Carl...

As a local press photographer, you will rarely get to shoot anything as momentous as, say, a Reuters pro. But what you do does matter, in a small way, to the community that you work in and with.

Sometimes, this can come back to you in good ways, and sometimes it can remind you of just how precarious life is.

I shot Carl Davies. a Sittingbourne and Sheppey teacher, a few months ago before he did a charity tandem parachute jump. Only with him for 15 minutes, but he made an impression in my memory.  A few weeks ago he had moved on. As an ex-marine, he was now a security consultant on a ship in the Indian Ocean, which is plagued by pirates.

Then came the news that he had been found dead on La Reunion island.

And then, following a second post-mortem, it became murder...

I cannot imagine what his family are going through. But I hope they take some comfort from the chinese lantern launch by friends and ex-pupils in his memory which took place on Minster Leas last Saturday evening. Over 150 people and possibly many more - it was so dark - left a glowing tribute slowly streaming into the air...

Dozens of glowing chinese lanterns in the sky over The Leas, Minster, on 

19th November 2011, an airborne tribute to ex-teacher Carl Davies. 

Evan Borg-Myatt, 9, left, and Jack Mair, 10, sons of friends,

 let their lanterns go into the night. 

FOR ABSOLUTE CLARITY- IMAGE ©KM Group, NO REPRODUCTION IN 

ANY MEDIUM OR MEDIA WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION OF KMG.