These amazing photos from Joey Harrison that were taken mostly by his mother. They show a part of his mom's world from 1947 to January 1954, before he was born.
“My Parents: Jerry and Skip Harrison who married in 1947. Before I came along, and with diminishing returns thereafter, my mom pursued photography passionately and studiously. She created a large body of work centered around her life with my father and her birth family.”
“My mom was an accomplished amateur photographer, and she took many shots with her Ansco twin-lens reflex mounted on a tripod with a mechanical time release screwed into the shutter button. She also had a large flood light (which I still have and use for work projects). Many of my mom's shots were taken with a tripod and self-timer. She'd compose the photo, set the exposure, start the self-timer, and race into position. Sometimes she set the exposure, adjusted the light, and composed the shot. Then my dad would simply press the shutter.”
“My mom has been also a utilitarian seamstress all her life. Using her beloved 1950 Singer, she made clothing for my sisters (lots of matching outfits), slipcovers, custom-sized sheets, and curtains. Lots of curtains.”
“My Parents: Jerry and Skip Harrison who married in 1947. Before I came along, and with diminishing returns thereafter, my mom pursued photography passionately and studiously. She created a large body of work centered around her life with my father and her birth family.”
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| Portraits of my mom Skip Harrison in the early 1950s |
“My mom was an accomplished amateur photographer, and she took many shots with her Ansco twin-lens reflex mounted on a tripod with a mechanical time release screwed into the shutter button. She also had a large flood light (which I still have and use for work projects). Many of my mom's shots were taken with a tripod and self-timer. She'd compose the photo, set the exposure, start the self-timer, and race into position. Sometimes she set the exposure, adjusted the light, and composed the shot. Then my dad would simply press the shutter.”
“My mom has been also a utilitarian seamstress all her life. Using her beloved 1950 Singer, she made clothing for my sisters (lots of matching outfits), slipcovers, custom-sized sheets, and curtains. Lots of curtains.”
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| Mom and Dad at wedding altar, 1947 |
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| Bride in a blur, West Virginia, 1947 |
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| Mom and dad on their honeymoon vacation to Pittsburgh, 1947 |
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| 'Our wedding night', 1947 |
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| Steubenville's Kit Kat Klub, Ohio, 1947 |
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| The honeymooners, 'taken in a photobooth in Steubenville, Ohio, during our honeymoon trip', 1947 |
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| Mom and dad dancing in their living room, January 1949 |
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| Jerry, Skip, Anne, Jim, little Jerry, December 1949 |
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| Mom at Hickory Hill farm, 1949 |
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| Mom at Silver Beach, 1949 |
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| Mom at the enlarger, 1949 |
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| Mom in 1949, near Ada, a small town east of Grand Rapids, Michigan |
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| Mom in Chicago, 1949 |
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| Mom in darkroom, 1949 |
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| Mom sealing peaches for quick freezing, 1949 |
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| Physician's assistant, 1949 |
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| Reading the funnies, 1949 |
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| Summertime at Hickory Hill Farm, 1949 |
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| 'A drink to us', 1950 |
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| Dad doing miracles, 1950 |
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| Finishing touches, 1950 |
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| Portrait of mom from above at Dale Rooks' studio, 1950 |
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| Mom and dad at the Southern (in Grand Rapids, Michigan), June 1950 |
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| Mom and dad at the Southern's nightclub (they went nightclubbing nearly every Saturday night at that time), August 1950 |
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| Mom and dad in Cimarelli's bar, Detroit, 1950 |
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| Mom at the Grand Rapids Furniture Museum, February 1950 |
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| Mom at the Grand Rapids Furniture Museum, February 1950 |
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| Mom in 1950 |
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| Mom in Hickory Hill pine grove, 1950 |
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| Mom's self-portrait, 1950 |
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| My mom, June 1950 |
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| Sink right here, 1950 |
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| Take a seat, anywhere, 1950 |
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| Test shot at Dale Rooks' studio, 1950 |
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| Test shot at Dale Rooks' studio, 1950 |
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| Thanksgiving breakfast, November 20, 1950 |
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| The entry cleaned up well, 1950 |
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| A day at the beach, 1951 |
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| Mom and a neighborhood boy Billy Vander Maas have lunch on the job, 1951 |
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| Mom and dad at the Supreme Court building, Washington D.C., October 1951 |
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| Mom and dad go to Washington D.C., October 1951 |
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| Mom and dad watching television, 1951 |
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| Mom at Coady Lake, Michigan, 1951 |
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| Mom at the Hotel Washington, 1951 |
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| Mom making hamburgers, 1951 |
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| Mom took this self-portrait at the Hotel Washington, 1951 |
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| Mom's self-portrait, 1951 |
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| Mom's self-portrait, 1951 |
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| A home for Christmas, 1952 |
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| Cleanup was my mom's specialty, 1952 |
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| Committing sins, 1952 |
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| Contest entrants, 1952 |
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| Durable dress, 1952 |
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| Mom and dad wrapping presents for Christmas, December 1952 |
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| Mom and dad wrapping presents for Christmas, December 1952 |
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| Mom and dad, 1952 |
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| Mom waiting for dad to bring the car around on this snowy winter night, 1952 |
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| Mom watches as a boat approaches, 1952 |
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| Mom's self-portrait, 1952 |
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| Mom's self-portrait, 1952 |
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| Mom's self-portrait, 1952 |
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| Sewing curtains, 1952 |
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| Take a letter, 1952 |
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| Thanksgiving Eve, November 1952 |
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| The geometric sofa-bed, June 1952 |
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| The slipcover, 1952 |
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| Toast was popping but coffee came first, Jan. 1, 1952 |
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| While the boss is away (mom as assistant to Dr. Pott, the neighborhood general practitioner and surgeon, stretched from 1948 to late 1954), July 1952 |
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| Joey was anticipated in late January 1954, 1953 |
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| Mom and dad doing taxes, 1953 |
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| Mom and dad on Chicago vacation, 1953 |
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| 53 Mom at home, 1953 |
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| Mom in 1953 |
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| Mom in 1953 |
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| Mom washing the Nash, 1953 |
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| Mom, studio portrait, 1953 |
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| Now let's talk this over, 1953 |
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| The owners of The Southern, Esther and Herb Kaiser, were the night managers, 1953 |
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| Joey's blizzard, January 1954 |
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| Mom and me, 1956 |
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