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Updated: January 18, 2024 @ 12:51 pm

OCEAN CITY — Tributes poured in for professional photographer Donald B. Kravitz, who died Jan. 15, 2024. 

Kravitz was a fixture at Ocean City events for decades and his work encompassed everything from local charitable events to Miss America pageants.

Kravitz, a talented and genial presence who was well respected among his peers, was seemingly everywhere covering events including July Fourth parades and the resort’s unlocking of the ocean on Memorial Day weekend. That was but a small fraction of his work.

The decorated Vietnam War veteran took photographs for Ocean City, Atlantic City, various casinos, Getty Images, the Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles, Miss New Jersey and Miss America and the Garden State Film Festival. 

He was involved in many charitable organizations and understood the importance of sharing kindness and compassion with everyone, according to his family, who considered him a supportive and loving husband, father, stepfather and Pop-Pop. The graduate of the University of Maryland was often seen wearing his baseball cap turned backward while he was working.

“Don was one of the hardest-working people I know, he loved his craft and I’m sure his talents will be greatly missed,” Richard Strauss said.

“I met Don 20 years ago when I became the photographer for the Miss New Jersey pageant,” he explained. “At first it was a little intimidating since everybody knew Don and I was the new kid on the block. Don helped me get acquainted with the pageant world and soon we became good friends. I always looked forward to seeing him at the pageants and whoever arrived first would save the other one a seat.”

“This is incredibly sad news. Don was such a kind and loving man. He will be missed,” wrote Tricia Bowman Branch, a former Miss New Jersey from Ocean City.

“He had that infectious smile and kindness about him,” said Cathy DiMarco, president of the Ocean City Cape Atlantic Chapter of the Sunshine Foundation. “And he was always seen with (his wife) Carol by his side.”

DiMarco said Kravitz volunteered for years to take photos for the Sunshine Foundation and “captured the right moments” for her organization and the other events he covered. “He was always extending a helping hand.”

“He was not only a photographer, but a friend to all who knew him,” DiMarco added, “always offering his services any way he could.”

“Oh, my heart is breaking,” wrote comedian Dena Blizzard. “Don was one of the kindest souls I’ve ever met. I’m not sure how … but from behind that camera he supported so many of us on stage. Many prayers to his wife, Carol, and their beautiful family. He will be missed so much.”

“He will be so, so missed,” former Miss New Jersey Jill Horner wrote. “What a wonderful person.”

“I’ve traveled a distance away from my pageant career, and my home base of Ocean City. It’s been so long that ‘former’ titleholder feels overly generous,” wrote Robin Vitale. “But Donald Kravitz didn’t forget. A few years ago, he caught me at a baby parade in Ocean City and he instantly connected.

“I felt transported back to my days sitting on the back of a volunteer’s convertible. Don always made you feel special. He will be missed. But he’s now able to capture the best view of those he loves. I pray his memory brings them comfort in time.”

“He was always a kind and generous person,” Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian said. “A true fixture of Ocean City.” 

Diana Dove shared an anecdote. 

“I believe I fell into his arms during a local pageant when he was taking pictures. I was a visiting queen walking down an unfamiliar runway (without a rehearsal). I didn’t realize there were black steps at the end of the black runway, while blinded by the spotlight. … We were both so happy I didn’t make a crash landing! He said I was the ‘catch of the day!’ He tilted me back up and I kept walking, waving and smiling.”

“Don was everywhere with his cameras,” said David Nahan, a photographer and editor of the Sentinel newspapers. “He was one of the first people I met covering events in Ocean City more than 25 years ago and that I bumped into ever since. He was always friendly, kind and supportive.

“His work was outstanding,” Nahan added. “I was impressed by the quality of his photos, but doubly so by how he managed to cover so many different things. I also was impressed by the reactions he got from the people he covered — so many adored him.” 

He is survived by his loving wife, Carol Hadley (nee Reichman), who often accompanied and supported him on his assignments. He was the loving father of Brett Dockwell (Alison), Dr. Amy Kravitz-Del Solar (Alvaro), Troy Kravitz (Sandra Normann-Kravitz), Bryan Nadley (Jill) and Amy Polis (Adam); adoring grandfather of Fin, Nola, Ainsley, Elias, Mathias, Charlotte, Noah, Jake, Jordyn, Jonah, Beckam and Ramsey; brother of Karen Jacobson (Arthur) and Eileen Fein (Ronnie.)

Family and friends are invited to his funeral service at 9 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 21, at Goldsteins’ Rosenberg’s Raphael-Sacks Suburban North Chapel, 310 Second Street Pike in Southampton, Pa. Entombment to follow at Montefiore Cemetery in Jenkintown, Pa.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the Heart of Surfing (www.heartofsurfing.org) or to the Sunshine Foundation (www.sunshinefoundation.org).

