Gary Schacker                     List of honorees         Louis Rose Society         Jewishsightseeing home

Writings about Gary Schacker

Bar/Bat Mitzvah Events Association (BESA), webpage on photographer Gary Schacker: http://www.besasandiego.com/schacker_photo/schacker_photo.htm

-2003-
January 10, 2003—Audrey Jacobs, "Planning a bar/bat mitzvah: a survival guide for parents," San Diego Jewish Press-Heritage, pages 1, 6-8

-2005-
December 30, 2005—Steve Berezin, news release on "Unseen Ellis Island": Below is information on an exciting 3D show that will be shown along with a show on California sites on Friday, January 13, 2006.  It will be presented at the Saddleback Room at City Hall (200 Civic Center) the corner of La Paz and Margarite in Mission Viejo California at 6:30PM. Please contact Steve Berezin for seat reservations (949) 215 1554  (it is free). An Evening of Stereo Photography "Unseen Ellis Island" Millions of immigrants poured into Ellis Island in the first half of the 20th century. Viewers will slip on a pair of 3-D glasses and observe compelling vintage photographic images depicting the immigrant's journey to a new life and stunning modern views of the facility in its present state. Also see colorful award winning stereo scenic and travel images by photographer Gary Schacker. Mr. Schacker is a native of New York City and a resident of San Diego since 1979. (200 Civic Center) the corner of La Paz and Margarite in Mission Viejo California..  Course #: 859    Date: Friday, January 13, 2006 Time: 6:30 p.m. Fee: Free Each month the Cultural Arts Committee hosts a program at the Mission Viejo City Hall (200 Civic Center), which includes various art forms such as musical performances, visual art displays, vocal groups, and dance performances.  Seat reservations are recommended by calling (949) 470-3061 or (949) 470-8440.  Seating will begin 30 minutes prior to the performance for everyone with reservations.  Open seating will begin 10 minutes prior to the performance on a first-come first serve basis. Here is an article about the show that appeared in the Portland Oregonian:   3-D photo show reveals hidden side of immigrants' Ellis Island;  JOE FITZGIBBON;  Millions of immigrants poured into Ellis Island in the first half of the 20th century. They wore weary faces and lugged heavy suitcases but were hopeful with the promise of a new life. Some of Ellis Island has been closed to the public for 50 years, but now it's possible to step back in history in this exciting 3D show. The award winning, 30-minute program, developed by San Diego photographer Gary Schacker and New Jersey collector and photographer Sheldon Aronowitz, combines vintage images of Ellis Island with contemporary photographs of many of the historic buildings. "It all had that look of being abandoned quickly," Schacker says of Ellis Island's buildings. He and Aronowitz spent five days outfitted with face masks and hard hats photographing the infirmaries, dormitories, administrative offices and examining rooms on the island. "We didn't touch anything but simply tried to convey the mood and the deterioration we saw," Schacker says. The compelling images include long corridors leading into paint-chipped rooms with broken furniture, including one with a collapsed piano and another with stacks of bedding. In one building, light streams through splintered windows, showing off plants that have taken root in piles of debris. In another, unclaimed steamer trunks are stacked to the ceiling, while rusted file cabinets spill out onto floors. The 3-D photographs of weather-scarred operating rooms and moss-filled sinks are a reminder of the diseases many new arrivals brought and the births and deaths that happened there. "The show won the equivalent of our Academy Awards says Shab Levy, an avid photographer and member of the National Stereoscopic Association, which promotes 3-D photography. The association gave the program its 2004 top prize. "You can't help being moved emotionally by its harsh beauty." In 1990, after renovation costs of more than $60 million, the Ellis Island Immigration Museum opened to the public. Each year, nearly 2 million visitors stroll through the main processing center. However, no one is allowed in any of the neighboring 29 buildings. Schacker says he hopes that in a small way the show by he and Aronowitz will galvanize support for restoring those structures. "It's hard not to think of the anxiety the immigrants confined to these buildings must have felt," he says. "We jumped at the chance to look inside, and I'm sure that lots of other people would do the same." Course #: 859 Date: Friday, January 13, 2006; Time: 6:30 p.m. Fee: Free. More information: steve@berezin.com