Veteran photographer Jones laid to rest

Family, friends and colleagues of the New York-based veteran photojournalist Clyde Jones gathered at the St. Mary’s Anglican Church Thursday afternoon to bid him a final farewell.

This was the second memorial for Jones who died on April 3 at the age of 89 at the Mt. Sinai Hospital in Brooklyn.

He was fondly remembered for his passion for Barbados and ensuring the island was well publicised on the world stage.

During the service, Rector of St. Mary’s Church Canon Wayne Isaacs reminded the audience of Jones’ profession as a photographer and advised the congregation to be wary of the images they ascribed to people around them.

“For many years we were privileged to see the photographs Clyde took as he did his work in New York and sent them back to Barbados, and many of us have formed pictures of Clyde in our minds even if we never met him. And those pictures come from what we thought was his image; and an image is a perception of the mind, not necessarily the real person.”

To illustrate his point further, he noted that the apostle Paul said: “Jesus was the image of the invisible God; that is, though we cannot see God, through Jesus’ love, mercy, compassion and understanding, we have an image of God’s character.

“Now, what do you see when you look at the person next to you? When you look at anyone, the first picture should be that this person is made in God’s image, so they should be treated with honour, respect and dignity.

“An objective photographer reminds us that we have to be objective and comment truly on what we see. What you perceive someone to determine how you will treat them.

“If you see someone as genuine, with the right to be treated fairly, you will respond favourably, but if you don’t, you may be unjust in your relationship with them. And to some extent the violence, oppression and injustice in our society may have to do with the fact that we do not see our fellow men as equal.

“In the same way Clyde was objective in his use of the camera, we must be objective in our lives and do what is true, merciful, genuine and kind so we can build our nation and strengthen our bonds.”

Jones lived in the New York borough of Brooklyn for many years and for some time there was a page highlighting his photographs entitled Seen Up North in the Barbados Advocate. His work also appeared in The Nation.

His pictures primarily featured events involving the Barbadian diaspora in the United States, including visits by Barbadian government ministers.

In February, Jones published The Man and His Camera, featuring 400 of his most memorable photos. (DH)