Column: Bob Capazzo: The Life Behind the Lens

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Bob Capazzo: The Life Behind the Lens – Depth of Feeling and Depth of Field

By Bobbi Eggers

If you don’t know Bob Capazzo, you ought to get out more.

Bob Capazzo and Bobbi Eggers.

Walk into almost any social event in Greenwich and chances are you will see Bob Capazzo bobbing through the crowd, camera in hand, snapping clusters of guests. He is a regular at sophisticated galas, fundraising parties, Greenwich nightlife and major charity events. His portfolio is a photographic diary of Greenwich’s glamour, photographing A-list business moguls and celebrities, politicians, cultural icons and the power elite. A gregarious, welcoming presence at nearly every party of note for the last three decades, he subtly greets you in the entryway, always a smile on his face, asking you to kindly move in front of the step-and-repeat to capture the glittering high life of that moment.  He has a great eye but also a great sense of humor. It’s only fitting that Bob has the charm and patience with all of us when you get to know his own story, the man hiding behind the lens. His story has never been told which surprises me. When he told it to me recently waiting on the set of a shoot, I felt compelled to share it with everyone- all of us who see him so often and yet, never knew the layers and depth of his story. He majored in photography but minored in survival skills.

Bob began his colorful life growing up with his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles on different floors in his grandparents’ bustling three family home. It was the racially charged early sixties on the west side of Stamford, a mixed neighborhood of Italian, Hispanic and Afro Americans. The corner variety store doubled as the neighborhood bookie’s place to play numbers. “I would hold out my hands and my mom would place milk money in the left and betting money in the right, and I’d run down to the corner store to place bets for her.”

Life around childhood dinnertimes had a huge emotional impact on Bob. The rituals before and after, embedded  into the fiber of who he is today with his love of family and dedicated marriage. Like so many children from challenged families, Bob was groomed to be the star of the family with a college scholarship and an MLB career. His father worked in a sheet metal factory by day, but after dinner, they religiously practiced pitching outside at night. “My Dad was my hero,” Bob said. A talented pitcher himself, he lived his dreams through young Bob.

But his love for his mother had the most impact on him, a tiny woman bursting with personality and a passion for music. Tossed out of Catholic High School, she worked at her father’s neighborhood liquor store with 4-year-old Bob in tow who helped stock the fridge with bottles of Schaeffer and Ballantine Beer, labels facing out. She saved her money to buy a stereo console and asked Bob to play her favorite records while she danced in the kitchen, cooking to Elvis, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis and later, the Beatles. Bob learned to dance, spinning around the kitchen with his mom. Even now when he hears her favorite tunes, he is back in the kitchen, the smell of her Italian cooking, dancing before dinners.

The second week of Bob’s freshman year at high school, Bob kissed his mother goodbye, as he always did in the morning, only to return to find his father home mid-day. “The look on his face said it all, “ Bob recalls. He said goodbye to his mom that night at Stamford Hospital, a massive heart attack at 39. Bob was heartbroken. Within that year, his father abruptly took off for Florida, his sister quickly married, and Bob was left, sleeping on and off in unlocked cars until he moved back onto his grandparent’s sofa for three years.

Baseball was Bob’s saving grace, setting a No Hitter and the Grand Slam record at Westhill High School. His loving grandfather, Joe, came to every baseball game, driving up in his infamous white Eldorado Cadillac, a proud icon at every game. But surprisingly, Bob’s life took another turn when he met the one teacher who would inspire his life when he walked into the first day of photography class, an elective he didn’t want to take. It was the seventies and Mr. Weldon was sitting on top of his desk, cross-legged, long ponytail down his back. He recognized Bob’s talent, took him under his wing, and entered his photos into the Connecticut Art Competition. Bob won and applied for Financial Aid to the top art colleges, but his father’s income was too high to qualify, even though he hadn’t seen him in five years.

Bob had a job delivering flowers throughout high school and scraped enough money together to attend classes at the School of Visual Arts in NYC, but soon ran out of money until he met the woman that would change his life forever. Bob’s cousin worked with a fun, “cool girl,” Georgine. She was the only girl for him right from the start and she supported him going back to SVA before they got married. Together, they had the other love of his life, his daughter, Ashton.  Bob took a job at a photo studio in Stamford until he met the Greenwich woman who changes so many people’s lives in town, Lin Lavery. Lin suggested that Bob call Jack and Donna Moffly, who had just bought The Greenwich Review, soon to become Greenwich Magazine. Donna and Bob struck a deal and he’s been busy shooting for Moffly Media ever since, a fixture almost everywhere.

In 1997 Bob was called to shoot a beautiful custom guitar made by Brian Moore Guitars in Brewster, New York. He fell in love with the guitars and bartered the shoot in exchange for a guitar. Always a clever guy, Bob then bartered photos of guitarist and mentor, John “Ratso” Gerardi, and learned how to play. He formed his band, Merlin, with David Bachenheimer and his Rock & Roll alter ego was born. Seven years later, his talented group is a crowd favorite at clubs, benefits and events.

Another pivotal moment was when Bob was called to shoot Tae Kwon Do Grand Master Kang in Old Greenwich. He was told he had to take one class in order to understand the movement to be able to photograph the Grand Master. Ten years later, Bob now has a Second Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido.

Bob is a true artist, with a diversity of talent driving him to perform. He has photographed U.S. Presidents, super models. athletes, Eric Clapton, Santana, the Beach Boys, Doobie Bros and more, but his favorites were Ron and Cheryl Howard. “They are the most down to earth people I have ever met,” Bob said.  “Amazing family and children.” He has covered nearly every social event in Greenwich with many stories to tell, riding in hot air balloons and blimps, shooting with a Bengal tiger, beekeepers, polo ponies and more Greenwich family Golden Retrievers and Labradors than he can count. Stand and watch him take pictures and you will know how much he loves people. The infamous photographer, Alfred Eisenstaedt once said, “It is more important to click with people than it is to click the shutter.” The love of humanity is his  true passion. “What makes my job so much fun is the people. Everyone has a story if you just stop and talk to them.”

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