Kenneth Rose, Photographer Who Made It A Snap To Be Shot

Forty years is a long time to make a living photographing birthdays, weddings and anniversaries. It is a long time to face down shy seniors and fretting tots.

But Bellevue photographer Kenneth John Rose of Brant Photographers only had to smile, crack a joke, then take an interest in each person's story for a subject to melt into natural positions.

"He did weddings 40 years, and I don't know how he did it because I never went along," said his wife of 50 years, Arlene Rose of Bellevue. "I mainly stayed in the office and ran the business aspect, and let him handle the creative side. He loved his business. It was his hobby, too."

Mr. Rose died of cancer Monday (July 28). He was 74.

Born in Seattle and reared in the Montlake neighborhood, he had a darkroom in the basement of his family home. He graduated from Garfield High School in 1940, attended the University of Washington, then served in the Army. After World War II he earned a degree at Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, Calif. He moved back to the Seattle area in 1948 and worked in camera departments of stores such as Warshal's.

When Mr. Rose went to work for Bill Brant, founder of the photography studio, it was a natural fit. The two enjoyed working together in the darkroom, listening to jazz.

After Mr. Rose bought the business, he and his wife held "Tuesdays for Tots"; his wife said the days were so stressful that at day's end they had to have a martini, "but we had to stop those Tuesdays."

Mr. Rose and his son Robert also came to do big business photographing pets. They were especially challenged by a pair of ferrets.

"Those stupid ferrets wouldn't sit still," said his son. "So we had the owner wrap up in a blanket and hold the ferrets in the blanket. It was great. It just looked like the ferrets were coming out of holes."

Mr. Rose owned Brant Photographers from 1971 to 1985, when he sold it to his son.

"What drove him was his interaction with others," said Robert Rose. "We get a lot of entertainment from talking with people . . . He had a way of putting people at ease."

Mr. Rose also had "the touch" for staying calm in the chaos of weddings, where dozens of people are under strain. When things went wrong or equipment broke, Mr. Rose just took an upbeat attitude and went about fixing it, said his son:

"Sometimes he made it seem like we were Laurel and Hardy. We'd bump heads and get in each other's way trying to do something, then come up laughing."

Other survivors include his sons Paul Rose of Seattle and Matt Rose, New Orleans, and three grandchildren.

A memorial gathering is at 1 p.m. Aug. 10 at his home in Bellevue. For directions, call 425-454-7676.

Donations can go to the City of Hope National Medical Center, c/o Seattle National Office, 1309 114th Ave. S.E., Bellevue, WA 98004.

Carole Beers' phone message number is 206-464-2391. Her e-mail address is: cbee-new@seatimes.com