For as long as I can remember, my Uncle Morris, or "Dunk" as we knew him, was an inspiration to me. After my post-college backpacking trip through Europe, he was the one who insisted I break out the slide projector and show all my pictures. Granted, he fell asleep after the 300th one, but who can blame him. I didn't know about editing in those days.
He read constantly and was a great appreciator of art. In his basement he had a collection of National Geographic magazines spanning at least 30 years. As I was learning about photography in my early teens, the thing that fascinated me was his unconventional approach to the family portraits. At graduation time and birthdays, instead of the usual 'smile for the camera', he would have the family stand on the front lawn, look slightly away from the lens and not smile.
I'd never seen anything like this and it was somewhat unnerving for me. But it awoke in me the possibility that the photographer has a say in how they shoot their subjects. This set me on a path of thinking about new possibilities , and thinking outside the box. I took my cheap little camera and started taking pictures in a whole new way.
In late 2007, as Dunk was experiencing failing health, family gathered around to visit for the holidays and support his wife Marilyn and their kids. This was eight months before he died. I'm sharing the photos from that day as a way of honoring him and remembering him.
