Man Captures Images of Homeless People and Recognizes Mom He Lost 30 Years Ago in One of Them — Story of the Day

A photographer tracked down his long-lost mother through the photographs he had taken and discovered the heartbreaking reason for her homelessness.

Curtis Floyd adored photography ever since he was a child. His father Dylan maintained a tiny studio where he generally spent time after classes, and when he saw his father use the camera, he always dreamed of the day he’d own one as a professional photographer.

And so, after completing high school, he enrolled himself in a photography course at the state university and began interning with a firm to gain valuable experience.

By the time he graduated from university, he had his sights set on winning an annual international competition that took portfolios from undergraduate learners all around the world, providing the winner the opportunity to collaborate with one of the world’s top photographers.

Curtis photographed homeless people for his project. | Source: Shutterstock

Curtis photographed homeless people for his project. | Source: Shutterstock

Curtis intended to complete a project dedicated to the homeless in which he could express the atrocities and sufferings of the underprivileged through the enchantment of his lens.

So, for almost ten years, he regularly toured places, sometimes random streets, sometimes dirty alleys or broken down and secluded areas, and anywhere else he felt he could capture a glimpse into the life of the underprivileged.

On a typical evening, he returned home from a shoot and was sorting the photos when a particular picture grabbed his attention. It depicted a woman sleeping on the streets beside a bookstore, wrapped in a brown blanket, with her feet partially covered by the blanket and her face partially unveiled.

Curtis examined the image closely, and he felt as if he’d seen the woman before. Suddenly, it hit him! He dashed to his closet, where he’d stashed the images of his mother he’d stolen from his father, and began comparing the two. When he looked closely at the homeless woman’s picture, his jaw dropped to the floor.

“Mom! It’s you! I – I can’t believe this. I found you!” he said to himself, tears welling up in his eyes.

Curtis was raised by Dylan alone. When he was a baby, his mother had abandoned them – or so his father had told him. “She abandoned you and never returned, Curtis! She was only concerned about herself and had no regard for you or me!”

Curtis had saved Charlotte's picture. | Source: Pexels

Curtis had saved Charlotte’s picture. | Source: Pexels

“But, dad, why didn’t you try to find her? How come you didn’t ask her why she left us?”...