What is Dementia Through the Father and Son’s Eyes and how did it come to be?
As an editorial photographer, I seek out ideas and strategies for documentaries. There have been many views of folks with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. I have not seen any taken from the eyes of a person with dementia, and I found my dad, Jack Felderman, to be the perfect story.
Over the past 5-plus years, my father’s dementia worsened critically, placing him in a memory care facility before his passing in September 2025 by falling out of his bed and breaking his hip too severely to replace it. The documentary photograph collection we’ve built together, Dementia Through the Father and Son’s Eyes, shows the images from the eyes of someone living with dementia, including the views of Jack’s Grand Meadows Staff and Jack’s wife, Jan, at his 92nd Birthday Picnic, included here. I selected views of my dad looking at people and things, as well as me looking at his actions. I chose black and white instead of color to allow the viewer to imagine what it might be like to lose their memory. Jack often talked about memories from his youth, such as black-and-white movies or television. This style just felt more like who my dad was during his past few decades with dementia.
Who initially inspired you to grapple with dementia?
My dad. He and I worked in real estate for more than 40 years. In the business environment and in public, I called him “Jack,” but in private, I called him “Dad.”
Jack served 24 years in the US Navy, having a distinguished career, but he remembered very little of it at the end of his life, other than that he was in the service. He was the commanding officer of the destroyer USS Sarsfield during the Vietnam War, he worked near the Pentagon, and regularly reported to President John F. Kennedy on the personnel status of the US Navy.
Later in his life, he was appointed the State of Iowa ESGR Director by the Secretary of Defense. He did it partly because I was serving in the National Guard, but mostly because it allowed him to volunteer and continue serving. I retired in 2010, after 36 years of service in the military, with my final 6 years spent at high levels on active duty. My father became one of my closest friends for the past 40 years.
After working with my father for 4 decades, I returned from a 6-year active-duty military assignment to our real estate business. It became apparent to me that his faculties had diminished, but with my mother as his caregiver, they kept it hidden from family and friends.
When Mom fell and broke her hip, it became apparent that both of them would need to live in assisted living. His dementia brought out a protective aggressiveness, which required a move into a memory care unit.
How has working on dementia-related art changed you?
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, my father and I often golfed together and we walked some of the many nature trails in our area. After the pandemic started, and his physical abilities diminished, we primarily walked daily in all sorts of weather and many different places. He became my photography focus on these walks.
Once he was moved into a memory care unit, I took him to his medical appointments, family outings and life in the facility. More recently, I started shooting storytelling images from his point of view. My initial goal was to share with my brothers and sister, who do not live nearby, but my editorial ideas turned them into the final story of his life.
How has Dementia Through the Father and Son’s Eyes been received?
My father enjoyed looking at my photographs, but did not always understand why I took shots from his perspective. The older images, captured outdoors and during our walks, seem to evoke memories for him. As one of his caregivers, it offers a lasting memory for his family and friends to remember him.
This work is dedicated to: My father, Jack, and all those living with dementia and their caregivers
Find more Bob Felderman on his website,Instagram, Facebook and Shoot Proof.
