Family

Image title and description 1: Before the Waterfall - My paternal grandmother's family arrived in the United States from a small village outside of Odessa at the beginning of the 20th century. In this image the family looks toward two of my children whose lives they made possible by this move.
Image title and description 2: Babydolls - My maternal grandmother was the oldest of four children. Next in line, her sister Babe, was ultimately diagnosed with schizophrenia. I never met her. They were a wealthy family and very concerned with proper decorum. In this image, around the corner from a doll-like presentation of my grandmother and Babe, my daughter sits shoeless and slightly disheveled, but somehow similarly doll-like.
Image title and description 3: Standoff - My mother and my daughter are perhaps the two most central figures in my life in shaping the lens through which I see and understand myself. Here they face one another similarly clad in cowgirl attire.
Image title and description 4: When I Went Down Beside the Sea - My grandfather had a sailboat when I was a girl. I associate him with that boat. He loved to sail. Although I think he also just loved to get away from my grandmother. Here his relaxing figure on the beach faces my daughter whom he never had the opportunity to meet, reflecting his pose back to him. I imagine the two of them would have really liked each other,
Image title and description 5: Matriarchs - Traditionally in American society, name has been passed down father to son. Symbolically, the marriage ceremony has been seen as the transfer of a woman from her father to her new husband. My own sense of my lineage, however, is very much matrilineal. I can almost see the thread that ties us, from my grandmother to my mother, to me, and then carried forward with my daughter, walking in the footsteps of the women who came before her. All of these women bear different last names, but they are the core of my story. In this image I stand in my wedding dress as my "future" young daughter strides toward my and my mother and grandmother, each on her wedding day, looks on in the distance.

Image title and description 1: A Family Portrait: He fidgets , he sighs, drops his head in boredom. Mom knows, daughter not so much.
Image title and description 2: Three Generations: They gather for the grandson’s birthday dinner, sharing stories, laughter, pride and love.
Image title and description 3: 50 Years: An old couple stroll hand in hand through Central Park, slow and steady, the quiet comfort of their half century together.
Image title and description 4: This Camera, Not That: The youngest child steals the spotlight, striking a playful pose for the wrong camera.
Image title and description 5: Mother and Child: A mother’s love for her infant son is a gentle yet fierce bond, an unbreakable devotion from his first breath.

State: CA

Image title and description 1: Family Reunion - New Orleans, Louisiana
Image title and description 2: Madre y Hermana - Port a Prince Haiti
Image title and description 3: Un día en el Malacon - Havana, Cuba
Image title and description 4: Family - Johannesburg, South Africa
Image title and description 5: Los Jugadores - Santo Domingo, República Dominicana

State: NC

Image title and description 1: Outside Observer is a vintage b & w photo. I placed a magnifying glass on the image to look at it more closely and when I took a photo of the image, I magically appeared outside of the family circle. Quite apt. This is me with my maternal grandmother and my first cousin.
Image title and description 2: Sibling Rivalry This is a silhouette of me in First Grade onto which my sister, 22 months younger who always saw life as a rivalry, scribbled all over my face with crayons This photo is 1000 words in describing our relationship
Image title and description 3: Me As My Father As I explored what it meant to be a woman, I decided to try on some of my father's clothes and I could have passed for him
Image title and description 4: Make Room for Dinner I grew up in a family of heavy smokers, all of whom died young of diseases related to their smoking habit. This is a photo of my maternal grandmother who died of lung cancer, my father who died of a cardiac arrest at 56, my mother who died of emphysema at 69, and my maternal grandfather who also died of emphysema. They are at my uncle's wedding. He died years later of pulmonary fibrosis. As the package of cigarettes announces, "SMOKING KILLS"
Image title and description 5: Welcome to America! This Nigerian father asked me to take his family's photo at Chicago's O'Hare Airport where they were gathered to see him off on a return trip. The five children engaged with one another and played quietly in the waiting area. I was happy to make some photos for them.

Image title and description 1: My kids meet Molly
Image title and description 2: My kids meet Molly's mom
Image title and description 3: our kids
Image title and description 4: family bonding
Image title and description 5: a family

Image title and description 1: Chinese New Year- Metropolitan Museum of Art 2024
Image title and description 2: A Death In The Family - Central PA 2021
Image title and description 3: Modern Family- Heathrow Airport 2023
Image title and description 4: Chicago - Family In Need 2024
Image title and description 5: Not Your Standard Family - GAP Trail PA 2021

State: WI

Image title and description 1: "The Anticipation" My family in the waiting room the day my brother entered the hospital.
Image title and description 2: "I see him in the sky" The clouds in the shape of my brother.
Image title and description 3: "The call" my dad standing alone, calling relatives.
Image title and description 4: "Making peace" My dad and my brothers dad talking after the funeral.
Image title and description 5: No fifth image

Image title and description 1: Contemplating assistance
Image title and description 2: Hey Ya!
Image title and description 3: Fair fun
Image title and description 4: Hugs
Image title and description 5: Sisters laughter