My dad before I knew him

In today’s Guardian newspaper I was reading an article in the Books section in which writers, inspired by Carol Ann Duffy’s poem Before You Were Mine, reflect on photographs of their mothers before they were born. This is connected to the theme of Mother’s Day which happens to fall tomorrow, Sunday March 6. March 6 … Read more

Ancestry & Ritual: Persian Jews in 1950s London do Christmas lunch …

When my father died I made sure I kept his old box of loose, predominantly black and white personal photographs. I found them more interesting than the bound albums which had more formal, traditionally “presentable” images often taken at weddings and bar mitzvahs by commercial photographers or selected posed photographs on holidays and birthdays.  Here … Read more

hand coloured photos and some vintage self-portraits

There’s an exhibition on at the moment at The Photographer’s Gallery in London called Primrose: Early Colour Photography in Russia.   Here’s an image from the exhibition. I particularly like the theme – it’s a still of a rumba dance from a 1928 film called Albidum by Alexander Rodchenko. The print is silver gelatin with added … Read more

Purim & Fancy dress photos from my archives

Today is the Jewish festival of Purim which has origins in Persia. I always liked this festival as it is traditionally celebrated by dressing up and eating special foods. Plus my grandparents were all Persian Jews so there was an added connection. In the first photo I am (second from the right) dressed up as … Read more