Ohannes Kurkdjian

Ohannes Kurkdjian (first name sometimes spelled Onnes, Armenian spelling Hovhannes) (born 1851 in Kyurin, (Gürun), Ottoman Empire - died 1903 in Surabaya) was a photographer based in Yerevan, Tiflis, Singapore and then Surabaya during the Dutch East Indies era. His namesake business (located at Bultzingslowenplein) was Kurkdjian Atelier and later O. Kurkdjian & Co. It grew to employ at least 30 people, one of whom was Thilly Weissenborn the first significant Indonesian-born woman photographer. It continued operations after his death. The studio produced portraits including of Pakoe Boewono X Susuhunan van Solo as well as landscapes, business, building and trade photographs. Kurkdjian is an Armenian name.

Kurkdjian produced stereoscopic images of Ani. He worked for another photographer in Singapore for two months and moved to Surabaya where he eventually established his own studio. In 1897, Kurkdjian was joined by Englishman G. P. Lewis. A famous photograph of Kurkdjian shows him standing behind his tripod-mounted camera photographing a volcano.

Lewis took over the business after Kurkdjian's death in 1903. The studio was acquired by Mieling & Co., a pharmaceutical company, in 1915.