Decoding my Father’s Story through his Vintage Photographs
I’m trying to understand more about my late father through his photography. He passed in 2022, and he passed on a mostly disorganized collection of photos that he snapped across his life.
My dad fashioned himself a photography enthusiast.
My Father, The Photographer
While I was growing up, I remember he’d proudly carry around his SLR camera with zoom lens throughout New York City like he was some sort of urban Ansel Adams. Before that, he went through his James Bond subminiature Minox phase. While his tiny Minox camera was indeed cool for its time, the resolution of the resulting photos was mediocre at best.
I believe my father’s self-assigned photography projects were frequently more about expressing his own style and experience than the creativity in his photos’ form. (I was aware how much he enjoyed simply playing ‘photographer.’) But as I’ve been reviewing and archiving his old photos and negatives over these past few years, I’ve come to an additional conclusion.
He was also interested in the art of photography… I’ve uncovered some cool photos.
But my dad was limited by the technology of his time and didn’t have any distribution mechanism to reinforce his efforts. (No social media or blogs yet.) The furthest he went was to blow up a few of his favorite photos to frame for our apartment.
He seemed satisfied with this ceiling for his hobby.
Photo Echoes Between Generations
I’ve been digitizing these photos as part of my ongoing family archiving project, and I’ve recently come across an unexpected phenomenon. I’ve found echoes of my own photo work showing up in some of my father’s photography.
It shouldn’t really be a surprise. New York City has certain iconic photo opportunities that a million others have also snapped. So, the fact that my father and I captured the same shot decades apart is hardly a revelation.
But it’s still made an impact on me.
Same Shot – Decades Apart
I had the opportunity recently to take a few photos on the water around Manhattan near the Statue of Liberty. After I returned home and reviewed them, I felt a déjà vu like I’d seen these before. Yes, of course… my father’s photos. He’d been on the New York Bay too (multiple times, in fact).
Take a look:
Here’s the southern tip of Manhattan in 1988 and in 2025. (My father’s photo benefited from all the picturesque boats in the harbor. Of course, lots of other differences, including the Twin Towers.)
And here’s the Stature of Liberty, again in 1988 vs 2025.
(I really like that giant American flag in my dad’s shot.)
These are hardly unique photos, But their similarities are striking for me, because they come from two generations of Lesters. And I find that meaningful.
My Father’s Legacy
I’m still trying to understand my father. I had a complicated relationship with him.
No, he didn’t really bond with me through his photography and share his hobby as a father would with his son.
But he did buy me a nice Ricoh camera when I was in my early teens. So, it wasn’t as if he entirely missed the connection. (And it’s not lost on me that my own passion for photography still found its roots during this time in my life.)
Decades later, the fact that we gravitated to some of the same photo moments has made me feel a little closer to him. I understand I’ve got a little magical thinking going on. Still, I think there was more to my father that met the eye (or at least I want to think).
And that’s made me consider his legacy a little differently.
What Will I Learn from the Next Photo?
My father’s photos are breadcrumbs that lead to a truth I’ll never completely understand. But they help me soften the rough edges to the story of our lives together.
And that’s part of what drives me to continue archiving his photos.
