Archives West Finding Aid

Fred Abeles was the president of the Seattle Professional Photographers Association in 1979. He was active at 2645 32nd Avenue West, Seattle, Washington.

Arnone accepted an offer in 1947 to work for Osborne Photo Studio's Inc. in their portrait studio, Seattle, Washington.

Jim Bates was active at 3008 28th S.E. Auburn, Washington.

Blomdahl was born in 1923. He was a writer and photographer for the Daily Chronicle in Chehalis, Washington. He died in 2008.

Kenneth Brown was a commercial photographer active at 6838 32nd Ave Northeast, Seattle, Washington and later at 4000 East 145th, Seattle, Washington. He was believed to be a freelance photographer who worked for the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company in the 1930s and 40s.

Fred Carter was active at 912-A Pine Street, Seattle, Washington. Carter was honored as a veteran pro at the Professional Photographers' Association having photographed for the local press since the 1920s. He photographed with Art Forde frequently.

Ed Christopherson was located in Missoula, Montana. His Shorey's Bookstore photographs were sent to the New York Times in 1970 for a piece on Shorey's Bookstore.

Collias was born in Cumberland, Washington, on February 3, 1925. He spent most of his young life in Centralia, Washington. In 1951 he completed his Master’s degree in chemistry at the University of Washington. He became the Senior oceanographer at the University of Washington and was promoted to principal oceanographer in 1970, a position he held until his retirement in 1980. He was is a member of the Seattle Photographic Society.

Royal Crooks was a commercial, advertising, architecture and documentary photographer active at 1638 Palm Avenue, Seattle, Washington. Royal was born on Oct. 22nd, 1924 in Seattle. After high school he began work as a photographer for the Seattle Times. He attended the Los Angeles Art Center and became a freelance photographer based out of West Seattle. He opened his own business, Camera Craft, Inc. He retired around 1980 and died at age 82.

Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976) was an influential photographer whose 70-year career spanned Pictorialism, Modernism and documentary photography. With Edward Weston she formed the purist movement Group f/64 with sharply-defined images and tonal gradation. She is known for her botanical images, nudes, portraits and street photography.

Dawe was active in Bellingham, Washington. He was possibly a boat builder circa 1962- circa 1965. He died March 26, 1979.

Leonard Delano was born circa 1909. Delano Aerial Surveys, formerly Brubaker Aerial Surveys, was owned by Leonard Delano and was located at 1536 Southeast 11th Avenue Portland, Oregon. Delano bought the studio from his former employer, William C. Brubaker, in 1945. Delano operated the studio until 1998 when it was sold.

A photographer in Seattle who signed his photographs "By Don!"

In 1964, Roger Dudley Jr. merged studios with John Hardin and Chao-Chen Yang, forming Dudley, Hardin & Yang, Inc. located at 1921 Minor Avenue, Seattle, Washington.

Ebert was the owner of Aerolist Photographers, specializing in aerial photography with a studio located in West Seattle.

William was a photographer in Seattle, Washington. In 1967 he made the photographs for a book, "Weaving is for Everyone" by Jean Wilson. He was married to June Eng and had one son, Clayton and two daughters, Elenore and Wilma. He died in 1984.

Jan Fardell was born in Royston, England, on December 26, 1919. His family eventually moved to Kingston, Ontario, Canada. During World War II, Jan Fardell was a part of the Royal Canadian Air Force as a tail gunner. It is during this time that Fardell learned aerial photography. He started working for the Daily News, Longview in 1952 and stayed there until 1978. He operated a photography business until April 2005 including photographing aerial views of local industries. He died March 2005.

Forde Photographers was operated by John Hardin, Art Forde and Dick Cameron. The studio was located in the Lloyd Building on 6th and Stewart in Seattle in the 1950s and was at 306 Fairview North in the 1960s.

Fuller was active in Boise, Idaho.

Gonzalez attended Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, Washington. He was deaf. In the 1930s-1940s he worked as a painter for the WPA. In the 1940s he took up photography and was a member of the Seattle Photographic Society. He died in 1989.

