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| Smoking pipe |
One thing I have learned these past few days is that everyone has their stories. So obvious but it’s also something we forget. The theory is far removed from deeply knowing and remembering to respect them for their unspoken story.
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| Cougar, 1996 |
Mark has the creative eye to capture stories visually. That is why he was a photojournalist, telling stories with his pictures. But there were also stories behind the stories.One of his more famous photos ‘Cougar’ was for a story for Beautiful BC magazine. He went out with the cougar researcher to track some radio collared cougars. They were within 400 ft of at least two cougars but could not see them or photograph them. They only knew they were there in the bush, right next to them because of the radio signals. A few days later a cougar tracker phoned Mark to let him know they had caught some troublesome cougars and were relocating them and did he want a picture? The two cougars were in a cage about the size of an average living room. The tracker opened the door of the cage, brandied a ruddy big stick at the cougars ready to beat them off Mark while Mark ducked into the cage, fired off a roll of film with his motor drive, retreated out of the cage reloaded and went back in for more.
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| Bum |
So many pictures, so many stories.
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| Adrianne before her husband disappeared while sailing in July. He had wonderful stories. |
The lab technician, a young woman around 30, who took six vials of Mark’s blood the other day had a story. I don’t know her story nor how she knew Mark’s unfolding story, perhaps the specific blood tests told her or perhaps intuition, but she knew. She came over to me after and put her arm around me and quietly told me it will get better ‘I know.’ she explained ‘I am a widow too. Just remember that things will get better.’
Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa 
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