Karsh was born to Armenian parents Amsih Karsh , a merchant , and Bahai Nakash , on December 23 , 1908 in Mardin , Diyarbekir Vilayet , Ottoman Empire . The city 's Armenian population was largely Arabic-speaking . His Armenian name Hovsep is a variant of Joseph , while Yousuf is the Arabic version of the same name . He grew up during the Armenian Genocide , during which some of his family were murdered . Karsh and his family escaped to a refugee camp in Aleppo , Syria in 1922 in a month-long journey with a Kurdish caravan . '' The Economist '' noted in their obituary of Karsh that he " thought of himself as an Armenian " and , according to Vartan Gregorian , " Although he was proud to be Canadian , Karsh was equally proud to be Armenian . " Karsh was sent to Canada by his family . He arrived in Halifax , Nova Scotia on December 31 , 1923 by ship from Beirut . He immediately moved to Sherbrooke , Quebec to live with his maternal uncle George Nakashian ( Nakash ) , a portrait photographer . Karsh worked for , and was taught photography by his uncle . He gave Karsh a Box Brownie camera . From 1928 to 1931 , Karsh apprenticed in Boston , Massachusetts for John H. Garo , the most prominent Armenian photographer in America at the time who had made a name for himself photographing Boston celebrities
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Yousuf Karsh