Photographer tracks down negatives for couple who lost their wedding pictures in wildfire


This is an early 20th anniversary gift they'll never forget.
When the Camp Fire swept through Grass Valley, California, last fall, it completely destroyed Marc and Mary Taylor's home. All of their possessions were lost in the wildfire, including decades worth of photos. Hoping she could recover some of them, Mary Taylor got in touch with the photographer, Richard Briggs, who shot their wedding on August 14, 1999.
Briggs was thrilled when he started digging around and found the negatives, telling KCRA that usually, photographers don't keep them for so long. "Luckily, they were intact," he said. "They were a little faded. I bought a scanner and scanned them all. And my wife, she's excellent in editing, and she brought back the color and the life into the photos, and from those images, I was able to make an album." He can still recall the wedding, he added, and remembers thinking, "These people are so much in love."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Taylors cried when Briggs gave them not only their wedding album, but also the negatives, as these are the only photos they've been able to replace. "It gave us a piece of something back after losing everything," Marc Taylor said. "I don't know how to explain it. There's no words." Catherine Garcia
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
July 26 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include Joe Biden's memoir, PBS funding, and an Obama-Trump comparison
-
5 low ratings cartoons about the Late Show cancellation
Cartoons Artists take on early warning signs, the Gen Z stare, and more
-
Connie Francis: Superstar of the early 1960s pop scene
In the Spotlight The 'Pretty Little Baby' and 'Stupid Cupid' singer has died aged 87
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada