I remember standing over a guy once who had just been shot in his apartment. There was a drive-by on the street out front and instead of taking cover he went to the bedroom window to look and caught what appeared to be a stray round meant for someone else. He was a “Veterano” so I was somewhat surprised he did that, I expected he would know better. We had arrived on scene right after it happened, and paramedics were close behind us. Medically there wasn’t anything I could do for him beside encourage him to keep fighting to stay alive. His breathing was shallow, and he was not saying anything. His color started to fade and by the time the paramedics transported him his skin was turning grey, I knew he was going to die, and he did soon after reaching the hospital. I have seen a few murder victims die; most I guess were in shock because they were not saying much. I have also seen someone who was shot and made it, he was scared and calling out for his mother as he was laying there on the ground. Watching someone in the process of dying an unnatural death is surreal. I’ve sensed some people giving in to their wounds and death’s call, while seeing others fighting with all they had to survive. I have sensed fight, fear, regret, loneliness, and calm witnessing the dying process.
I went to the Croft House to photograph Brianna Kupfer’s memorial because I saw it as opportunity to document an incident which represents our society today, raging crime and the deterioration of safety in our communities.
What happened to Brianna showcases everything that has and is going wrong with the new approach to the American criminal justice system in a supposed “woke” society. It is beyond unacceptable that Shawn Laval Smith, the murder suspect, was still roaming the streets after at least 11 previous arrests and his obvious mental health issues. At a minimum he should have been in a mental health facility years ago, instead, somehow, he was most likely shipped to California from South Carolina so they could get rid of their problem quickly. Based on all his criminal history Law Enforcement did their job, they arrested him and brought him before the courts. The system from there obviously did not do their part by putting Mr. Smith in some type of custody where he could not harm others. Every day there are incidents of violent attacks on innocent people by unstable persons living on our streets. This past week the victims included a nurse at a Los Angeles bus stop and an accounting consultant on a New York subway platform, plus who knows how many others.
I feel my images from the Croft House accurately convey my feelings about Brianna’s murder and allow for thought and interpretation by other viewers. I see them as powerful documents of what happened, even though they do not actually document the criminal act or crime scene. I hope these photographs allow some viewers the ability to consider the reality of such a horrific loss and contemplate society’s approach to public safety moving forward. I think there are many layers for the viewers to deal with in these images.
When I photograph, I try and be respectful of the people within my frames and not exploitative. With an incident like this, I was looking for images with deeper meaning, not just a press image where I was looking for dramatic shot to illustrate a story before moving on.
Here are some of my thoughts on specific images:
The wide-angle view of the entire store worked well. The lead image in this blog captured how intimate this furniture store is by documenting its scale. I used a 14-24mm Nikon Aspherical lens for this since the sidewalk is so narrow and news vans were parked all in front of Croft House. For me I see the outside of the building with all the big windows as a location I would never expect a violent crime to occur. The wide-angle lens also captured the volume of flowers well. In the image above the young man walking past the wanted poster of Smith symbolizes much of society for me. Something horrific happened here, I want everyone to take notice and be enraged about it, but this man appears to be walking by as if he is oblivious to that fact. I imagine him saying to himself: “Oh well something bad happened here, thankfully it wasn’t me, bad things happen all the time, just accept it, I have things to do, it’s nothing I have to deal with.”. Obviously, I don’t know this young man’s thoughts, nor do I know if he has already walked by here multiple times and has already stopped to experience the moment. His presence in the frame, although a documented fact, is really only symbolic of life going on and people passing by. I also think his attire helps with the documentation of the area and the people who live here.
