Family photography may seem like a tough sell in an era when almost everyone has a digital camera and a photo sharing account. But the fact that we're awash in images is what makes Ets-Hokin's photography so distinctive. His photos reveal intimate moments in family life: the toddler mid-pirouette, the child day-dreaming on an unmade bed,the teenage girl perched tentatively on the edge of adulthood. At a time when life seems to be moving at warp speed and each day is a blizzard of sensation, Ets-Hokin's photos capture these singular family moments before they vanish into the past.

WHAT MAKES ETS-HOKIN'S PHOTOS SPECIAL? FOR ONE THING, HE USES FILM AND A DARK ROOM (HIS IS THE ONLY PROFESSIONAL COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO IN SAN FRANCISCO THAT HAS AN ON-SITE LAB) AND Photographs IN BLACK AND WHITE. HE ALSO TAKES HIS TIME, LIMITING HIS PHOTO SESSIONS TO A MAXIMUM OF TWO PER DAY, AND CONDUCTING AT LEAST TWO SIT-DOWN MEETINGS WITH FAMILIES BEFORE HE TAKES A SINGLE PHOTO. ETS-HOKIN GETS TO KNOW THE FAMILIES HE WORKS WITH AND THE RESULTS ARE STRIKING: HIS IMAGES ARE DYNAMIC AND FULL OF FEELING, THEY STOP TIME — FOR JUST A MOMENT — AND LAST FOREVER.