Was active at Keith Grady Studio at 4332 University Way, Seattle, Washington in 1948. He provided photographs, mostly engagement and wedding portraits, for the Seattle Times circa 1948-1949.

Grady-Jentoft Photography was active at 1212 4th Avenue Olympic Hotel Building, Seattle, Washington. The Jentoft family was a partner in the firm including Gary G. Jentoft and Philip M. Jentoft, senior partner and co-founder. Grady-Jentoft was founded in 1962. Gary Jentoft was awarded the Professional Photographers of Washington distinguished service award in 1966. Philip M. Jentoft died in 1971.

Egill Oscar was born to Oscar Emanuel Gustafson and Karen Sörensen in Norway in 1933. He came to the United States circa 1954. He produced a book in 1971 titled The Pike Place Market and has been published in numerous publications such as Salon Photography.

William Dennis Haden was an architect who worked with Paul Chelminiak in the 1960s and 1970s.

Willard Hatch was a World War II war correspondent in the Pacific for Acme Newsphotos. After the war he returned to the United States and covered the opening sessions of the United Nations in San Francisco, California. He then moved to Yakima, Washington shortly before moving to Seattle where he started working for KOMO. Over his career at KOMO he won five Emmy awards. When in Yakima, Washington his studio was located at 1001 West Yakima Avenue. He died in 1985.

Charles Heib was active at Melrose 2896, Seattle, Washington. Heib was a legislative assistant to the Seattle City Council starting from around 1937. He photographed activities of the Boy Scouts, Seattle Junior Crew and Catholic Church.

DeVere Helfrich was born on April 16, 1902 in Lamonta, Oregon. In 1926 he married Helen Reed who would photograph and take portraits of the cowboys. DeVere, who was blind in one eye, was known for taking action photographs of the cowboys in the ring. In 1939 he started photographing rodeos and in 1941 he won the World's Championship Rodeo Corporation's best picture of the year prize. His studio was located at Klamath Falls, Oregon. He retired from photography in 1967, and died September 1, 1981. He was posthumously inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1991.

Noel T. Holley was born April 5, 1947. He married Lillian A. Miles in 1986.

Hal Kaminske was born in Ord, Nebraska November 10, 1923. He was in the U.S. Navy in WWII. He was a professional photographer in Seattle until retiring from his business in 1964. He and his wife Ann moved to Las Vegas in 1973. He died March 29, 2012.

Mark Kaufman was a photographer for Life Magazine. He was the youngest photographer to shoot a cover for Life Magazine when at age 17 he photographed Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1953 he received the White House News Photographers' Grand Award. After 30 years of photographing for Life he became the director of photography for Playboy Magazine and was a professor of photography at California Polytechnic State University. He died August 5, 1994.

Clara Kelly was director of the microfilm collection for the University of Washington Libraries in the 1940s. She graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in zoology, libraries and botany. She also worked in the photostat department in the library.

Located in Bremerton, Washington.

Born 1949. He was an architect in Seattle , Washington.

Ray Krantz was active at 2200 West 77th Street, Seattle, Washington. He was a Seattle marine photographer whose work was frequently in the Seattle Times from circa 1940s-circa 1970s. He was the son of Captain B.N.A. Krantz, the master of the sailing schooner, Commodore. He specialized in photographing yachts, however in the 1940s he began photographing ship construction, battleships and ship yards to document their progress for the United States Military. He was also an experienced seaman having been a cabin boy on his father's schooner.

Yuki Kuniyuki graduated from the University of Washington in 1956. He spent some time working for the United States Information Agency, retiring in 1987. He was awarded the Government Photographer of the Year award from Government Photography magazine in 1970. He photographed for the Seattle Times magazine section and the Japanese American North West Times. His photographs usually have a stamp for Photos by Yuki. He was active at 606 South Weller Street, Seattle, Washington.

Harold Laney was born in 1922. In World War II he was a part of the United States Navy and photographed the aircraft carrier the USS Hornet. After the war he moved to Wenatchee and worked briefly for Parson’s Portrait Studios before opening his own studio. He photographed the growth and change of the Wenatchee area and became the official photographer of the Rocky Reach Dam. He died January 26, 2013.

