Malak Karsh - ‘I ask God to open my eyes.’

September 1, 2008 | Filed Under General, Portraits | Leave a Comment 

The other Karsh, the brother of the famous portrait photographer, was Malak Karsh, whose photographs celebrated Ottawa, the capital of Canada. His images of Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal and national landmarks have become defining images of Canada. Karsh was also a founder of the Canadian Tulip Festival, held each spring. When he died in 2001 he was buried in the same small cemetery north of Ottawa where former Prime Minister Lester Pearson is burned. Karsh’s gravestone carries a quotation that captures the lifelong joy he found in photography: “Every time I leave my studio in search of new pictures I ask GOD to open my eyes so that I can see. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t discover some surprise that make me wonder how I missed it before.That is part of the pleasure in life. To keep searching.”