Memorial Photos

Sadly, Orange County has been in the national limelight due to the serial killer of homeless people.
Fortunately, law enforcement officials are pretty sure they caught the man suspected of murdering 4 middle age men since last month.
Unfortunately, he killed another gentleman last night and was seen running from the site and was caught nearby.
One of the truisms that I operated on when I was at the newspaper, whenever tragedy strikes, people will gather.
The site of the last murder is about 4 miles from my house and at a fast food restaurant.
I drove by knowing that a make-shift memorial would already be in place.
Dozens of people were milling about and sharing stories about the homeless man who was killed.
I guess my past experience helped me to be able to walk into that kind of a situation and start taking images.
My first image is of balloons that a mourner left with “RIP John” written on them.

Experience is helpful in tough situations.
I didn’t have my DSLR, so I didn’t choose to photograph any people, that would have been a bit tougher.
So, I chose to concentrate on detail images that told the story.
I moved in quickly, photographed what I wanted and left.
That’s key, so if someone was to be offended, I didn’t give much of a chance for that to happen.
Not sure why the young man that did these horrendous murders was so angry.
Homeless people are on the fringe of our society and for someone to prey on that segment is pretty reprehensible.
The sad thing that we tend to forget is the men that were killed were sons, brothers and or fathers to someone.
They didn’t deserve to be brutalized.
Here’s hoping that their deaths will serve to bring awareness and compassion to the thousands of other homeless that tend to be invisible.
Be inspired!

Michael is the author of, “Take Better Photos Now,” and, “Mommie Pics,” ebooks that help everyone become better photographers through tips and secrets that he has learned during his more than 25 years of experience as a professional photographer and photography teacher. Her currently is an adjunct professor at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, California. To purchase either ebook, click the links. CLICK HERE FOR “TakeBetterPhotosNow!
CLICK HERE FOR MOMMIE PICS