Leo's Studio was located in Opportunity, Washington. Leo Oestreicher was the original owner of the studio and took photographs of the developing city in the 1920-1940s. Laurence Morgan began working for Leo's Studio and eventually bought the studio in 1955 when Leo retired to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. In 1994 Andrew McAlpin bought the studio located at 920 Walnut Street as well the portrait part of the studio name. The other aspects of the studio, the school portraiture and the camera wholesale went to different buyers. Leo died in 1990.

Charles A. Libby (1879-1966), born in Olympia, Washington, began his career in photography working for his sister, Addie, in the Libby Art Studio in 1898. He opened the Charles Libby Studio in 1901. When Charles A. Libby, Jr. joined the firm in the early 1920s, the studio began to do extensive aerial photography in and around Spokane and the Inland Empire. During this time, Charles Sr. was elected president of the Inland Empire Photography Association. The studio changed the name in 1928 to “Charles Libby and son.” After Charles, Sr. died in 1966, Charles, Jr. continued to operate the studio until he retired in 1975. He died in 1982.

George Lindsay was the vice president of the Oregon Press Photographers Association in 1955. He was active at 212 Federal Street, The Dalles, Oregon.

Alfred L. Lomax's studio was located at 1976 Onyx Street, Eugene, Oregon. He wrote the book Pioneer Woolen Mills in Oregon published in 1941.

Jim Loomis was active at 4514 18th Ave N.E. Seattle, Washington.

Wah Lui worked for the Yuen Lui Studio, 906 Pine St. Seattle, Washington.

These photographs were a gift from Lucile McDonald, a Pacific Northwest journalist and children's book author. These photographs were probably taken by a relative of hers on a trip to Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Cliff McNair was the chief photographer for the Bremerton Sun in Bremerton, Washington and a native of Aberdeen, Washington. He started working for the Bremerton Sun November 1961. Before that he worked for the Star Free Press in Ventura, California. He was a member of the National Press Photographers Association. He had two sons, Colin and Cameron. Cameron and Cliff were killed in a car accident near Hood Canal in 1983.

Ray Meuse, Seattle, worked as an engineer for many years, and in 1987 began to pursue his passion for photography full time

Jeanette Mills is a writer, editor, librarian, and teacher, employed at the School of Art + Art History + Design at the University of Washington, Seattle since 1991.

Alfred Monner was born in Portland, Oregon on August 1, 1909. In the 1930s and 1940s he photographed the Cascade Mountains in Washington and Oregon as well as Portland, Oregon. He worked as the Oregon Journal Photographer and was active at 1218 South East Ash Street Portland, Oregon. He died in 1998.

Les Morgan operated Leslie's Studio at 217 East Wishkah in Aberdeen, Washington. Les Morgan was a long time resident of Montesano, Washington. He was a portrait photographer based in Aberdeen circa 1950-circa 1990.

Morley Brotman was born in 1910 in Canada and moved to Tacoma, Washington in 1923 with his family. In 1937, Brotman incorporated Radio Communication and Motion Picture Engineers, Inc. and eventually founded Morley's Photography Studio in Tacoma working with McChord Military Base. Brotman would eventually open studios in military bases around the country. Brotman invented many items for the military, including the "Morley Automatic Camera" which allowed photographers to photograph large groups of soldiers, an engraver for name tags, and an idea for rapid-transit called the “terrafoil”.

Morley Studios was named the official photographer of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. After the Fair, Brotman operated Colonel Morley's Louisiana Café in the Food Circus and continued involvement as a businessman and photographer at World's Fairs by operating photo machines, candy stores, and souvenir shops at other fairs in New York, Montreal, San Antonio, and Spokane.

