Dubroff: Honoring Kenji, a photographer with a big heart
In the post-pandemic era, it’s been hard to imagine a Business Times event without the presence of Kenji, a skillful photographer who quietly pursued his craft and made our picture pages come to life.
Event photography doesn’t pay as well as commercial work, but it’s a once-a-month gig that puts food on the table. The most important thing about Kenji was the chemistry we developed. It evolved into a rhythm, almost a dance — a quick check-in, photo of the awards, crowd shots, candid pictures, podium shots and finish.
That’s why I’m devoting this column to the memory of Kenji, a gentle soul and fellow small business owner who passed away on Nov. 28 from complications from a stroke. He was just 62 and his full name was Kenji Jacklio Fukudome, although most of us just knew him as Kenji.
His death was a stunning coda to Small Business Saturday weekend, and, for me, it added a serious note to the celebration of America’s spirit of enterprise. Most of the time, we think about small business ownership as a series of challenges to be overcome, but Kenji’s stroke and its tragic aftermath are a reminder that we’re all mortal.
His loss is also a reminder that even America’s biggest companies rely on small businesses to make their companies hum.
Hollywood depends on dozens of independent firms to get a movie made or a TV series shot; even the biggest of big tech firms rely on independent design shops to make their phones, earbuds and tablets look cool.
In a Small Business Saturday post, Patagonia acknowledged that it was dependent on a network of independent retailers for their deep knowledge of customers who “are experts at outfitting their favorite customers for their favorite outdoor activities or trips abroad.”
The Business Times is no different. We rely on a network of businesses to make our events work and to keep our operations running. Like many of America’s entrepreneurs, Kenji was an immigrant – a native of Japan who arrived on the West Coast in the early 1980s.
Kenji’s photography business was founded in Santa Barbara in the mid-1990s, making it older by a few years than the Business Times. I was flattered to see several photos of Business Times events on his LinkedIn page — it made me realize how our relationship supported his business as much as his work supported our events.
Kenji had a rare gift as a photographer. He had mastered the art of being present without being noticed at our events.
But when the occasion demanded action, Kenji was remarkably good at gathering award winners for a grand finale of a group photo and posing them precisely for the shot. When you are talking about C-suite executives and community leaders who are not used to being ordered around, it takes a firm but respectful approach that Kenji managed with grace and efficiency.
Kenji helped us celebrate our 25th anniversary this spring and the last time I saw him was at our Latino Business Awards reception in Santa Paula in July.
Shortly after that, we got word that he had suffered a stroke. A number of us contributed to a GoFundMe effort to help cover his medical bills and we were hopeful he’d be back doing his thing in 2026. But he went into hospice after a series of setbacks and passed away.
According to an obituary that appeared in the Santa Barbara Independent, a celebration of his life will be held on his birthday, Jan. 4, at Leadbetter Park at 10:00 a.m. He still has a lot of family in Japan, including his mom and siblings and our hearts go out to them and to all of us who will be feeling his loss.
Henry Dubroff is the founder, owner and editor of the Pacific Coast Business Times. He can be reached at [email protected].
