Photographic Roots

Saturday, October 2, 2010

My Uncle Jack is an artist. He has many artistic interests and gifts, but he is first and foremost a photographer, and for the majority of his professional life, he has made his living as a professional photographer.

It was his passion and talent for photography that brought him to this country (from Egypt), and it was his maiden voyage to the US on a cross-cultural trip for the purpose of showcasing his Egyptian photographs that provided the stage for his meeting my aunt – who became another great passion in his life. It was also my Uncle’s photographic and artistic talents that led him, and my aunt, to a job with Hallmark,

in Kansas City, in the 1950s. They have lived there ever since, and their roots there are deep ones. This city is clearly another of their passions.

My aunt and uncle have a beautiful home in Kansas City. They have lived in this same house now for over 40 years and it is filled with wonderful pieces of artwork and momentos from family visits and worldly travels over the years. Additionally, and this, of course, comes as no surprise, their house is full of photographs! They sit on every shelf. They crowd each other for space on the refrigerator. They compete with books for space on the shelves. They are hung on walls, doors, beams and columns. And they are wonderful reminders of a lot of love going on in this family.

My uncle, at the youthful age of 89, is still employed. He runs his own publishing business. In addition to editing and publishing a line of books, he has developed and marketed several lines of greeting cards and note cards (bearing his photographs). He also continues to show and sell his photographs. He has a photo “lab” and fully outfitted work space in his home (in the basement), and we were treated to a tour of his home office, which included a peak at some of his current projects – in various stages of completion.

He also proudly showed off his “real” office, located near the Plaza in a building owned by American Century. Most prominently on display in his office at present are a series of black and white photographs depicting scenes in Egypt. These photos were part of the photo show that

first brought my uncle to this country in the 1950s. He is planning a re-showing of these digitally re-mastered photos for some time 2011. They are quite beautiful. And the quality is amazing.