Photographers seek to replace memories lost in Sonoma County firestorm

Dani Robinson’s childhood in Santa Rosa was full of photos - snapshots of birthdays and family portraits in local parks, memories that adorned the walls of her parents’ Larkfield-Wikiup home or were kept in scrapbooks lovingly assembled by her mother.

The fast-approaching firestorm early Oct. 9 forced her parents, George and Nancy, to leave decades of images behind as they evacuated to Robinson’s Santa Rosa apartment. When the family returned to the ruins of their Carriage Lane home, they could just make out the mangled remains of the photo archives that had long been stored in living room bookshelves, Robinson said.

“Growing up, it was all pictures, all the time,” said the 22-year-old Santa Rosa Junior College student. “My mom scrapbooked with friends; we probably had at least 15 she had made. They didn’t have time to grab them before they evacuated. That’s probably my parents’ biggest regret.”

The family is slowly negotiating their rebuild project and grappling with the reconstruction of their lives. Robinson hopes more healing will come through the family’s participation in an Oct. 20 professional photo shoot at Howarth Park for those who lost homes to the fire.

The event, which also will feature children’s activities, is a collaboration between Sonoma County Churches United Relief and Westgate Church in San Jose. About 15 professional photographers from the South Bay church will donate their time for photo shoots with as many as 100 families who register in advance for the event, said Finny Abraham, Westgate’s local compassion pastor.

Photographers will spend about a half-hour with each family, who will also receive a $100 voucher from Mixbook to cover costs for a photo book or prints.

Robinson’s family plans to display the new family portraits in their rented Windsor home.

“It’s just a step to move forward,” she said. “We’re never going to forget what happened, but we’re looking forward to creating new memories and taking new pictures and trying to continue on with life. This past year has been really, really difficult.”

The effort is part of larger web of support offered to fire victims by Sonoma County Churches United Relief, said Adam Peacocke, director of the group of about 30 Sonoma County congregations. The faith-based effort has provided more than 300 families with aid, facilitated community projects, and networked with the San Jose congregation to make the Oct. 20 event a reality, he said.

“This is such a powerful way of looking into the future and really capturing the joy and the scene and the love of a family,” Peacocke said of the photos. “This takes people beyond what the fires took and into who they are and the joy they express.”

Abraham, the Westgate pastor who helped recruit professional photographers from his congregation of about 3,000, said the event is about “creating new memories after a terrible event.”

“It’s a way for us to show compassion in action,” said Abraham, whose church also provided hundreds of kits with essentials like soap, toothpaste and gift cards to Sonoma County churches after last year’s fires.

The effort provides Michael Buchanan, a professional San Jose wedding, engagement and family photographer and EMT who attends Westside Church, the chance to complete a mission “in his backyard.” He hopes his images can depict the unique bonds families have forged from the firestorm.

“I recognize everyone is different … if the family is artistic and a little more somber about what’s taken place, I’ll capture that. If they’re a little more on the happy-go-lucky side and positive about the future, I’ll capture that,” he said. “My intention is to get them smiling and loving on each other. They’ve been through this together.”

You can reach Staff Writer Hannah Beausang at 707-521-5214 or hannah.beausang@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter ?@hannahbeausang.