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This man’s name was Gherman. He used to visit my grandfather a few times a year, and I always looked forward to his visits. He had encyclopedic knowledge of pretty much everything; he spoke German, French, English and Yiddish; best of all, he was as obsessed with photography as I was. Years later, after I immigrated to the United States, I found out that Gherman spent 15 years in GULAG. He met my grandfather in 1947 at Mine 7 in Vorkuta where my grandfather saved his life when Gherman’s right arm was torn off by heavy machinery.When I began to research my grandfather’s life, I found out that Gherman immigrated to Israel shortly after I moved to the United States. I called him and we talked for almost 4 hours. He told me about GULAG camps and about my grandfather. He sent me a 35-page handwritten letter with first hands accounts of his life in Soviet labor camps.
Yesterday I found out from my grandmother that Gherman passed away a few weeks ago. He was the last of my grandfather’s friends who were in prison camps with him. When I heard the news, I cried. Rest in peace…
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I met Jillian and her family a little over a year ago when I photographed her brother’s Bar Mitzvah. It’s not often that I see siblings that get along as well as Jillian, Josh and Drew!
Jillian’s Bat Mizvah was one of the funnest events I’ve ever photographed. The party took place at the Heinz History Center; the theme was winter wonderland. Barbara Rosenberger (event planner) and Micki Cohen (designer) made the place look absolutely amazing! Kim Palmer photographed the party with me as a second shooter and she did an absolutely beautiful job – thank you so much for your help!
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This has been an absolutely insane year and we really needed to get out of Pittsburgh for a few days, change the scenery and do something fun. We usually take one big trip (usually abroad) every year; this year we picked Ireland by pretty much pointing blindly at the map of Europe. We were a bit concerned about traveling that far with two small children – Daniella is 3.5 years old and Sophia is only 11 months old. We weren’t too worried about Daniella – she is a seasoned traveler. She’s traveled to 4 countries outside of the US and has been on at least 20 flights. Sophia is a travel noob and we weren’t sure how well she would handle the trip.
We had a blast! The trip was incredible and we managed to see and do way more than we expected, even with two small kids in tow. Instead of rambling, let me present to you – Ireland: 6 days in 6 minutes.
Trip to Ireland, 2012 from Dmitriy Babichenko on Vimeo.If you prefer to see individual images, you can see photos from the entire trip on Flickr
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Rachel’s Bat Mitzvah was amazing – she is one of the most self-confident and poised girls I have ever met. A few weeks before her big event I met with Rachel to record a brief sound byte for her Bat Mitzvah video montage – she felt so at ease in front of the camera and spoke with such grace that it was easy to forget that I was talking to a 13-year-old. I was really honored to photograph Rachel and her family. Big thanks to Robin Kimberly for helping me capture the party.
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Last weekend was the first in a long time when I did not have a photoshoot. Even though the weather was kind of miserable, my friend Chris and I decided to go for a quick bike ride on the Steel Valley Trail. In June of 2012 I rode the entire length of the Great Alleghenny Passage to Cumberland, MD – something that I would like to start doing at least once a year. Chris and I only had about half a day to ride and explore, so we set off at 8 am from the Waterfront. If you are interested in exploring, Steel Valley Trail provides ample opportunities. I used to do a lot of urban exploration before I got married and had children; this trip gave me an opportunity to explore once more. Along the trail we found several abandonned railroad depots, warehouses and factories. I was glad that I brought a camera.
It felt nice to spend half a day just biking and shooting, not worried about meetings, editing, management or other obligations. I should start doing this more often… -
I’ve been a huge fan of Timbuk2 messenger bags for about 10 years now – they are virtually indestructible, waterproof, and can fit virtually anything – a bunch of cameras, books, beer, or even a baby. I sent this photo to Timuk2’s “What’s in your bag” site, and they posted it today.
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My wife always makes fun of the fact that I’m like the proverbial shoemaker without shoes – I am a professional photographer who doesn’t have any photos of my own family. A few weeks ago we finally decided to fix this issue and asked my friend and amazing photographer Jenny Karlsson to photograph our family. She was incredibly patient with us and the photos are absolutely amazing. I have been looking at the slideshow at least 5 times a day!
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My wife Irina made this amazing Halloween costume for Daniella – she was easily the cutest kid at Zoo Boo 2012
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