All of these photos were taken at the Children’s museum. Shot on film, Canon Elan 7E, 28mm f/2.8 and 50mm f/1.4, Kodak 400CN
Tag / Family
Hanging out
My (Other) Grandfather
My maternal grandfather passed away in 1998; he spent 11 years of his life in Soviet labor camps and I spent the past 15 years researching his life and trying to find out what happened with his family. In doing that, I completely neglected the other side of my family.
A few days ago I sat down with Daniella (my older daughter) to show her the contents of my keepsake box. As I opened the box, I came across a ziplock bag full of Soviet-era medals. I completely forgot that I even had these medals in my possession – my paternal grandmother gave them to me before moving to a nursing home in 2011. My paternal grandfather – David – passed away when I was 5 years old, and I have very few memories of him. Seeing these medals and explaining what they are and what they mean to Daniella made me feel terribly guilty about knowing virtually nothing about my grandfather David’s life.
Given my grandmother’s mental state I have a very short window of opportunity to find out as much as I can about my grandfather. I guess I know what I’m doing over Thanksgiving holidays.
Fire truck @ Soergel Orchards
A few photos from today’s trip to Soergel Orchards in Wexford. They brought in an antique fire truck and the kids had a blast climbing all over it for about two hours. I used this trip as an opportunity to shoot a few rolls of film. The ones in this post were shot on Fuji Reala 100.
Almost There…
My good friends Dilyara and Alexey are having a baby in a few weeks and they asked me to photograph a mini pregnancy sessions.
Daniella and Sophia – Hanging Out at Mellon Park
Geek in Training
Skyping with Grandma
Gherman
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…
Jillian’s Bat Mitzvah
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!
Dmitriy B. 
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