Brotman was president of the Tacoma Athletic Commission in 1959, which is still around today and is dedicated to serving youth and sports in Pierce County. Brotman unsuccessfully tried to obtain a license to host a Muhammad Ali fight in Seattle. Unsatisfied with the Washington State Athletic Commission's decision, Brotman attempted to get two commissioners to resign whom had denied his request. Brotman had a huge role in securing a bond to build a Tacoma sports and convention center and sports museum. Morley Brotman died on April 23rd, 1980 with many accomplishments in photography, sports in Tacoma, and as a businessman

Martin Moyer was a Seattle based photographer and documentary film maker working from the 1950s-1970s. Originally from Pennsylvania he lived briefly in New York, Chili and Peru before moving to the Pacific Northwest. He is known for his short films shot in Fiji in the 1950s.

Herbert Nelson was a member of the Seattle Photographic Society.

Nickols studio was located at 105 14th Avenue, Seattle, Washington. He arrived in Seattle in 1922 and focused mainly on photographing Mount Rainier and Mount Baker. He semi-retired in 1958.

Normark was born April 26, 1928 in Sedro-Woolley, Washington. Around age 10 he moved to Seattle, where he attended Roosevelt High School. He left the Northwest to study at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Normark published a book in 1999, "Chavez Ravine, 1949: A Los Angeles Story," a compilation of black-and-white photographs of Mexican workers and families who lived in the Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles in the 1940s. Starting the 1960s, he was a freelance photographer for Sunset Magazine. He died June 5, 2014.

Kenneth Ollar was born around 1912. He was active at 1724 North Oakes Tacoma, Washington. He took many photographs of sailing and related activities.

Samuel Douglas Owens was born in Texas on September 16, 1888 and was living in Seattle as of the early 1900s. He is listed as a photographer in Seattle starting in the 1917 buisness directory and going through the 1950s. A Samuel Owens is listed as having died in March 1961 but it is not certain that this is the same person.

P and G studios was located at 524 South 11th Street, Tacoma, Washington.

Bob Peterson was active at 4802 East 45th, Seattle, Washington.

Pullan's studio was located at 233 Wooddale Road, North Vancouver, British Columbia. He was known for his photographs of architecture, specifically mid-century modernism, in the 1950s and 1960s that appeared in many architecture periodicals.

Rankin's Studio was operated by husband and wife, Howard James Rankin and Dorothy Helen (Reck) Rankin. They operated from the 1930s until 1978 and were active at South Pacific Avenue, Kelso, Washington. Many of their photographs chronicle the growth and development of Longview, Washington.

James S. Rayner won first place in the Washington Newsphoto Awards in the Metropolitan daily classification in 1951. He worked for the Yakima Daily Herald. He was active at 1404 South 18the Avenue, Yakima, Washington from the 1950s-1960s.

Nadra Lenore Rivers was born in Boise, ID, on August 2, 1930. She and her husband were the town photographers in Waterville, Washington for 50 years, running Rivers Studio. Nadra was a photographer, writer, and editor for the Waterville Empire Press and a correspondent for The Wenatchee Daily World.

Lewis D. Roberts was born in 1919. He had two older brother, Richard and Donald. His father, Earl J. Roberts worked in insurance. Roberts was active in Midway, Washington and listed his occupation as a self-employed photographer in 1940.

Robinson Studio was in Anchorage, Alaska.

Rowland Studio was located at 1207 East 65th, Seattle, Washington and was operated by Gustuf Rowland Johnson. In 1957, Gustuf's son, Bruce Rowland Johnson joined the business.

Scaylea was born 1913 in Connecticut. During World War II he was part of the Army Air Corps and photographed in the Pacific. After the war he moved to Seattle and became the chief photographer for the Seattle Times for 35 years. His work was used in Sport Illustrated, the Saturday Evening Post and Life Magazine. He was awarded the West Coast Photographer of the Year twelve times. He died July 19, 2004. He was awarded the West Coast Photographer of the Year twelve times.

John Sexton, born 1953, is an American fine art photographer who specializes in black and white traditional analog photography.

Studio San Juan was owned and operated by Glen Davis who had a studio assistant named Florence Rosella Johnson Lowrie. He operated the studio from 1953- 1961 at 410 Commercial Way, Anacortes, Washington.

