I heard a revving engine. Then a screech. Then a crash. And then I saw a man get hit by a car. Just moments ago.
Actually, he wasn’t simply hit: I caught view of him milliseconds after he’d been struck by one car, while slammed momentarily between it and another car, this one parked. They were smashed–bumper to bumper–and as the two cars recoiled off one another, he crumpled to the ground.
I was the first on the scene along with Mikal and Kate from the studio. Mikal was on the line with 911 in seconds. The stricken man writhed on the ground grabbing his thigh, pelvis, shin. Groaning. A young driver emerged from the car, in shock, pale-faced, horrified. Hyperventilating.
The driver was the man’s 15 year old daughter.
He’d been helping her learn to parallel park. He’d gotten out of the car to direct her. She mistook the gas from the brake. And it went badly.
It was only after getting the man stable on his back, his head on a pillow with help on the way, that I was able to take a moment to think along a non-mission-critical path. I had my camera with me, as I always do. But I wasn’t about to take a photo. I couldn’t fathom it. For another brief moment, I felt dirty for even thinking about it. But some people can and some people do take photos in times like this. During war, during trama, during accidents, and sometimes these images are deeply important. Other times it’s cold and shallow to shoot. And a horrible invasion of privacy.
So how do we know when not to shoot?
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[For the record, I wrote this yesterday intending to publish it immediately. Decided I needed to let it sit for a bit. This morning with some clarity, decided I’d love to hear from some others.]
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Last summer I witnessed a motor cycle driver driving straight into a lake. There were a lot of people there to help out. So did I.
First after I understood that the outcome was good I started shooting.
I sold the pictures to a local newspaper with the demands that they had to blur the face of the driver.
If the outcome had been worse I'd not had shot the pictures.
/Lars
This happened to me when I was going to school in D.C.. A biker had gotten hit by a car and was in the middle of the street in Georgetown. I decided to shoot, only because there were already several people around him helping and 911 already called. If I was in your position however, I never would have thought of my camera first. I think it all depends on how much help you could give at that given moment.
As a former firefighter/paramedic and news paper photog (did both jobs to feed myself while starting my business) this is always the hard decision to make personally, morally, and ethically! in the end you just have to trust your heart do what feels right and be ready to defend your decision. With my past I think you are spot on you help the injured when there is no one else to help them, THEN you shoot and tell the story its is a sad fact that bad news always compels more than good news does but that is the way we are as humans I suppose.
Kudos Chase for sharing the things that touch us the most are often the most difficult to share.
This is a tough one, because they're the sort of images that create the biggest response in people due to their nature… but are often the most questionable to take as photographer.
I would always advocate, help first, shoot/or not shoot later. The first thought should always be to help people in need.
Weirdly though, if I was the injured guy, I might well want images of the event. It's these sort of situations that are often a blur or cause blackouts, so it would help me to understand exactly what happened….. plus they'd be good for an insurance case if nothing else! 😉
To Shoot or Not to Shoot?
We for me I always shoot but i agree with the fact i would always help first!
This is a very important fact as a persons life is not worth more than a picture.
I have taken pictures in several tragic events all of which have made front page news.
I rarely get in peoples face and shoot from a distance and shoot the scene with the hustle as this makes for a more news worthy shot.
Chase love your blog and work just trying to keep up!