Since 2017, Spring Valley resident Mickey Strand has shot 106 of these portraits. Since then, more than 100 of these men and women have died.
After retiring from a long career as a military photographer, Spring Valley resident Mickey Strand began looking for some personal photo projects he could do to expand his portraiture skills. One of the subjects he landed on was an easy choice: photographing other local veterans who had served in World War II.
Photographer Mickey Strand’s favorite portrait is this image of World War II Navy photographer Joe Renteria of San Diego, who died Oct. 23. He’s holding the camera he used during the war.Strand’s most recent veteran photo session was on March 10 with Joe Albert Gonzalez, 95, of Clairemont, who served in the Army’s 381st Company, 96th Infantry Division.
Strand likes to use a flash because it accentuates the “laugh lines” in the veterans’ faces and he shoots in color but converts the images to black and white for portraits. His son and fellow Army veteran, Arnold Gonzalez, said his dad had been excited about the photo shoot, which will probably be his last. On April 22, Joe Gonzales will turn 96. He has told his family he won’t see 97. Because he lived through the war with only minor injuries in the 96th Infantry Division, Gonzalez believes 96 is his lucky number. He doesn’t want to tempt fate by surviving it.
“He told me my work was stagnant and not human enough,” Strand said. “He told me you’ve got to get out of the way to let the person be the person and find the moment.”