They say a picture says a thousand words. Photographs can evoke a wide array of mixed feelings as they display a crucial moment in time, often removed from a broader context and placed within one specific, unique moment all to itself.
A photo taken at the right time can show goodness in the world, but framed from a different angle, it can show terror and evil. Some people are lucky enough to take photos of the most critical moments of their lives.
Some people, like Reynaldo Dagsa, have the strange fortune of taking a picture of their death.
The bizarre incident created some media buzz back in 2011. A politician, Reynaldo, inadvertently captured a picture of the man who would become his killer not even a second before the first gunshot was fired.
All on New Year’s Day and in front of his family. It’s a many-layered tragedy that highlights the dangers present in other countries and the desperation of their criminals.
It also serves to highlight an important, pressing moral issue today: whether it’s good or not always to have your smartphone out.
Without it, Dagsa’s killer would not have been so easy to identify. But if it weren’t for the camera, would he have time to notice and save his own life?
10 /10 Man Of Action
Reynaldo Dagsa was best known for his service in his local township, or Barangay in Caloocan, one of the most populated cities in the Philippines.
The district he served as a councilman was his home and where he died due to a crime that he worked hard to prevent.
He was a corporal in the Philippine Army Reserve Command and was a Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team member.
9 /10 Family Photo
On January 1st, 2011, Dagsa went out with his family to celebrate the New Year. Everyone was celebrating, mostly with firecrackers and other fireworks, and he wanted to capture the moment with his family.
He brought them just outside their home on Tuna Street to take a photo. His wife, daughter, and mother-in-law were all part of the photo – as were two unknown men in the background.
He didn’t ask them to move aside. He might not have even noticed them until it was too late. He even asked them to wake him if he was asleep to join in with the neighborhood.