Michael Pilla Photoblog

Philadelphia Eagles Kicker David Akers; an extraordinary athlete and incredibly generous person. When he’s not on the football field, David devotes a fair amount of time to charity activity. Check out David Akers’ Kicks for Kids which benefits children being cared for at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

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Cheese maker, Caseificio Di Pasquo    Agnone, Italy

There are a million varieties of cheese in the world; not a bad thing if you’re a cheese lover. While working in Italy years ago I had the opportunity to photograph the Caseificio Di Pasquo tucked in the mountains of central Italy in the town of Agnone. The Di Pasquo family produces a variety of excellent cheese products but are best known for the traditional caciocavallo di agnone, an aged cheese made from cow’s milk.

Caciocavallo is a firm cheese. Early in the drying process the cheese is covered in a waxy coat so it can continue to season without spoiling. The seasoning can take anywhere from two to twelve months. Each cheese is inspected and if it meets all quality standards is branded with the company logo.

Caciocavallo isn’t a sharp cheese but it does have a little bite to it. I’ve only eaten it plain but I’m told that slices of caciocavallo are often heated on a grill, sprinkled with black pepper and served on crusty italian bread. More info at the Caseificio Di Pasquo website.

I have to confess that before this assignment I knew very little about the TV show or the media hype surrounding this family. When TLC asked me to photograph the sextuplets’ birthday party I had no idea there would be paparazzi hiding in trees, personal security people and a small platoon of pinatas. Needless to say, I had a blast.


Images from this series were published in the New York Times and People Magazine. Along with my photo, People ran a paparazzo photo in which I can be seen in the background. Not a bad week when you appear in People both in front of and behind the lens. I made several unintentional cameo appearances in the season premier of the show as an added bonus.

The best part of the day for me? Well, I got to shoot my cake and eat it too.

Robin Quivers photographed at her beach home on LBI for Sirius Satellite Radio.

“Daddy are there sharks in the ocean that want to eat us?”

“Well sweetie, there are sharks in the ocean but I don’t think they want to eat us.”

“Daddy what would you do if you were in the ocean and you saw a shark?”

“I don’t know sweetie, I guess I’d photograph it.”

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