This image is intense for me. The arrangement is so beautiful, as was Brianna Kupfer, the flowers are representative of her. The interior of the store is organized and clean. There is order in the display and the designs of the pieces are awesome, the space looks cool, normally I would love to check out. But then there is the reality that order was shattered by the blade of the murderer’s knife. The reflection of the news van and the wanted poster in the window tell the horrific truth. Having seen the coverage of the murder on television I know the suspect had walked right where I was now standing to make this photograph. Perhaps he peered into this same window before he entered Croft House. He interacted with Brianna in such a way that she became so scared of him she texted a friend about him, he then savagely murdered Brianna, before comely walking out the back door of the store and North up the ally. The most chilling part is the rear door of the store is so clearly visible in this image and positioned just to the left of the wanted flyer for the suspect. This image brings to my mind the terror Brianna must have endured at the end of her life, how alone she must have felt.
I assume this image above is pretty obvious for most viewers. Televised news is so influential today. Here I have the production crew for the live shot, masks documenting the period, and mobile equipment which reminds the viewer that the crew is only on scene temporarily before moving on to the next story. Society’s focus on this event will quickly fade, and then I think of her family who will carry the scars of this loss forever. I am angered with the thought that victims, and their families are not the focus today. The slight view of the memorial in the background wanted poster giving context to their story. The reporters practiced speaking their copy while the crews checked their lighting and camera angles. They were doing their jobs, they were not being disrespectful, but the reality was obvious this wasn’t personal for them, it was just another tough story, it probably has to be that way in their business. Maybe this image also represents public desensitization to crime.
A few more images of the news crews, I specifically liked the woman casually walking by NBC’s Angie Crouch as she prepared for her segment, again symbolic of the acceptance of the reality of our society today.
I personally have no respect for District Attorney Gascon so when I found this sign here when I arrived, I was happy someone else had made this statement. It is good that there is an element of anger along with celebrating the Brianna’s life and mourning her loss. The old metal security gate is also an important element in all these images, adds to the layers.
The powerful element in this image is subtle but strong. Just before I photographed it someone came up and asked a couple questions about the murder. He seemed like he didn’t want to believe such a violent act could have happened there, I assume he lived in that Hancock Park neighborhood. He read the wanted poster, then put his hands up to the glass so he could get a better view of the store’s interior. It was obvious he was trying to comprehend what had happened, I assume he felt compassion for the victim and quite possibly fear for his own well-being. It would have been a great photograph of him peering in the window, but I didn’t take it. I guess I wanted to let him have his moment to himself. The smudges on the window are a good representation of everyone who had stopped and peered inside. I am sure many were fearful they would see a bloody crime scene but at the same time they were too curious to not look. From that point I can imagine people thinking thank God that wasn’t me or my daughter.
I liked the image of the vigil flyer; it is a simple document that gains value with the Christian candles. The note in the right-side image stood out to me. It isn’t the typical card you write on when you send flowers. It’s a page ripped from a small personal notebook. I don’t know any facts about who wrote this, but I can envision someone who stopped to view the memorial feeling the emotion of the loss and having a need to do something to share with others how they felt. For me the note is so genuine and personal, I love it, especially with the shapes and forms of the image, the beautiful, delicate flowers, and their contrast to the iron security gate. More layers of interpretation with this image than are initially obvious.
This may be the most powerful of my images that day, even though it was such an obvious image. I was lucky to be there when the sunlight was at a perfect angle to illuminate Brianna’s portrait and the wanted flyers taped to the window. The light also gave me interesting hard shadows in the store with an interesting element of a reflection of a security fence in the top of the frame; for me those elements allude to the darkness of the crime. Again, the staging of the portrait reminds me how unexpected it was to have a homicide occur at a location like Croft House. I don’t know who photographed the actual portrait, it is a solid portrait which I assumed captured Brianna’s personality. I felt a little weird photographing someone else’s photograph but with all the other elements in my frame I knew it was totally appropriate.
Hopefully I will find fewer things like this to photograph in the future and that I will never have to fully comprehend the pain Brianna Kupfer’s family is experiencing now. I will keep documenting my world because that is how I experience life and I trust these images will also have an impact on everyone who views them.