Witness Stories | Eyewitness

once upon a time

2/3/2020

by Karla Cordero, age 38, Heredia, Costa Rica
Photographer

I would like the story to be once upon a time… but the truth is that sometimes, sad experiences happen so we react and learn a lesson. In this case I would like to talk about my best friend's dad.

Jeslyn and I have been friends since 3rd grade, and until now we try to meet at least once a week for pupusas, tacos or who knows what.
A few years ago her dad passed away. Her dad, one of the coolest dads I knew, was always there for her, funny, positive and joyful. For Jeslyn’s wedding he had his hair braided, so you know what I mean when I say cool and not afraid about making a statement.

Anyway, to continue with the story, eventually Jeslyn’s dad got really sick and and after 9 months or so I received the news at 6am in the morning when I woke up. I grabbed my phone and there it was a midnight text from her, telling me the sad news and asking me for a big favor.

To my surprise, in that painful moment, they needed my professional advice and help as professional photographer. The only photo they had was an official government passport ID photo, where he actually looked happy and they wanted to know a photo lab that could enlarge the photo, printed and frame it to have it on top of the close coffin and service memorial, so family and friends could remember him as he was.

One if these moments that a photographer wishes never to encounter, there I was arranging with a lab so it could be done on time and making sure the photo will look its best, and arranging a messenger that can bring the frame to the service memorial before it all started.

After that I understood 4 things:

Families should do every now and then professional photos, not because I am a photographer and I want sell more, but because these photos will become family treasures and stories to tell
Photos should be printed, because otherwise people forget they even exist
My job is so valuable because I help families to create their family legacy, and this is something they don’t teach you in college
Unfortunately the value of printed photos is much stronger when the family member is no longer among us.

The only thing I regret is that I never offered Jeslyn to do a family session while her father was alive and in a good condition.
That photo now would have meant the world to her…

Pictures are not just pictures

1/3/2020

by Dayle Anne Clavin, age 60, Salzburg, Austria.
Photographer

I have been living in Austria for many years now, having left my home town of Los Angeles in order to study classical music in Salzburg. I was offered a job as flute teacher after graduation and stayed on, but made a trip home each year to touch base and visit family and friends.

In 1984 I made my winter trip to visit my parents in San Diego county and eagerly awaited the arrival within days of my older sister who lived in Colorado. I hadn't seen her in 3 years and was very excited along with parents and my twin sister to share time with her. I had my 4 month old baby with me and we would all share time together with a new family member.

A few days later we received a call from my brother-in -law with devastating news. My sister had been killed in a plane crash on the way to a conference where she was scheduled to speak. A storm had brought up bad weather and the lack of visibility had ended in tragedy.

I can't express in words the shock and pain that followed for all of us. I remember running out to the cliffs overlooking the Pacific ocean , my baby clutched in my arms as I sobbed and realized how fragile life is. A phone call had changed my life. I was young, my baby was just beginning, but we were not immortal as I'd always thought. Life was beautiful, but also unpredictable. It gave no warnings , no promises.

My dad had always loved photography and had been quite good at using gear and developing his own film and making prints. After my sister's passing, we were so thankful that we had some large B&W portraits and smaller snap shots of my sister to share. My older sister's daughter was only 3 years old at the time and the photos which we passed on to her as she grew up became the only visual link to her mother. She often told us that she could not remember much about her mom up to the age of three, so the prints she had were priceless for her.

In the 1990s my father generously gave me some great gear, camera and lenses and after hiding them in a closet for some time fearing an overwhelming technical challenge, a new friend and photographer offered to teach me how to use it and opened up the incredible world of photography for me. It changed my world as I began to "see" instead of looking and learned how to capture, develop and print in my very own darkroom.

I can't tell you how many times I coaxed my family members to let me photograph them, then came my friends and acquaintances, flute students and fellow workers. I printed vast amounts of images which began to tell the story of my personal life and beyond, in street scenes and far away places. I then exhibited and displayed matted and framed prints on the walls of my many different apartments. It was a very freeing experience to see that although time does move on and there are heartbreaking losses, to be able to capture a moment and preserve beauty in the world was my way of dealing with things. I could say "Look everyone! This is what I saw. Isn't it fantastic? Wasn't she beautiful!"

We can't do this without images and they have to be printed. Virtual images are virtual and their storage devices will eventually be replaced by new technology or be lost due to the sheer amount of files we accumulate. We need to see, touch and feel prints. We need to hold the books that hold our valuable and beloved images. They represent where we have been, who we have known and ultimately, who we are.

For pictures are not just pictures. They make up the texture of our lives and they tell the story of how we have become the people that we are today.

https://www.dayleannclavinportraits.com/

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20/2/2020

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once upon a time

by Karla Cordero, age 38, Heredia, Costa Rica
Photographer

Pictures are not just pictures

by Dayle Anne Clavin, age 60, Salzburg, Austria.
Photographer

This is where your stories go

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by Karla Cordero, age 38, Heredia, Costa RicaPhotographer

by Dayle Anne Clavin, age 60, Salzburg, Austria.Photographer

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by Karla Cordero, age 38, Heredia, Costa Rica
Photographer

by Dayle Anne Clavin, age 60, Salzburg, Austria.
Photographer