Through a Seattle photo exhibit, a son honors his father

SEATTLE — In November 2024, Bill Tinney and his father, David Tinney, sifted through a box of 35mm film strips and enlarged them at The Seattle Light Room, a darkroom and gallery in the Seward Park neighborhood. It was the last day they spent together before David moved into a memory care facility in Vancouver. While David’s memories had faded due to dementia, his weathered hands rocked the darkroom trays back and forth, submerging paper in chemicals. He ensured that each print was tack sharp — clearly defined and focused.

“His body knew what to do, but his brain didn’t,” Bill said.

Growing up, Bill’s childhood home had been filled with images of people whom David had photographed as a photojournalist from the 1970s to 1990s: everyday people, but also famous ones like French mime Marcel