Dad At 93

My dad, James E. Schaffner, Sr., passed away at age 100 last August. I came across a photo of dad at 93 the other day that is one of my favorites. So, I thought sharing this photo and a little about him would be a good way to honor his memory.

Dad died of old age and not of Covid. But I can’t say he didn’t suffer from Covid. This suffering, thankfully, wasn’t physical. It was however, emotional. Covid restrictions limited visits to just my brother and sister who live in Ohio where he was. They could occasionally visit him and mom in their assisted living residence for very short visits. Even if I could have traveled to Ohio from Texas I wouldn’t have been permitted to visit without a 14-day quarantine beforehand and even then the visit would have been of necessity, very short.

I did get to speak with him over the phone shortly before he died. Although he couldn’t respond at least I had a chance to say goodbye and to tell him I loved him. Fortunately, he was with my mother, his wife of 75 years, when he passed. You would think that if you live to 100 you would get to leave surrounded by your family. Unfortunately, Covid had other plans. It seems that one of the saddest aspects of Covid is the loneliness it has imposed on us all. Quarantining and staying away from people has taken toll on all of us that will take to overcome. We are at heart, social beings.

A Good Man

Dad was a full-fledged member of the “greatest generation“. He fought and bled in WWII serving in the Army in World War II with the 168th Inf. Regiment, 34th Inf. Division in Ireland, Scotland, Africa and Italy. Upon returning home he married his sweetheart, and started a family and live life knowing there were many who didn’t get that opportunity.

Like most of his generation he went about his life without fanfare. It’s about working hard to support your family. It’s about raising a family, and, living by a simple code – do the right thing. Dad was for the most part a quiet man; so he didn’t talk a lot. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t “interested”. He let his actions speak for themselves. I learned a lot from him. He didn’t formally teach his kids; he taught us through the example of how he lived. That’s a much harder way to teach, but the lessons are more lasting. I know that they are for me.

Simply doing the right thing seems like a rather simple concept. However, events of the past few years make it clear many didn’t learn that concept. I guess maybe they didn’t have the great teacher that I did. I’m grateful that I did and hope that I’ll always remember what he taught me. I’ve tried to pass this lesson on to my kids. I think I have but I’m not as good a “teacher” as he was. It isn’t an easy thing to teach. But dad proved it can be done and it’s worth doing.

The Shot

This was shot at home; we were just sitting around the kitchen table talking. It’s a candid shot; dad wasn’t the kind of guy that liked to pose. Truth be told, he wouldn’t have been all that happy if he realized I was taking his picture. The details of the photo are:

• Canon 5D Mk III, EF 24-105mm lens at 60mm, 1/60 sec. at f/4, ISO 1250
• No flash, no tripod

This was processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. I’ve always liked high-contrasts portraits as typified by those of Polish photographer, Andrzej Dragan. On his website he has a portrait of one of my favorite actors, Mads Mikkelsen, that is simply phenomenal. I googled “high contrast portraits” and found a YouTube video by  Howard Pinsky who had deconstructed Dragan’s process so I used that as my guide. If you search for “Dragan effect” you’ll find a number of videos where people have developed workflows to emulate Dragan’s process. They are all slightly different; choose one that works for you.

Personal Meaning In Photography

The results are nowhere near Dragan’s work but it was a great learning opportunity. But I’m happy with the result. “Dad At 93” brings back fond memories and makes me feel good.

“Dad At 93” will never hang on anyone’s wall other than my family’s and that’s okay. For me, the driving force in making photos is the personal meaning and feelings I derive from the work. If someone else likes them and finds meaning in them that’s an nice added benefit. I believe the purpose of art is to create an emotional response and that’s true even if it is only for us as the photographer. Sometimes we simply need to create art for ourselves; it’s good for the soul.

Goodbye dad, I love you.

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