My mom. Probably about 6-7 years old, in the 1940s. She passed away last year from Alzheimer’s. My grandfather took this photograph, and hundreds more. He was an avid amateur photographer. I’ve inherited boxes and boxes of medium format photographs, Kodachromes, 16mm movies, 8mm movies, and hundreds of prints chronicling my mother’s life and the […]
Before heading out to photograph a wedding last weekend, I held my grandparents’ wedding slides up to a window and marveled at images I had never before seen. I was inspired by the wonderful imperfection of them all. There is something about two farm kids dressed in their best, grinning like children as they leave […]
As time passes by and you look at portraits, the people come back to you like a silent echo. A photograph is a vestige of a face, a face in transit. –Henri Cartier-Bresson This is my favorite picture of me and my mom. I experienced a freak accident at six months old and my mom […]
Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time’s relentless melt. – Susan Sontag My father’s parents. I only knew Kay, but from all accounts, Harlan was a disciplined, hard-working, loving, family man. Recently, my father’s side of the family has been on a tear, sharing photos like this one […]
This is a portrait of my great, great uncle, taken in Paris during World War I. Incredibly, the photo studio is still in business and I am traveling there to have my portrait made in the exact location. Recreating a 100-year old portrait of my great, great uncle will undoubtedly be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But […]
I admit it. I’m a photo hoarder. In fact, I bet I’m not the only one. That’s right, I’m looking at you! But don’t worry, you’re not alone. Millions of people feel like they’re drowning in a sea of digital photos. So many of us are struggling to wade through our digital photos that there’s an entire organization dedicated to […]
My mother Gladys in Brooklyn, circa 1940s. She was born in St. Marks Hospital in NYC in 1922 and grew up in a household of extended family members, even sharing a bed with a maternal aunt until she was 16. My mother suffered from a variety of medical issues throughout her life, some due to […]
Here’s to the picture takers, the family historians, the memory keepers, the watchful storytellers who document our days. They remind us that ordinary life is actually quite extraordinary. My grandpa took selfies before selfies were cool. This is him in the early 80’s experimenting with his Minolta and long exposure self portraits. The tripod and […]
My Oma on a hike with her friend somewhere in the Alps in the 1930s, maybe late 1920s. Her name was Rosl Liebisch and she lived from 1915-2009. I don’t know much about that line of my family yet, but here and there I have discovered little stories. My Oma was friends with her employer, […]
In 2005, my two remaining grandparents passed away within two weeks of each other. My parents travelled back to the UK for the funerals and returned with a large collection of photos, documents and a couple of small mementos. Among my mother’s family papers was a key that unlocked the door to her past: her parent’s […]
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