I've had a great time photographing El Paso Firefighters for the National Firefighter Archive. I will leave here Thursday morning with great memories, amazing stories and an impressive archive representing members of EPFD.
Click on link for schedule and up-to-date slideshow
www.firefighterarchive.com
www.firefighterarchive.blogspot.com
Photographer Comes To El Paso To Photograph Firefighters
Daniel Novick-KFOX News Weekend Anchor/Reporter
EL PASO, Texas -- Laura Yanes' journey to El Paso Fire Department station number 18 starts more than eight years ago in New York City. "One day I walked past a firefighter on my way to the subway, and I saw him sitting on the bumper of his engine and said, 'May I take your picture, I'm practicing,'" said Yanes. Her goal was just to get better at photography. "He kind of rolled his eyes, and smiled and said, 'On one condition. You bring me a copy of that photograph,'" Yanes told KFOX. He went on to say that firefighters never get to see the photographs that people take of them. "I was on my way to the dark room, to print his photo, the morning of Sept. 11th," Yanes recalls. Her thoughts raced to the picture developing in her hands. "In the back of my mind, I kept thinking, 'Who is this man?' I didn't know his name, but I knew 343 firefighters died that day," she said. A few days later she went back to the station, and found out he had survived. "And the men in the station were just so happy, and we were all crying. But then they asked me the big question. One of the men said, 'I wish this were my photo,'" said Yanes.
She photographed all 7,000 firefighters in New York City. "I thought, 'If this is how I can help my city heal, by helping these firefighters deal with this, I'm happy to do this,'" said Yanes.
And that takes us back to El Paso Fire Department Station number 18. After New York City, she got requests from across the country to photograph firefighters, including El Paso. "I get, more than anything, to be able to bring out the nobility and the dignity of this work, and to share it with their families who will forever have these images," she said.
All of the photos are going into the National Firefighter Archive. Firefighters and their families are the only people who can access the pics.
Copyright 2009 by KFOXTV.com.
Click on to watch video
http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/19101537/detail.html
I promised I would have all your photos ready in time for you to order prints for mothers day. I kept my word. So if you still want to give your wives and mothers the best gift ever, you'll need to hurry and place your order. You will want to have them in your hands by next friday, May 8. Allowing 3 days for printing and 3-4 days for mailing, you will need to order ASAP or plan on paying fedex or priority mail charges. Go to www.printroom.com/pro/lyanes to view them.
(If you don't need them for mothers day, take your time. Your photos will be stored and ready when you are.)
I hope you'll stay in touch. When I arrive in California, I will prepare a small poster just like the ones that are posted on the archive website ( www.FireFighterArchive.com - click on "Find Photos") featuring FDNY, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Antonio and other departments. EPFD will hold a special place in that display. I'll be sure to email you a copy when it's ready.
In the meantime, Stay Safe,
Laura Yanes
