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Photographing tragedy


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I was driving into town yesterday and as I approached the airport I noticed EMT's removing a patient from the back of an ambulance to put on to the awaiting helicopter ambulance. I assume to take the patient to Toronto. I pulled over as I thought this was a good photo opportunity (always have my camera with me) but couldn't bring myself to take the shots. I felt so invasive on someone else's tragedy. Somehow trying to make money from their misfortune.

 

So I put the camera back and continued in to town.

 

Do any of you have this problem? 

 

Jill

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While I've photographed a lot of human tragedy and suffering, I've never photographed

that scene "to make money" from others misfortune and anyone who thinks that way

does not belong in photojournalism, in my opinion.

 

Using your example, keeping in mind that I was not there and do not know the details,

to simply take photographs of a injured person being loaded into a chopper without further

information is a waste of your time and everyone else's.

 

Nightcrawler is just a movie and except for LA it is mostly fiction.

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Yes.

 

I'd be convinced that I was lying to myself that the images would be more important than showing the sympathy to stay away or be ready to help in any way without the camera. Perhaps just to keep the iPhone shooting crowd at a distance....

 

That said, there could be situations in which I would take the necessary photos. But I don't hope the situation will arise, of course.

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In the case of huge National events, you must attempt to put you feelings aside to capture history. World Trade Center comes to mind, also Oklahoma City bombing. And all of the other acts of terrorism. You never know when a certain photograph might give a clue. On one hand, I hate giving terrorists visual confirmation of the deed, but yet these stories need telling. And sometimes it helps.

 

When my husband took the shot of the Firefighter/baby, a lot of money poured in for the victims because of it. I know, because we got the letters from people saying so. A lot of designated money went straight to the mother of that baby. Thing is, my husband never planned on selling the images. Stringers covering the photo developers sniffed them out.

 

Images move people and causes a connection to the heart. Of course, this doesn't necessarily fit Jill's event, but even sometimes it can. Whenever there is a picture in the newspaper, or a video about someone's tragedy, people around here open their wallets and help them.

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I'm sure I remember reading some time ago that if you witness an act of terrorism or other incident, don't just point your camera at the main scene but take many photos of the scene around you.  

 

Many vital clues or identities can be picked out from those images.  The perpetrators or their vehicles are often still in the vicinity.

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Interesting to see the different views. I wasn't interfering in anything, and I could have taken the shot without anyone actually being identifiable,  Not really a live news opportunity, but probably a good shot for many magazine articles.  Guess I never would have made a good photojournalist.

 

My cousin Mark was a reporter on the city news desk for one of the Toronto dailies. His boss told me Mark was the specialist for getting photos from loved ones of people killed in car accidents etc. (He didn't take them, just talked the relatives into giving them to him.)  Don't think I ever could have done that. Not in my emotional make-up I guess.  But he covered a lot of that kind of stuff, so that was his job.

 

Jill

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I photographed people and police during the London Bombings in 2015. The BBC used some of my pics (yes, they paid!!!!) and about an hour later I got a phone call from a picture editor from a national newspaper wanting to know whether I had any close-ups of the bus that had been blown up. I didn't. 

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I was driving into town yesterday and as I approached the airport I noticed EMT's removing a patient from the back of an ambulance to put on to the awaiting helicopter ambulance. I assume to take the patient to Toronto. I pulled over as I thought this was a good photo opportunity (always have my camera with me) but couldn't bring myself to take the shots. I felt so invasive on someone else's tragedy. Somehow trying to make money from their misfortune.

 

So I put the camera back and continued in to town.

 

Do any of you have this problem? 

 

Jill

My response would be the same as yours, as I am also not employed as a photojournalist, with all the responsibilities and duties that are entailed by that particular role.

 

Alex

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 the London Bombings in 2015.

Just in case anyone is worried about forgetting things, it was 2005.

 

 

It doesn't 'feel'like that long ago .... not sure if it's a getting old thing or what but time feels to be speeding up for me. The last decade seemed to go by significantly quicker than the previous two decades! :-)

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Mark was the specialist for getting photos from loved ones of people killed in car accidents etc.

 

 

known in the business as 'collects'

easier these days, when everyone has a social media presence; just grab them off Facebook or similar..

 

km

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 I pulled over as I thought this was a good photo opportunity (always have my camera with me) but couldn't bring myself to take the shots. I felt so invasive on someone else's tragedy. Somehow trying to make money from their misfortune.

 

So I put the camera back and continued in to town.

 

 

 

I applaud your empathy. Stock will not make you rich but your morals should make you a person you want to be.

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My feeling about this is:  If I can be of any help, in any way, to make the outcome better for someone in bad situation, I will not pick up the camera but would rather help and I have done that many times, when I have come across an accident before professional help has arrived.  On a few occasions, I did photograph an emergency event (and I was sensitive to not show faces or gore) showing rescue people at work.  In one of those cases, a person involved turned out to be someone I knew and she was grateful that I took pictures as she used them in court and won her case that the other driver was at fault.  She was badly injured but made a full recovery.  My brother was a career fire fighter and my daughter is training to be a volunteer emergency medical technician (EMT) while going to nursing school so I do understand the need to help first, no matter what!  A picture of a house fire, that I took, has sold on Alamy,  In the case of that fire, no one was injured.

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My feeling about this is:  If I can be of any help, in any way, to make the outcome better for someone in bad situation, I will not pick up the camera but would rather help and I have done that many times, when I have come across an accident before professional help has arrived.  On a few occasions, I did photograph an emergency event (and I was sensitive to not show faces or gore) showing rescue people at work.  In one of those cases, a person involved turned out to be someone I knew and she was grateful that I took pictures as she used them in court and won her case that the other driver was at fault.  She was badly injured but made a full recovery.  My brother was a career fire fighter and my daughter is training to be a volunteer emergency medical technician (EMT) while going to nursing school so I do understand the need to help first, no matter what!  A picture of a house fire, that I took, has sold on Alamy,  In the case of that fire, no one was injured.

 

Yes, we should be human beings first, journalists/photographers second. I think in France there is a "Good Samiaritan" law, no one should just walk by; so I guess taking photographs rather than helping where it would have been possible would be taken very badly by the authorities.

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Different times back then.... New York based Weegee was well known for photographing tragedy...... car crashes, murders, crime..... up close with flash on a large format camera.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/12/weegee-photos_n_6278364.html

Not a nice way to go in the last photo.

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