Great Photographer and Great Aunt

Alvera Steinman March 24, 1922 - January 3, 2010

Great Aunt Alvera passed on from this world Sunday morning in St. Louis, Mo. She was 87. Alvera worked mostly as a wedding photographer with the camera that sits on her lap. This was of course long before I ever imagined shooting weddings myself. It was actually because of her, that I never wanted to be a wedding photographer.  She photographed my parents wedding delivering a total of eight prints developed in her downstairs darkroom. All posed with eyes painted in if she caught a blinker. Apparently she was pretty bossy with the camera and never quite understood my interest in photojournalism. Her darkroom was in her basement surrounded by mallard duck paintings from my Uncle Jim and many many jars of preserves.

I took this image with my mom's point and shoot on the day we were cleaning Alvera's house and moving her into a nursing home. It was the last time I sat with her and the only time we sat down with her cameras. She had given me a few tours of her darkroom while growing up and always offered to let me have her enlarger. And despite our differences in photography...we did have that as a common bond. I think because of that, I was able to understand a small portion of my great aunt that others were not able to.

Thanksgiving day, Alvera had her first experience with today's technology, Skype as my father passed the computer around the family table. Zeta and I were on the other end in California and the family was in St. Louis. We were placed down in front of her when a huge smile came upon her face. "Where are they?" she asked my mom seeming totally confused but also amused. Between my mom's voicelessness and Alvera's hard of hearing, the conversation was just an exchange of smiles.

My grandfather, Alvera's brother, passed away two years ago. And my remaining Great Uncle Harold, her other brother passed away in 2009. Alvera was the oldest.