standing by

magicbastarder

i know this has come up for discussion here before, but here's a grauniad article about photographers who took shots instead of intervening:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jul/28/gutted-photographers-who-didnt-help

pete4130

Really interesting read. I've been in similar situations before, not quite as extreme though, but it was life and death.

Only about 4 weeks ago I saw a 13 year old go under a 4x4 on his bike. Initially I was a first responder with 1st aid, got control of the situation and got him to recovery position (he was unconscious) and got ambulance organised. Luckily a nurse (who turned ot to be useless) was going by and then a neurosurgeon (what are the chances right!). So then I was left with the option to shoot the scene for documentation purposes, forensic purposes (which in the end was needed but bikes/vehicles had been moved by that time) and the moral question would I be shooting for the glory/wow factor if I was to ever post them.

There was another time in Brooklyn I was in a situation that was somewhat similar. Both times I opted not to shoot as I had skills that could be used to save a life rather than document a possible death. Both were pretty harrowing to go through as a bystander/witness/participant in it all and resulted in me having an emotional episode later that day and sleeping for about 14 hours to recover from the adrenaline.

At least I was in a position I could help rather than being helpless.

magicbastarder

to be fair, some of the photographers interviewed *did* intervene.

AnCatDubh

I became a photographer and not a person

wow.

ScumLord

TO be fair there's not much that could be done with the African tribal war pictures. You'd run the risk of them turning on you if you intervened. Most people would just stand and still not intervene.

lisatiffany

The article is on a lot of sites now, really powerful reading. Shocking too of course but its also very insightful and shines a light on a part of photography we never really hear enough about.

magicbastarder

i know don mccullin regrets not intervening more often; he seems a bit messed up by everything he's seen though.