Audrey Beatrice Shipman was a female photographer active in Washington and Oregon circa the 1950s. She was married to James O. Coffield in 1929, however, the couple was separated by 1933. She was an active officer of the women's auxiliary of the Magnolia Episcopal Church of the Ascension in the 1950s-1961.

Skyview Photos was located at 2555 Rose Blossom Drive, Springfield, Oregon. Two photographers were listed under their logo, Clair Hunt and Robert Weddell.

Soundview Aerial Photography was located at 2637 Florence Acres Road, Monroe, Washington. The company was started by Dan Crowell in 1987. Crowell uses a Cessna 185 Skywagon plane to take the photographs.

Frank Stanton was born March 20, 1908. He attended Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio where he received a B.A. in 1930. He was the third employee to be hired by the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and would go on to become the president of the company from 1946-1971. He was known as an avid photographer and lived at 5 East 92 Street, New York, New York. In 1973 he was appointed Chairman of the American National Red Cross. He died December 24, 2006.

Staples went to Los Angeles city college and was the Publicity Director for El Mirador Hotel, Palm Springs. He was a photographer and Seattle Bureau Manager of Acme Newspictures. In 1947 he owned a studio in Seattle, Washington.

Megumi Sumitami was a teacher for the University of Washington's construction management program. She had a B.A. in Environmental Design and a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Washington.

Tackett Studio was active at 12336 15th Northeast, Seattle, Washington. Their images appeared in the Seattle Times from 1957-1961.

Chet Ullin was a supervisor of teaching materials for the Bremerton School District in 1964. He was married to Phyllis Ullin. He was an avid mountain climber and photographer. His son, Jon Gary Ullin, was killed by an avalanche while mountain climbing in Russia in 1974.

Harold King Vann was born circa 1904 to Esse Ball Vann and Harold Vann. King had two younger sisters, Dorothy and Phyllis. His mother was an artist who graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in fine arts. His father was born in St. Thomas Canada circa 1876 and was a pastor of the Maltby Congregational Church in Snohomish County, Washington. He was also a chief probation officer at King County Juvenile Court and a teacher at Lincoln High School. King married Agnes Dorothy Smyth on August 17, 1930. They lived at 7510 East Greenlake Drive North, Seattle, Washington. King had a son Lawrence K. Vann who was married to Kathleen Vann and was a first lieutenant in the U.S. armed forces and graduated from the University of Washington in 1957.

Esther Weston was active at 736 Granville Street, Vancouver B.C. She also, at one point, operated a photographic studio at 753 Carnarvon Street, New Westminster. She was married to Smokey Smith in 1947.

Jack R. Whitnall was born February 9, 1916 in Puyallup, Washington. He moved with his family to Yakima when he was 4 years old. During World War II he was a sharpshooter and ended up photographing around Europe. Upon his return to Yakima he photographed accidents for the state patrol and police, as well as of Yakima. He was active at North 26th Avenue, Yakima, Washington.

Donn Williams was born September 20, 1920 in Lavington, B.C. His family moved to Vancouver in 1923. He and his brother, Warner attended a two year program at the Art Centre College in Los Angeles California. After college they returned to Vancouver and started their Commercial photography studio in 1948 called Williams Bros. Photographers Ltd. Warner died in 1980 and the studio was sold in 1981. Donn died on November 1, 1999.

Joe D. Williamson was born March 28, 1909. He was most known for his maritime photographs and in 1937 opened a shop near Colman Dock, Seattle. Williamson operated the Speeder, during World War II and transported workers from Seattle to the Harbor Island Shipyard. In 1948 he assisted with founding the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society and was its first president from 1948-1950. He closed his photography shop in 1962 but remained in the Pacific Northwest. He died February 26, 1994.

Frank Whaley moved to Alaska from Seattle in the 1930s. He became a pilot for Wien Alaska Airlines' trips to Nome, Alaska in 1933. He was a pilot for Wien Airlines until 1949 when he became a photographer and tour director for the Wien company. He eventually became one of the first directors of the Alaska Visitors Association. Whaley died in 1997.

Zunde was born around 1928. He married Rutce Zalacis-Soloks in 1953 in Vancouver, Washington.