince Talotta can catch lightning.”
Talotta died Tuesday in Toronto of complications from cancer. He was 53.
He was discovered in the late ’80s while stocking shelves at an LCBO frequented by Star staff. There, he befriended Maurice Fairweather, a former head of purchasing who recommended the “nice guy who needed a job because his arms were hurting from all the restocking,” be hired on as an office messenger in 1988, according to former Star photographer Erin Combs.
Star visuals editor Taras Slawnych recalled his ambition and inquisitiveness. “He used to hang out at the photo desk all the time looking at pictures and asking what lens they used, whether they used flash, what lighting was used. Eventually he got to do some assignments for the real estate section and some magazine work. He started to do more and more photos.”
Talotta had to learn the trade on his feet from the Star’s “old school” photographers — “a rough, gruff, crusty old bunch,” Combs said.
“If they didn’t like you, they wouldn’t help you. But if they liked you, they’d tell you everything. Everybody opened up to Vinnie. Everybody wanted him to succeed.”
A few years later, Combs promoted Talotta to staff photographer — almost unheard of for someone without formal photography training.
“He was one of a kind,” she said. “He learned from the best and in turn became one of the best.”
Success wasn’t a sure thing. Former Star fashion editor Bernadette Morra underscored the challenge: “Everybody in the newsroom — and they can be a pretty tough bunch — still perceives you as ‘copy boy,’ ” she said.
Former Star photo editor Ken Faught said Talotta became a reporters’ favourite for his “supernatural ability to put his subjects at ease.”
Reporter Amy Dempsey recalled one example: a photo opportunity of a seven-year-old child’s first sight of snow. “The kid was hiding behind his mom’s legs,” she remembered. “I took (Talotta) aside and said, ‘Look, I’m sorry, but this kid is painfully shy — I think this is going to be a bust.’
“Vinnie moved me aside and in less than a minute, he and the kid were on the ground, playing in the snow together.”
It’s a sentiment that echoed around the Star newsroom Tuesday.
Crime reporter Peter Edwards called him “a good guy to be with at a biker or mob event” because he had an innate ability to read people.
“Don’t get me started on his photos of brain surgery at SickKids,” added editor Adam Gutteridge. “They were so visceral and showed the reality of this form of surgery with gut- wrenching power.”
At home in Etobicoke, Talotta loved his garden, from which he’d make sauces and giardiniera. He especially loved his fig tree, although, Slawnych recalled, “Figs aren’t supposed to grow in Toronto. He had to bury it every fall for it to survive our harsh winter.”
According to Morra and Combs, one of the greatest challenges any photographer can face is covering high-profile fashion events. Talotta’s charisma made that a breeze.
“The photographer’s platform at the end of the runway is controlled by this very small group of mostly men, this little mafia, (but) he sweet-talked his way right to the middle of the platform. Other people would come along with this arrogance, thinking they belonged there. Vince never had that, and people could feel it.”
Morra says news photography is more about knowing how to deal with people than it is about knowing how to operate a camera. She said in that respect, Talotta was the perfect person for the job.
“He started as a messenger and dreamed of being a Star photographer,” said Star editor Irene Gentle. “It is our privilege and fortune that through his talent and hard work, he became one.”
Talotta leaves his wife, Maithily Panchalingam, who also works at the Star, and their son, Mikele. Funeral details are pending.