Photographer Falls To His Death Trying Capture Perfect Picture
LODI (CBS13) — A Lodi photographer died after falling from the roof of a parking garage while taking pictures in downtown Lodi. He fell from the roof of a parking garage on Sacramento Street.
According to San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department, the photographer has been identified as Jiyoun Park, 63. He was taking photos on a parking garage on Sacramento Street.
"Oh my, I'm shocked," said Mona Jawad, the photographer's neighbor. "I saw him yesterday!"
Neighbors knew him as the quiet guy who loved taking photographs at dusk and dawn.
"I would always see him, even with my flowers, take pictures," Jawad said. "He was a very nice man."
Just before 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Park fell 40 feet from the ledge while trying to get a shot of the train going by. His phone and camera were found right next to his body. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died.
"It's unfortunate that it happened," said Mohsin Shaw, a Lodi artist.
Park's Facebook page features several photo shoots of wildlife and other scenic locations.
"I appreciate his work, I appreciate what he was trying to do," Shaw said.
But Shaw told CBS13 those picturesque moments aren't always easy to capture.
"Of course, I need to be more careful," he said. "Sometimes you're so involved in it that you forget and sometimes there's technical stuff as well as art stuff."
Shaw works on sculptures, 3D art, paintings and photography and says, he's been in scary situations in the past, just chasing the perfect shot.
"I sometimes walk in the street," Shaw said. "The other day, I was taking pictures of an accident down there and I was in the middle of the street and there was a car coming."
And while he didn't know Park well, as a fellow artist, he hopes Park's body of work isn't forgotten.
"I hope his work gets seen or the stuff that hasn't been, published," Shaw said.
According to Lodi Police, Park's death appears to be an accident. They found pictures of the train and the Lodi arch on his camera.