GREENSBORO, Ga. — t was an exciting day for Lake Oconee Academy’s photography class when the Atlanta Braves team photographer, Kevin Liles, visited to share his knowledge and experience as a photographer with the budding photography students.

Liles began his career as a small-town reporter in South Georgia. After covering local high school sports, Kevin discovered he had a growing interest in photography, especially when it came to sports. He went on to photograph hundreds of assignments for The New York Times, Washington Post, Sports Illustrated and The Wall Street Journal. In 2018, he found his home as the team photographer for the Atlanta Braves where he continues his work today.

Liles shared some of the amazing moments he has captured over the years with the photography students. While most of the photographs he shared were epic ones he has taken for the Braves, he also shared some amazing moments he’s been fortunate to capture outside of The Braves organization over the years — from a regal portrait of former Pres. Jimmy Carter to a rare moment with University of Alabama head football coach, Nick Saban. He even shared an unexpected moment he was fortunate to capture of a pastor praying with a police officer that landed on the front of The New York Times Sunday edition. His was the lead photograph of every photographer across the country covering this story. It was an incredible honor.

In addition, Liles shared great advice with the young photography students as they prepare for their futures in any area of study. Liles suggested, “It takes about 10 years, in my experience, to be really good at anything…”

He later stated, “I think a lot of kids come into photography and try to be great very, very quickly. They want to be shooting a Braves game next week and it doesn’t work that way.”

His advice was to just put in the time to gain experience, suggesting that in order to grow in photography one needs good critiquing of his or her work to excel in the field.

Liles enjoyed bantering back and forth with ninth grade student, Ben Reber. He noticed Ben had a superior knowledge of the Braves stats and playfully tested his knowledge throughout. Ben later shared how much he enjoyed seeing Liles’ work from games he had attended or viewed on TV, recalling the moments from memory.

Before the event, Jordynn Chafin, a 10th-grade student, was unsure if photography was a career path she was interested in, “I wanted to do something in the technology field, but I thought photography was kind of boring. Seeing his work made me realize there is more to it and technology can be fun if you make it,” said Jordyn. She emphasized, “He definitely made me give photography a second thought.”

Being in the presence of such an accomplished photographer was a special experience for these young photography students. Before departing, Liles gave the students an opportunity to hold his official Braves World Series ring, an experience many of the students will never forget.

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Wandering the empty streets of New York during the dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic, photographer Phil Penman captured the city at one of its lowest ebbs.

“I have mixed emotions about this time,” Penman tells PetaPixel. “It was very sad to see the streets I love boarded up, due to the rise in shoplifting and theft.”

Despite the bleak times, Penman found comfort in chance conversations with strangers as people yearned for human connection during a period when authorities were enforcing lockdowns.

“This is New York at its worst and its very best,” says Penman. “The images take you on a journey. Quiet streets of New York like we have never seen before right through to the characters and personalities on the street that were less fortunate and had nowhere else to go.”

“I spent a great deal of time wandering the streets documenting everything and anything I saw,” he continues. “I found the conversations I had with people on the street helped me mentally and appreciate just how much we all need each other. Zoom calls were nice but no substitute for talking with people in the flesh.”

Big Empty Apple

Penman’s photos play on isolationist themes, amplified by the Leica Monochrom camera he chose to shot the project on. Like any street photographer, he knows patience is a virtue.

“Coming from the U.K. and knowing how much the rain just sucks, I now find myself looking for the bleak weather to act as a backdrop for the characters I like to capture,” he explains.

“I know from my 30 years on the streets that those extraordinary moments are few and far between. It requires a lot of man hours on the street walking and observing. If you go out with the mindset that you are going to get these images all the time you are setting yourself up for failure.”

Despite hailing from Britain, Penman says he is “very much a New Yorker” after living there for 23 years. He points to Arnold Newman, Elliot Erwitt, and Josef Koudelka as influences but one inspires him more than others.

“Always have to go with Salgado on this one. From both a photographic point of view but also as a businessman and the way in which he handles himself with projects he chooses to do,” he says.

Penman has built an enviable following online with his Instagram page boasting 180,000 followers.

“Back when I started photographers had to have the gatekeepers approve of them and maybe they could have a career,” he says.

“These days young photographers don’t realize how great it is. You now can build an audience and make money doing something you love without going to the gatekeepers. Many photographers now can reach millions of people every month.”

His photos have been collated into a book called New York Street Diaries which is published by teNeues.

More of Penman’s work can be found on his Instagram and website.

Image credits: Photographs by Phil Penman

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