Contributors: October 2012

Ilene Wolff, Martin Vecchio, Daniel Pelavin
3188

Ilene Wolff

Hearing that skin cancer is on the rise while interviewing dermatologists really hit home for freelance writer Wolff, who is a frequent contributor to Hour Detroit. Not only has she had it, so have her father and all of her seven siblings. “We all inherited fair skin from my dad, and we all had sunburns when we were kids,” Wolff says. She was surprised at how much new information she learned while talking to area dermatologists, including the fact that using a skin product with a retinoid can reverse some of the damage associated with developing skin cancer. “Plus, every one of them said it’s a total waste of money to spend a lot on over-the-counter skin care,” Wolff says. “I love it!”

Martin Vecchio

Working in the commercial automotive photography industry introduced Vecchio to the counterintuitive idea that you could light a car the way you can light a portrait. People automatically relate to portraits; it’s in their nature to recognize something of themselves in photos of other people. Vecchio realized that this theory of lighting could be carried over to almost any realm of photography. The Wayne State University graduate and resident of Detroit’s Woodbridge neighborhood also takes the portrait approach to the lighting and composition of his photographs of architectural interiors. The images need to show the relationships of the spaces, but if they can have a humanizing composition and approach to lighting, they become more accessible to the viewer. In this issue, he photographed a contemporary lakefront home.

Daniel Pelavin

Pelavin’s first job after graduation from Michigan State University landed him on the 23rd floor of the Penobscot Building as an apprentice in the mat room of one of Detroit’s largest art studios. The artists already “on the board” were certain he would be a success at cleaning paint palettes, filling water bowls, and keeping track of their lunch orders. Some years later, with solid studio time under his belt and a master of fine arts from Cranbrook Academy of Art, he set out for New York City. Three decades later, he’s delighted to be gainfully employed as a freelance illustrator and designer who can look out his studio window and give an instant traffic update on the Holland Tunnel. “I took it as a special privilege to be working for a hometown publication,” says Pelavin, who illustrated the cover for this issue.


If you enjoy the monthly content in Hour Detroit, “Like” us on Facebook and/or follow us on Twitter for more frequent updates.