Why is my website called One Box Images?
This is one of my favorite photographs of my grandmother. Tragically, my mother was the only survivor of the car accident that killed my grandmother and my mother's youngest brother who was an infant at the time. My middle name, Joyce, comes from her and growing up, I was often told of our resemblance.
All I have of my grandmother is an old box filled with photos from her childhood and her too short adulthood. Her childhood looked like one from a fairytale, with puppies and a pony (yes, an actual pony). She was her parents only child; their pride and joy who would go on to win beauty pageants and catch the eye of many a gentleman caller (based on the plethora of photos with various beaus).
Many have asked why my website is called OneBoxImages. As morbid as it may sound, before our precious digital era, what was often left of a person's physical "inventory" (for lack of a better word), was a box full of keepsakes and trinkets with sentimental value. Photographs of special moments and experiences that always survived the annual purge of "clutter". A box that grandchildren like myself were eager to sift through, in somewhat vain attempts at learning more about this special person whom they'd never met.
I will celebrate my 32nd birthday this year. A milestone that, sadly, my grandmother didn't reach. My website name is, in a sense, my own little tribute to her and I think, deep down, it is my hope that a few of the photographs that I take of the special moments and people I meet will survive and make it into a "box" of their own (digital or otherwise).
And one day perhaps, just maybe, grandchildren and great grandchildren in the future will cherish my photos of those who came before them just as I cherish those of my grandmother.
What do those words on my homepage say and in what language?
The words on either side of "photographer" state, respectively, "light" and "shadow" in the Assyrian language. My father is a Christian Assyrian from Iran and I have always taken deep pride in my ancient roots on his side.
As my website title is a small tribute to my mother's mother, these words in the ancient language of my ancestors serve as my small tribute to my father and the unyielding pride of familial heritage he instilled in me.
You can learn more about Assyrians here.