Yoti Telio of Santa Clarita Photographic Studio & Gallery uses photography to help fire victims.

[view:node_ad=5]“I want to make a difference with a camera,” says Telio. He is the 2007 California Studio Portrait Photographer of the Year and the 2007 National Fuji Masterpiece in Portraiture Award Winner, and now he’s making a difference in the lives of those affected by the recent fires. 

 

But this isn’t the first charitable project he has done.  Just a few years ago, Telio was photographing servicemen and women with their children, and naming the project, “The Ultimate Sacrifice”.  Telio once was a Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy, and lost his instructor in line of duty.  “His death has stayed with me all my life…they sacrifice so much, for so little.  After 9/11, I decided to take these shots.”  All of the proceeds from the project went to those who had lost a loved one in the 9/11 attack. 

 

More recently, after seeing how the fires affected so many families, Telio decided to use his photography to make a difference once again.  One portrait stands out in his mind, and that is the Tindell Family portrait. 

 

Heads Up, a non-profit horseback therapy organization located in Saugus is operated by the Tindell Family.  A few weeks ago, after hearing about the approaching Buckweed fire, Jim Tindell evacuated his family from the ranch, and once they were safe, he went back to save the horses, who were still in their stalls. 

 

He led them into a dirt training arena, which would protect them from the burning brush all around them.  When the fire became too much to handle, Tindell decided to make his escape.  But, as he tried to get away, he suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns on his hands and face.  Because of Tindell’s courage, all the horses were saved. 

 

Tindell is currently in the Grossman Burn Center ICU, where he is slowly recovering.  Thanks to the generosity of Yoti Telio, Tindell can see his family everyday.  Telio took a family portrait of the Tindell family, and it now hangs in the ICU for Jim Tindell to look at daily. 

 

“The power of photography is real, and it will inspire and help him heal,” says Telio.