PHOTOGRAPHY
I was walking into Soho Square when I spotted someone wearing a vintage traditional dark chocolate brown Astrakhan Karakul hat, and it immediately brought back memories of early childhood where I’d seen the same hats worn by male members of London’s Persian Jewish Community. Here’s a photo that predates my birth by decades and is … Read more
In this instalment on the theme of personal style and identity I’ll be presenting a selection of images I’ve taken featuring beards and moustaches that have caught my eye as well as including some family photos – a mix of photographs taken by me and archival images. Why the beard? Why not a moustache? A … Read more
At the Tate Gallery Exhibition, Women in Revolt, which celebrates 20 years of of feminist art and Activism in the UK between 1970 and 1990, I was reminded of the influence that some of the photographers had on my own personal work, especially that of the late Jo Spence whose project Beyond the Family Album … Read more
One of the things I miss most during the extended London lockdowns is sitting down at a café and people watching, writing my journal or reading. I miss both this solitary experience and the regular meet ups with my sons, partner and close friends. Sitting in cafés is an entrenched ritual that feels very much … Read more
Nowadays in addition to carrying my red metal water bottle I make sure I have a little folding paper fan with me. Although it doesn’t help that much on the hot, airless carriages of London Underground I am usually grateful for the relief this simple classic device provides. I’ve always like the look of fans; … Read more
I’ve gathered together some old family photographs that all, with the exception of the final image, predate my birth. In these photographs the cars and other forms of transport are integral to the photograph, they are not just part of the background. My parents and relatives wanted these objects to feature and be recorded. The … Read more
In my last post on the Venice Carnival I included a photograph I’d taken of a masked man in a bookshop perusing a book on the Hebrew language. This got me thinking about other images I’ve taken of people reading as well as the representation of books and reading matter in family photographs in my … Read more
Looking through my late father’s old photos I came across some vintage studio postcard images of extended family members that caught my eye. I liked the props – the doll and soft toy: Again from my father’s collection here’s a photo I really like of my first cousin Ruth – dating approximately from the mid … Read more
It was my mother’s 80th birthday this week. A former ballerina, Dalia still keeps fit and goes to the gym several times a week. A few days ago I posted a short video to Facebook where I filmed her dancing at her birthday tea party which was viewed to a quasi-viral level; her glamour and … Read more
In the 1920s my paternal grandparents left Iran for Palestine before settling in the UK in 1928. Here’s a photograph from that era showing my grandparents all dressed up. David Aminoff, who I knew as BOBO is in a top hat and is holding a cane and his wife Dvora aka BIBI is wearing a fur coat … Read more