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In just two days, a Hawke’s Bay photographer’s image of a “humble, selfless man” reached over 208,000 people and had 3800 plus interactions on Facebook.
Back in October, Sicilian doctor and hobbyist photographer Davide Conti took a photo of a man named Jeffery who lives on the streets in Hastings but refers to himself as Dee.
Doctor and Photographer Davide Conti, also known by Images by Davide online.
Conti, a physician endocrinologist who has been in New Zealand for 14 years and currently works at Hawke’s Bay Hospital, would drive past Dee on his daily commute. He said Dee was always polite and respectful when asking for donations.
One day, Conti, went back with his camera and took a moment to connect with Dee and hear his story before asking if he would take a picture.
Conti said the encounter was rewarding and added, “Dee shared his journey and the challenges he faces, yet his dignity and positive spirit shone through.”
Dee is 67 years old and is on a pension. The donations he collects on a daily basis he does not keep for himself, as he doesn’t need to.
He distributes the money he gets to other homeless people who are worse off than him. Dee stands there most days, putting himself out there for criticism from everyone, to help others.
When the photographer got home that night he put the photo of Dee on his Facebook page and was blown away by the response.
Part of the response was from Dee’s sister, who shared more background information about Dee’s life with Conti, who shared it with Hastings Leader editor Maddi Jeffares.
Dee’s birth name is Jeffrey; he was born in Waipawa in 1957 and is from a good family.
Jeffrey (Dee), the man at the roundabout. Photo / Davide Conti / Images by Davide
Back in 1975, he had just completed his basic training for the Army and had a few days off. Jeffrey came home to visit family, and he and his brother had a motorcycle accident on Te Aute Hill.
Another motorcycle caused the accident and drove off. Leaving the two men dying on the road.
Jeffrey went under a Chevy Impala with a horse float on the back. His brother was thrown into a paddock down the road.
Someone from the Te Aute Hotel saw the two young men and called the ambulance. They both should have died, but a doctor and his wife coming back from holiday came across them, and without the doctor’s help, they would have died.
Jeffrey was hospitalised for nine months, with parts of his body smashed beyond repair. He had his legs broken and reset and was in traction for a very long time.
He received a brain injury as well. Doctors told his family he would get worse as he got older.
He was discharged from the Army, and after spending all that time in hospital with a brain injury Jeffery hit an all-time low.
On top of that, following the accident, the brothers received a blood transfusion with blood infected with Hep C because in 1975 blood wasn’t screened.
Jeffrey’s brother died in 2019 from the effects of the bad blood, but Jeffrey is still with us.
Damaged and with a brain injury, the family were unable to help him. He wouldn’t listen.
He does have family, and they love him dearly, but he doesn’t really remember them,” Dee’s sister told Conti.
“There are so many people out there that judge him by the way he looks but don’t know him at all.”
Conti got into his photography during New Zealand’s Covid lockdown. He was living in Nelson and remembers during level three you could go out with your close friends, so they went out for walks.
On the walks Conti’s friend was taking photos, and he said, “I thought it was interesting. And then I started playing a bit with his camera, and the camera intrigued me.”
Since then, the doctor/photographer has been taking photos and adding them to his Facebook page imagesbydavide.
Conti has always been into the more artistic side of taking photos and likes to photograph people he comes across in the community who are doing their normal day-to-day activities.
“I walk the street and take photos of people that I see in the street; a face can make a connection with some people and a story behind it.
“In photography, you break through a wall, allowing me to bring up the culture, the person and the story behind that. So that’s how we ended up here.”
After posting Dee’s photo, he said, “This blows me away; none of the previous photos I have posted has ever done anything near that and it’s still going.”
Maddisyn Jeffares became the editor of the Hawke’s Bay community papers Hastings Leader and Napier Courier in 2023 after writing at the Hastings Leader for almost a year. She has been a reporter with NZME for almost three years and has a strong focus on what’s going on in communities, good and bad, big and small. Email news tips to her at: maddisyn.jeffares@nzme.co.nz
