uncle jimmy // sacramento, california // abegg adventures on film

Michael has a famous uncle named Uncle Jimmy. And I say “famous,” because every time I post a photo of him online, without fail, someone comments in the manner of, “You know THE Jimmy Abegg?!!!” He’s an artist who has raised his family in Nashville, a photographer, a painter, and a musician. I’d never met Uncle Jimmy for as long as I’d known Michael, since most of our family gatherings are in Sacramento and he lives in Nashville, but I had been very aware of his existence as Michael has always looked up to him and his life as an artist. So when I heard that he was going to be making an impromptu trip to Sacramento and that Michael’s dad was also going to be flying down to spend time with him, I couldn’t help but include myself in the trip. As you know, I fancy myself as the sort of family documentarian, and this seemed like an opportunity that I just couldn’t miss.

So they humored me! I think I was there for just one night, but I had my camera with me every second of that short trip. This was the first time that my father-in-law had seen Uncle Jimmy since their mother had passed away several years back, and Grandpa Abegg retrieved seemingly endless boxes of photos for his kids to pour over; reminiscing about their mother, their lives, and all the antics they’d gotten into over the years.

Being there made me feel proud to be a photographer and a relentless advocate for printing your photos (it’s your legacy, people!!!!!)… and most of all, it made me proud to be an Abegg.

{p.s. you can donate to uncle jimmy’s “lighthouse” here: https://jimmyabegg.com/pages/build-blind-jimmys-lighthouse… and also check out my next post, from a few months later when i was lucky enough to find myself in nashville!}