Humans of Chaffey: Gina Karol
From tragedy to a career in photography. Gina approaches her work from a minimalist perspective focusing on families and pets.
By Curt Burgess
Seventeen years ago, Gina’s son, Paul, died in a car accident coming home from work as a linesman for Southern California Edison. He was 21 years old. Her son was going to college and wanted to be a music teacher. He played multiple instruments in school, starting with the trumpet in third grade, eventually moving to saxophone.
The passing of her son turned her world “upside down.” At the time, Gina felt that she did not have many pictures of her son as an adult as they prepared to put together a memorial video.
“I'm looking through pictures, and I'm thinking, why can't I find any?”
It was this set of circumstances that propelled Gina to pursue photography. “I just wanted to make sure that I captured all the memories and all that, you know. I became the photographer of the family.”
Having photographs seemed especially important now since her children were adults, and she did not see them as much. She was heart-broken not to have this photographic history.
Gina retired four years ago and decided to commit to developing her photographic skills by enrolling in Chaffey’s photography program. Her son’s death was the catalyst for her interest in family photography.
According to Gina, she wants to “capture all these memories, because you just never know.” In addition to working with families, pet photography is a special interest.
Gina takes a minimalist approach to photography. This is evident in her photos of Edison, the dog, and her grandson, Mikey. The images are simple with straightforward composition, largely monochromatic, and the creative use of negative space. Gina explains that she likes "that clean look. I want to incorporate that into my photography."
She really enjoys classes that are hands-on with photography, so the two classes she is taking this semester, color photography and media photography, are particularly fulfilling. Next semester, she will complete her degree requirements with two classes.
Life is not all about photography.
Gina and her husband both retired four years ago, and they share a passion for travel. They particularly enjoy cruises that will take them to multiple countries. Exploring the cities and sites provides them with clues about where they might like to return.
On one vacation, they had a connecting flight into Ireland where they explored for five days before flying to Barcelona to board the cruise to northern Africa in the Canary Islands.
“When visiting different countries, we enjoy getting off the beaten path of tourist areas,” explained Gina. “We typically rent a car and visit remote places and less visited cities where we can engage the locals and enjoy the rich culture of the country we visit. We particularly enjoy visiting museums and churches, and we enjoy the region’s cuisine, and, depending on the destination, we like to go hiking and snorkeling.”
But traveling as a couple is not all they do. “Sometime we travel with friends and family, which makes it extra special. Last summer, we traveled to Cabo San Lucas with family. We were 15 altogether. It was so much fun and an excellent opportunity to document our time together in photos.”
As one might expect, Gina always travels with her camera. This has allowed her, she says, “to photograph some amazing places and memorialize our adventures. The memories and experiences from traveling and enjoying other cultures for us are priceless.”
Although she does not consider herself a professional yet, she has quite a bit of experience. She has done photography for Inland Empire Frenchies, a dog breeder and several corporate events and weddings for friends.
Once she graduates and with her volunteer photographic work, Gina believes she will be well poised to start shooting professionally, “I'm hoping that's how it's going to happen.”
