04/14/2026
Well… this was a moment.
Here is a quick cell phone image of the incredible Richard Margolis.
The story…
Many years ago, after struggling through multiple photography courses, my colleague, Paul Bergall, welcomed me to sit with his high school photography class, where my relationship with my camera began. He taught me in THE way my brain needed to learn: a way I still teach my own students today.
Paul spoke fondly of his colleague, Richard, with whom he works closely. Paul’s influence on me spans decades—but I only discovered Richard’s last weekend.
My daughter was recently the guest artist for Heather Gray (Anderson Alley Artists) for First Friday. While she was busy with customers, I ran up to Richard’s studio, a place I quickly fell in love with.
The following weekend, my daughter and I returned to explore. She was fascinated—studying his large-format images, spotting familiar objects from his space. Richard showed her his darkroom and how his prints are created—red lights, enlarger—a world (smell) so familiar to me, after all these years.
We looked through his series of reading nooks and he shared stories about them. I was especially drawn to one image from the Jewish home here: a chair, a wall of books, and a book resting quietly on a table titled “Still Here”.
He handed me his own copy of the book to look through, which contained incredible black-and-white portraits of Holocaust survivors—a project I have long dreamed of undertaking. The creator, Brian Marcus, is the grandson of a Holocaust survivor and NYC photographer. What a story of our craft passing through generations!
I must own this book.
Maybe it’s also time to begin my own journey of creating portraits of survivors?
Upon leaving, Richard graciously signed two books for us.
Moments like this—unexpected, layered, decades in the making—reignite my love for documentary photography… the place where it all began.
Years ago, my father, with a few Ansels in his home, built a darkroom for my mother. It’s no wonder I fell in love with black-and-white work.
Thank you, Dad, Paul, Richard—to everyone who has influenced me in some way.
So… here we are. Am I venturing back to where it all started?
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Please take a moment to enjoy all of the artists mentioned in this story...
Richard - https://www.instagram.com/margolis_studio/
Paul - https://www.instagram.com/paulbergwall/
Brian - https://www.instagram.com/brimarcus/
Me - https://www.instagram.com/jesskamensphotography/
Heather - https://www.instagram.com/hgrayart/
Anderson Alley Artists - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063497983483
First Friday - https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=first%20friday%20rochester
