91-Year-Old Photographer Loses Over 80,000 Images in LA Wildfires
Amid the devastation of the L.A. wildfires, heartbreaking individual stories are emerging such as a 91-year-old photographer in Altadena who estimates he has lost over 80,000 photos stored on hard drives.
John worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for 48 years and was also a professional photographer. But his life’s work, which Fox 11 Los Angeles characterizes as “history being made” has perished.
John and his wife Kris, 85, lost power and so had to evacuate immediately because John depends on oxygen machines and breathing apparatus. Apparently unaware of the impending fires, the couple took nothing with them. While they are safe, their house burnt down and they lost all of their belongings — including the hard drives containing John’s photos.
“48 years at JPL,” says the reporter. “Can you imagine the history, the pictures that were on those hard drives? They have lost absolutely everything.”
John, who served in the military, also lost his oxygen and breathing treatment machines. Nevertheless, they are at least safe with family.
The Devastating Impact of the Fires
Yesterday, PetaPixel spoke with Los Angeles photographer Marcus Ubungen whose house also burnt down in Altadena. Marcus lost “nearly all of his photo gear”, including medium format and mirrorless cameras along with all the lenses and accessories.
“I made it out with the two digital cameras I already had in a backpack from work that day, and quickly stuffed my Leica M7 and my grandfather’s lens into a small case that had my Pentax 67II in it,” Ubungen says. “But I lost my 8×10 camera, 4×5 camera, lenses in every format, all my lighting gear, a full Canon R5 kit, and a Sony FX9 Cinema package. And there’s the stuff around that stuff — all the accessories, my film processor, printer, paper, computer setup, and flatbed scanners. It was quite a bit.”
There is at least some good news for L.A. this morning as more favorable conditions mean firefighters are getting a better grip on the situation. Dangerous winds are subsiding in the area but displaced residents are no closer to knowing when evacuation orders will be lifted. Cooler temperatures and more humid weather are also aiding emergency services’ efforts.
