Paul Grottkau brought to his work as a studio photographer an aptitude for managing complex, precise technical processes as required in the practice of the building sciences in which he was educated. His day-to-day organizing activities within the labor movement required a deep devotion to social ethics and a sincerely felt empathy for ordinary folks and their interests. This combination of technical knowledge and social conscience must have served him well as he endeavored to put his customers at ease before his lens. […]