Family pictures from one’s own childhood are tricky. The pictures of ourselves before we had the ability to form memories are useful only to the extent that we can say, “I have my father’s eyes,” or “I look just like my mother.” But in general, this is for others to say. What about family snapshots […]
Photographs Still pictures are wonderful. Even though they sometime portray something different than the reality of a situation, a photographer seeks to portray self-truth. A great photographer gives the viewer a window to how he or she sees the world. One such artist is Diane Arbus. When I first studied her work, my impression was […]
Facial expressions When I started visiting my brother more regularly, I tried to think of what I could do to help. Mike is low functioning, autistic and nonverbal, so he cannot contribute much to his own care. The only evidence of how he feels is through his behavior. I had been thinking about making a […]
My brother Michael is unrecognizable in this portrait. I had not intended it this way, but it is oddly appropriate. Since Mike has never spoken and functions on a very low level, I don’t know much about him as a person. He is alien to me. As I have discussed in previous posts, seemingly ad […]
Those of you who have been following my blog know that I have an autistic older brother. Mike is nonverbal and low functioning. There weren’t many kids like Michael in my home town. After my mother and father, with other parents, started a school for children who were not able to function in the school […]
In addition to my photo show Brotherly Love in 1995, I was fortunate to be included in another photography show. This show was called Familiar Relations, and took place at the Center for Photography, in Woodstock, New York. Larry Fink, Fine Art Photographer, judged all entries. His unique use of a detached flash inspired some of […]
Shortly after 8 PM on April 17, 2013, my granddaughter became a big sister. She had been waiting for this occasion her entire life (except for the first 6 months of it). Usually, Siddy has so much energy, she has to jump up and down in order to dissipate it. But even that was not […]
I just got Unmasking the Face[1] today. One of the authors, Dr. Paul Ekman was a consultant for the TV show, ‘Lie to Me’, about a deception expert. I am excited for a several reasons: 1) maybe this book will help me better understand what people are feeling by learning the secrets of expressions, hidden […]
This is a photograph of me as a kid. Actually, it is a photograph from one of my family’s 8mm home movies, which was converted to videotape, played back on a raster television monitor and paused on this frame. I don’t remember what I was feeling at that particular moment and request your assistance in […]
