CAMERA CAPTURES WILDFIRE WEDDING
I LOOKED AT THEM AND THOUGHT, ‘WOW, THIS IS LIKE AMERICAN GOTHIC.’
Wedding photographer Karna Roa captured a viral wedding photo that depicts a newlywed couple wearing hazard masks as a wildfire rages in the background.
Enrobed in an elegant wedding dress, Katie Ferland keeps her bouquet close as she looks beyond the camera. Curtis Ferland clasps his wife’s hand and keeps a straight posture in his silky grey suit. The newlyweds stand before a vineyard in California’s Sonoma wine county, with what seems to be a picturesque orange sunset in the background.
It’s the perfect recipe for a photo to remember a special day, but the viewer is immediately stunned by the breathing masks hiding most of the couple’s faces. The background is the raging Kincade wildfire that’s consumed more than 75,000 acres of Sonoma county, destroyed more than 120 structures and now threatens 90,000 structures.
“I looked at them and thought, ‘Wow, this is like American Gothic,’ ” said photographer Roa.
The Ferlands, from Chicago, had planned for a year and invited 80 guests — mostly from out of state — to their wedding on Saturday in Kenwood, Calif., but the fire that’s forced more than 185,000 people from their homes only grew stronger.
“It’s very interesting that the image represents the highest of highs and the lowest of lows,” Roa, 43, told the National Post in a shaky voice.
Though she only spent about 90 minutes outside photographing the wedding, her throat became scratchy, her eyes started burning and she experienced a headache because of the smoke coming from 30 kilometres away.
The Ferlands’ big day proved surreal.
“The photo is a mix of joy and sorrow. It is the best day of the couple’s lives but it’s also a very tragic day for the community,” she said.
All of the vendors, including the wedding coordinators, DJ, caterers and venue owners, “were all acutely involved in the evacuation. Either they had to evacuate or their families did.”
Many of the wedding events had to be moved indoors, though the couple decided to have the ceremony outside, despite the hazards.
“Everything about their wedding was changed because of the fires. The sun was red, the sky was smoky.”
Roa said the event was not close to the fire, but the day after the wedding, the town of Kenwood had to evacuate.