Photographers don’t often find themselves in the spotlight – they’re usually behind the camera, finding just the right lighting or waiting for the perfect moment to capture their subject. Over the past three years, Paul Vassalotti has photographed thousands of tradespeople and projects as our staff photographer.
His work has allowed us to share so many powerful photos of our hardworking crews building our communities and showcasing the craftsmanship that goes into every project. We are excited for Paul to have his moment in the spotlight with a feature in InBusiness magazine. Read about the serendipitous way Paul joined our team and check out some of our favorite shots in the gallery below!
A Documentarian of Development
Madison area residents are always curious about the new developments and buildings coming to their neighborhoods.
Paul Vassalotti takes that a step further, photographing the men and women who pour concrete, the iron workers affixing a steel truss to a building or the engineers at a construction site.
“I generally like to showcase individuals where I can, because I think that gets overlooked a lot,” he said. “I like to catch people down to the details, the individual doing their job. It showcases their skills and their craftsmanship.”
Vassalotti, 70, pursues this passion as a part-time employee of commercial contractor JP Cullen. He first connected with the company when he was hanging around the Judge Doyle Square project in downtown Madison and taking photos.
As it turns out, Cullen was in need of a photographer to help capture its projects and people, he said.
“I joke with my boss that they found me out on the street and they gave me a job,” he said.
Vassalotti began devoting more time to photography after retiring from a 37-year career at BASF, where he had a role in the agriculture chemical field.
Since joining Cullen, he’s won several construction photography awards.
For anyone keen to document the changing face of Dane County, there is no shortage of material. Tower cranes soar above the city in every direction.
“My impression of all of this is, boy, it’s a good time to be in the trades,” he said.
He pointed to the Baird Center in Milwaukee, the Kellner Family Athletic Center, the South End Zone Renovation at Camp Randall and UW Health Eastpark Medical Center as some of his favorite projects to document.
But to Vassalotti, “it’s about the human beings doing the work. That’s always No. 1.
“If you were photographing a basketball game, you’d want to see the guy making the three-point shot, not the whole team.”
Originally Posted on In Business: A documentarian of development | Construction & Real Estate | ibmadison.com
