Something New to Share

My Dad took most of the photos I post here. He loved photography. After he retired, he spent a lot of time on the hobby. Even when he fell ill, he continued to tinker with his photos. Shortly before Dad died, he slipped his favorite Brookfield Zoo shots into an album. Dad had had a series of strokes, and he no longer had the acumen or dexterity to organize the images. He simply slipped them—unfastened—into the album's plastic pages. If I handle the album, the photos shift and slip out. I won't take the album apart to organize the images. It's in the state in which my Dad left it.

When we entertained at home, Dad often shared images with our family friends. After dinner, many parties moved to the Rec Room, where Dad set up the screen and projector to show his large-format, vacation slides. I don't remember people being bored or annoyed—in that stereotypical way—during the slide shows. Perhaps that's because Dad primarily captured landscapes and animals, and few of the images focused on people. Or maybe people tolerated the slideshows more than my dancing.

Dad turned to slide photography after he acquired his Hasselblad. Before that, he shared our photo albums with friends.

Suburban Chicago, December 1961. A dear family friend leafs through an album.