Stunning sunset photos flow in for Van de Vorst family tribute
Micki Cowan | CBC News | Posted: May 15, 2016 5:20 PM | Last Updated: May 16, 2016
Saskatoon family of 4 killed in crash involving alleged drunk driver in January
People from all over the world got out their cameras on Saturday to snap beautiful pictures of the sunset in memory of a family that died.
The sunset photo challenge was done in memory of the Van de Vorst family from Saskatoon, who were killed in a car crash in January.
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Jordan and Chanda Van de Vorst, along with Kamryn, 5, and Miguire, 2, all lost their lives as a result of a crash at Highway 11 and Wanuskewin Road on Jan. 3.
Jordan Van de Vorst was an avid photographer and had an idea for the "sunset challenge", where people would all take a photo of the sunset at the exact same time from wherever they were, but died before it became a reality.
His dream was realized on Saturday, May 14 after a group of photographers set up a sunset photography tribute event.
Just after 8:30 p.m. CST, photos started pouring in on the event's Facebook page.
Photo submissions pouring in
In less than 24 hours Andrea Lawrence's inbox was bursting with sunset pictures captured across Canada and Europe.
"I'm at around 475 submissions and they're coming from all over the world; the Netherlands, Germany, Calgary, B.C. — it's absolutely crazy," Lawrence said.
In addition to the photo submissions, Lawrence said she's receiving many thank you messages and she believes the momentum building over this short period of time could spawn an annual photo competition.
"I wanted to do this to honour Jordan ... to make sure Jordan and his family are never forgotten and I think it's something that's possible for everyone to do and keep doing," Lawrence said.
Once the submissions taper off, she said she's going to combine all the photos into a video and post it on Jordan's sunset tribute page on Facebook.
There were photos from Saskatchewan:
Across Canada:
And also from around the world:
The support meant a lot to those who miss the Van de Vorst family members.
Angie White posted in gratitude of the outpouring of support on the event's page Sunday morning.
"While I can only speak for myself as his sister, and my own little family, Jordan would have humbly accepted this tribute with overwhelming and immeasurable gratitude," White posted on Facebook.
"With a gentle yet persuasive lecture, he would have encouraged each of us all (even the little 4 year old who took a photo!) to go again... go often... snap a photo every now and again simply because nature is a precious gift," she said.
Organizers of the event said they plan to create a video compilation of all the photos.