Wildfire survivors get a gift in their recovery: photos

It’s been nearly five months since mammoth wildfires tore through swaths of Los Angeles County. As many wildfire survivors continue to go through the phases of recovery and rebuilding, one tool has emerged as a vital in dealing with it all: the photograph.

With thousands of homes lost to the fires, so went a lifetime of memories in the form of pictures.

But Vanity Portrait Studio wanted to capture this moment of transition and resilience.

The San Francisco-based photography company, through their partnership with LA Tourism and the L.A. Convention Center, opened up complimentary family portraits for this weekend to wildfire survivors and the emergency personnel that responded to the scenes.

The company’s staff photographers from San Francisco traveled to L.A., where this weekend they worked at the Convention Center’s Concourse Hall taking free pictures of families. It was their way of supporting the L.A.-area community after the fires, they said.

Participants received a 10-minute photoshoot, and were able to take home both black-and-white framed prints and digital copies of their portrait.

Mark and Kim Yodowitz from Malibu drove from Garden Grove to get their portraits. They’d been temporarily living in the Orange County town since their home burned down in the Palisades fire.

Their daughter, whose home also burned down, informed them about the event and encouraged them to get their photos taken. In their collective black-and-white portrait, the two are pictured in a loving embrace.

The Malibu couple knows the importance of photographs all too well — especially after the fires. The Yodowitzes lived in their Malibu home for eight years before the fire scored their entire neighborhood, including their daughter’s home.

They were able to rescue their four dogs and cat, but everything else, including all of their photographs, were gone.

They lost five phones full of photos, their physical wedding photos, Mark’s various collectibles (buttons, records, books, and baseball cards), and Kim’s jewelry passed down from generations.

Since the fires, the couple have moved from sleeping in their car to a friend’s home, to the Pasadena Civic Center, to the Hilton Hotel, and then their temporary residence in Garden Grove.

Through the support they’ve been given the past five months by organizations like American Red Cross, Pasadena Rose Bowl, Lions Clubs International, and most recently, Vanity Portrait Studio, Mark and Kim said they’ve met fellow fire victims who are now “[their] family.”

“We’re so glad we came. Everybody here has been so fantastic. It’s just been an awesome experience,” Mark Yodowitz said.