They say that a picture paints a thousand words, and for one photographer, it is something truer to her than to everybody else. That’s because through photography, she accidentally found her estranged father – homeless and suffering from mental illness.
Diana Kim is a 32-year-old photographer based in Hawaii. For the past decade, she undertook a project of taking pictures of homeless people in an effort to improve their living conditions. Little did she know that her personal endeavor would eventually lead to her father.
According to BBC, it was in 2003 when she did a photo essay on homelessness because she saw herself in them as a young kid who had no permanent place to call her home. Growing up, she moved around – from one relative to another, sleeping in parks and shelters – after her parents separated.
Admittedly, she had few memories of her dad, but she remembered him best for introducing her to photography. He was a landscape photographer with his own studio, Diana recalled.
She rarely saw her father with a handful of times during her teenage years. But she never got to know him, until her grandmother called her and revealed her dad’s struggle with mental illness.
Her father’s unwillingness to take his medication or eat anything led to his deterioration. His schizophrenia took its toll on him, until one day, he was evicted from his home for looking unwashed and disheveled. From thereon, he lived on the streets, wandering aimlessly.
According to Huffington Post, Diana, armed with information regarding her dad’s “heath status and living arrangements”, looked for her father in the streets of Honolulu. She found him, but he didn’t see nor acknowledged her.
Diana wanted to get him to recognize her, but it was a futile attempt. One lady even told her that she was just wasting her time.
“I wanted to scream at her and say, “He’s my dad!” But I realised that getting angry wouldn’t change anything so I just turned and looked at her and said, “I have to try. I have to try,” she wrote in a BBC article.
Eventually, she was able to reach out to her dad –through an unfortunate incident. He had a heart attack and was hospitalized for days.
Diana rushed to the hospital and found her father looking better, not to mention all cleaned up. He also received treatment for his mental illness.
“A year and a half, two years ago, my dad wasn’t even there. His spirit was not there,” Diana told NBC in 2015. “Today, you look at him and he has life in his eyes.”
Nowadays, Diana’s father is picture of good health as he takes small steps towards recovery.
What do you think of this touching story between Diana and her dad? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Source: Insidereaders
The post Picture Perfect: Photographer finds estranged father while taking photos of homeless people in Hawaii appeared first on Showbiz Insider.
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