{"id":298794,"date":"2026-05-04T06:18:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T06:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/298794\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T06:18:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T06:18:11","slug":"san-francisco-woman-gets-photographers-old-number-it-changes-both-their-lives-nbc-bay-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/298794\/","title":{"rendered":"San Francisco woman gets photographer\u2019s old number. It changes both their lives \u2013 NBC Bay Area"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, even a wrong number can make the right connection.<\/p>\n

That was the case for Lauren Stevens, whose newly assigned work phone came with an unexpected problem: it kept receiving calls and texts for someone named \u201cVerndawg.\u201d At first, the messages were confusing. Over time, they became life-changing, for both Stevens and the man behind the nickname, renowned San Francisco photographer Wernher Krutein.<\/p>\n

Shortly after getting the phone, Stevens began receiving repeated messages clearly meant for someone else. Curious, she and a group of friends did some online sleuthing to track down the intended recipient.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take long.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my friends texted me and said, \u2018This guy, Wernher Krutein, he\u2019s iconic,\u2019\u201d Stevens said.<\/p>\n

Krutein, 72, has spent more than six decades traveling the world with a camera, documenting everything from people and architecture to insects and everyday objects. While his work spans continents, some of his most famous photographs were taken closer to home in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

One image immediately stood out to Stevens: Krutein\u2019s striking photograph from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, showing a car dangling from the collapsed Bay Bridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up seeing that photo in textbooks and documentaries,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd this was the photo.\u201d<\/p>\n

A longtime film photography enthusiast herself, Stevens found Krutein\u2019s old website, Photovault.com<\/a>, an archive of nearly half a million images, and decided to email him. What began as a practical exchange about forwarding messages soon became something deeper.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could tell he didn\u2019t really care about the messages,\u201d Stevens said. \u201cWhat mattered to him was that someone cared about his work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emails turned into phone calls, then in-person visits to Krutein\u2019s home in Sonoma County. As their friendship grew, Stevens began to understand the challenges the celebrated photographer was quietly facing.<\/p>\n

Starting his website in the late 1990s, Krutein was once ahead of the technological curve, but in an increasingly digital world, he found himself struggling financially.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been barely making a living for years,\u201d Krutein said. \u201cI\u2019ve pared down everything. I don\u2019t even have heat in the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

He told Stevens his savings could last anywhere from six months to two years. After that, he wasn\u2019t sure what would happen.<\/p>\n

Wanting to help, Stevens launched a GoFundMe campaign<\/a> to assist with Krutein\u2019s living expenses. It has since raised more than $15,000. But financial relief was only part of her goal.<\/p>\n

Krutein was deeply worried about the future of his archive, his life\u2019s work, and, as he describes it, his purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love connecting with everything I photograph,\u201d he said. \u201cBugs, cars, people, furniture, all of it fascinates me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Using her understanding of social media, Stevens created TikTok and Instagram accounts called @Verndawgtales, documenting their friendship and sharing Krutein\u2019s photographs and stories. Thousands of followers now track their journey as Stevens works to preserve Krutein\u2019s legacy and bring renewed attention to his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world needs to see his work,\u201d Stevens said. \u201cIt is crazy, diabolically amazing, and I feel so lucky to be the vessel to share his story.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Krutein, the impact has gone beyond recognition or financial support.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s brought me out of the darkness,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s a gift beyond words.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sometimes, even a wrong number can make the right connection. That was the case for Lauren Stevens, whose…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298795,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[22978,101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-298794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-bay-area-proud","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}