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Joe Ellenbogen was, in my opinion, the ultimate photographer. He shot photos for thirty or forty years — beautiful ones like this here. Over the course of his life, he amassed thousands of images, each one a testament to his passion for traveling and family. I look at his photos often; they help me understand the world better and also him, as a person — his life, his loves.
Never heard of Joe? That’s no surprise, he was not a professional photographer. Famous only in a very small circle. Joe grew up dirt poor in Los Angeles, went to school in the mornings and worked all afternoon and evening. Eventually, he went to Berkeley, took over his father’s clothing business and grew it into a successful endeavor for himself and his family. He retired and then spent the second half of his life traveling with his wife and visiting with his family. He probably circled the globe 15 times. This is what he loved. And he always had a camera with him. You haven’t heard of him because he’s my grandfather and he never sought out fame or accolades for photography. Never earned a dime from it. It was simply there to document and make real the things he most appreciated.
The vast majority of photographers are just like Joe.
Most people I know who get a good camera and nice lens don’t do it to get paid, they do it to get better images of the…
