Blog | Jakob Berr Photography

On Wednesday, we went down to the pier after work. There was a paddle-out memorial for Jeff Kargola, a star in the freestyle motocross scene who recently died after a crash. The memorial was mostly over when we got there, and there were only few people left on the beach. I got one shot that I liked:

People gather at the San Clemente beach after a paddle-out memorial for Jeff "Ox" Kargola, a young motocross driver who died last April, May 11, 2011.

The Zenshuji Soto Mission in Little Tokyo held a memorial service today for the victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami that devastated north-eastern Japan. Photographing the ceremony was incredibly hard. There was next to no light, and even on ISO 2,500 I was still struggling to get anything at all. I did not want to use a flash because I didn’t want to disrupt the service – and paid my dues. I don’t have a single usable picture that shows the congregation coming in front of the altair and offering candles.

Anyways, here’s what I got. If you have any ideas what I could have done differently, I’d be eager to hear them!

Rev. Shumyo Kojima talks in Japanese to the congregation during a memorial service for the victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan at Zenshuji Soto Mission in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, Calif., Sunday, March 20, 2011.

Worshippers and temple workers light candles during a memorial service for the victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan at Zenshuji Soto Mission in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, Calif., Sunday, March 20, 2011.

A worshipper puts down a candle in front of the altair during a memorial service for the victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan at Zenshuji Soto Mission in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, Calif., Sunday, March 20, 2011.

Rev. Wako Kato participates in a memorial service for the victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan at Zenshuji Soto Mission in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, Calif., Sunday, March 20, 2011.

Bishop Daigaku Rummé performs a memorial service for the victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan at Zenshuji Soto Mission in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, Calif., Sunday, March 20, 2011.

It has been awfully quiet on this blog for a long time now, and the silence has a sad reason. A week before Christmas Eve, a major tragedy hit my family. For the following weeks, I had absolutely no mind to think about photography or anything related to it. After the first shock had settled down somewhat and some important things were taken care of, I traveled back to Germany for two weeks to spend some time with my family. The days I had with my mother and my siblings were an amazing and important time to heal. Especially my little three-year-old niece Lisa with her innocent light-heartedness helped me a lot in my grief.

Photograph by Gabriele Berr

Over the last 14 months I’ve been working on my professional project, the capstone of my Master’s degree at the Missouri School of Journalism. The time has been a rollercoaster of constant ups and downs, successes and backlashes. But it has paid off as I have learned important lessons about photography, multimedia, journalism and about myself. I’m excited to present to you the outcome of all of this: forgiven, but not forgotten. Please visit the project website, and if you feel compelled to voice your thoughts about it, leave your comments in the forum section.