THEN
MY PHOTOGRAPHIC ROOTS BEGAN IN 1926 WHEN MY GRANDFATHER, ADEEB, IMMIGRATED TO THIS COUNTRY FROM LEBANON AND SETTLED IN FLINT, MICHIGAN. HE OPENED A GROCERY STORE AND RAISED A FAMILY. ONE OF HIS SONS, AMEEN, BECAME AN OUTSTANDING PHOTOGRAPHER. THAT MAN WAS MY DAD.
HE BECAME A LEGEND IN DETROIT, NOT JUST BECAUSE OF HIS TALENT BUT BECAUSE OF HIS HEART. HE STARTED HIS OWN COMPANY, HOWRANI STUDIOS, IN 1965. LOCATED IN DETROIT'S NEW CENTER AREA, IT WAS A POPULAR GATHERING PLACE FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC SHOOTS AND GREAT PARTIES. HE WAS MY HERO, AND I'VE FOLLOWED IN HIS FOOTSTEPS.
A STROKE IN 2005, AND HIS EVENTUAL DEATH IN 2010, CHANGED MY LIFE COMPLETELY. I RETURNED TO DETROIT FROM LOS ANGELES TO MANAGE MY FATHER'S BUSINESS AND CONTINUE THE HOWRANI LEGACY.
MY DAD WAS A FUN-LOVING, GENEROUS MAN WHO SPECIALIZED IN PHOTOGRAPHING PEOPLE -- CELEBRITIES AND COMMON FOLK ALIKE. HE TREATED EVERYONE WITH LOVE AND RESPECT. FOR ME, HOWRANI STUDIOS IS MORE THAN A BUSINESS -- IT'S A CONTINUATION OF MY DAD'S DREAM IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE PEOPLE, IDEAS AND CREATIVITY CONVERGE.
LINKS + VIDEO:
A GREAT VIDEO ON AMEEN