Among my earliest memories of Walker family gatherings was the sight of my three Walker uncles with their cameras, taking pictures of the rest of us and discussing lens, film, shutter speed and other aspects of photographic technology. The story of the three photographer brothers, with emphasis on Frank, was even written up in this 15 Oct 1957 Los Angeles Herald-Express article:
Views in the Valley News
By CHARLES PAGE
If the three Walker brothers involved in this story ever have difficulty with a photography problem, they can ask each other.
Most likely, however, Bill, the Herald-Express photog, and Charles, who has a studio in Santa Monica, will seek advice from brother Frank. After all, he started the others in the profession by his interest and enthusiasm in the hobby.
Frank, who lives in Van Nuys and works for Lockheed over in Burbank, started fussing with a camera when he was seven years old. That's 45 years ago. He used an old-type folding camera for many years, but in 1947 became a 35mm color man, almost exclusively.
He's been active in the Valley 35mm Club, and some of his slides have been exhibited in national salons, and at the California State Fair last month.
He graduated from college as a chemist, which may explain in part his continuing interest in photography. His other hobby is raising iris.
Growing iris and taking pictures and making estimates for Lockheed aren't enough to keep him occupied, so a few weeks ago, he began teaching a course in colored photography at Burbank's John Burroughs Evening High School. This takes his Thursday nights.
Frank is married and has three children, Jon, a student at Pierce Junior College; Karen, a senior in Van Nuys High School;1 and Sally, a student in junior high. They are not following in Dad's steps, hobbywise. And, his wife, Gladys, is interested in art.
If he has the same influence on his students as he had with his two kid brothers, Bill and Charley, the ranks of photographers should be somewhat increased.
There must be something in our Walker genes that compels us to be photographers or reporters. In the generations before my uncles, there were:
In later generations, although the photographic genes seem to have skipped me, our daughter Alice has produced many beautiful photos which she sells on eBay or uploads to her Facebook page, such as the beautiful batch of photos which she shot in her back yard on New Year's Day 2010.
And I've seen examples of the photographic work of several cousins which further demonstrates that the Walker photographic tradition is alive and well in the 21st century. For instance, Trish Hartmann, who is a niece to Frank, Chuck and Bill, has taken some beautiful pictures of Florida seashells which she published in February 2007. In her own modest words, "Bivalve Seashells of Florida is a beautifully photographed, well-organized, detailed field guide to Florida's bivalve seashells." And our nephew Craig Carey is not only an author but an excellent photographer.