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Warning: These shots may offend some people. They are shots from an MVA between a motorcycle and a car. Whilst none of the shots which I have posted contain directly graphic material, the contents may offend.

Hi all,

I have been away from the forums from a little while catching up with reality and doing a lot of training to join the qld fire service. During this time I have been tagging along quite a bit with my dad's fire crew taking shots and learning the ropes.

Here's a few shots from tonights MVA. I have not embedded the shots for obvious reasons.

http://www.markcrossphotography.com/picpost/050505/

A lot of the shots came out quite ordinary in this turnout.... i blew it by not increasing the iso. Goes to show... even though you may have done it a thousand times before, you can still make simple mistakes.

cheers and it's good to be back.

Hi Xerubus,

did the motor cyclist survive ?
How badly got he or she injured ?

Regards
CD

christiand wrote:Hi Xerubus,

did the motor cyclist survive ?
How badly got he or she injured ?

Regards
CD

no word yet... rescue500 (helicopter) took the cyclist to hospital quite badly injured. it should be in the papers or on the qps media release tomorrow morning.

Pics are kid-safe... there is no violence implied or shown. Seen worse on TV news.

Very gruesome mood from the photos however. You got some nice shots, but even at the presented sizes some are blurred due to slow shutter. Don't forget to crank that dial - then filter it afterwards for the Canon lack of detail look.

Onyx wrote:Pics are kid-safe... there is no violence implied or shown. Seen worse on TV news.

correct... but it's always a good idea to put a warning just in case.

Onyx wrote:Very gruesome mood from the photos however. You got some nice shots, but even at the presented sizes some are blurred due to slow shutter. Don't forget to crank that dial - then filter it afterwards for the Canon lack of detail look.

yeh... some are quite blurred. i took quite a lot of shots, and the shots which i used the sb800 on have turned out a treat, but i will not share those shots.

cheers and good to 'see' your voice onyx...

xerubus,
let me ask you - when you're taking shots at such an incident, do you feel like an intruder, or that taking photos is somehow inappropriate at that time? Do you feel threatened by those around you - victims, onlookers, service personnel etc? PLEASE DON'T MISUNDERSTAND ME - I'm not critisising you or implying anything. I've just always wondered about how photojournalists feel when they're confronted by mayhem or suffering, and still have a job to do. I personally don't know if I could take photos in such a situation.

Frank

Frankenstein wrote:xerubus,
let me ask you - when you're taking shots at such an incident, do you feel like an intruder, or that taking photos is somehow inappropriate at that time? Do you feel threatened by those around you - victims, onlookers, service personnel etc? PLEASE DON'T MISUNDERSTAND ME - I'm not critisising you or implying anything. I've just always wondered about how photojournalists feel when they're confronted by mayhem or suffering, and still have a job to do. I personally don't know if I could take photos in such a situation.

Frank

i can't say that i've ever felt threatened by anyone... there's something about how you hold yourself as a photographer that gains respect of the people around you. all you have to remember is to let the various people around you do their job. if someone tells you to move then move. the main thing is to be be aware that you are taking shots of something which is extremely personal and extremely emotional... a little bit of common sense works nicely.

i have been going to these types of jobs over the last little while with my old man.... so it's a little different i guess compared to just showing up and taking snaps.

xerubus wrote:
i can't say that i've ever felt threatened by anyone... there's something about how you hold yourself as a photographer that gains respect of the people around you. all you have to remember is to let the various people around you do their job. if someone tells you to move then move. the main thing is to be be aware that you are taking shots of something which is extremely personal and extremely emotional... a little bit of common sense works nicely.

i have been going to these types of jobs over the last little while with my old man.... so it's a little different i guess compared to just showing up and taking snaps.

Thanks for your thoughts - I really respect good photojournalism and the images that result, even though they can sometimes be very confronting.

Frank

I would'nt think the police would allow you near the scene with a camera as they obviously have to investigate the crash. Despite yourself being WITH the fire & rescue crew, I would have thought they would conficate all media resources until the investigation has been thoughly sort through...

Maybe I am missing the job detailings

Click wrote:I would'nt think the police would allow you near the scene with a camera as they obviously have to investigate the crash. Despite yourself being WITH the fire & rescue crew, I would have thought they would conficate all media resources until the investigation has been thoughly sort through...

Maybe I am missing the job detailings

i haven't had any police officer or any other service person request the media so far...

i'm sure it happens... but i think a lot of it comes down to how you conduct what you are doing.

Having done a number of these incidents myself xerubus
is right when he says it's how you present yourself and your level of professionalism. You just get in and do the job. You become part of the response, and if you are sensitive to the feelings of others then they pick that up and give you the room you need. I have had police officers step out of my way so I can get the shots I need. This is something you learn over time as a photographer...it does not come naturally.

A few yrs back when I was studying at PSC. (I wanted to do photojournalism).

I managed, after a great deal of red tape, to spend some time in a police station photographing the daily routine.

I wasn't given permission to "ride" in a police vehicle but after a few visits one of the commanding officers offered me a seat for the night in one of the cars. It was a great experience and I got some great shots.

I think because they saw how I acted and kept out of thier way when needed it gave them the confidence I wasnt going to do the wrong thing.

You just have to judge when its appropriate or not to be pressing the shutter I guess.

embi
Absolutely right. The best photographers become invisible. Nobody ever sees them. They blend into the landscape and just look sort of average.

Even though I've seen shots more graphic than these on news casts etc. they always still send a shiver up my spine... They really convey the feelings and mood... After viewing a few, the one with the helmet resting on the bonnet of the car made me stop for a second...

Hi Mark
Welcome back - it's great to hear from you again.
Good luck with the new career.

mudder wrote:the one with the helmet resting on the bonnet of the car made me stop for a second...

that is the exact responce i wanted..... without the other shots the helmet on the car is meaningless... however after seeing the others you it paints a totally different picture.

cricketfan wrote:Hi Mark
Welcome back - it's great to hear from you again.
Good luck with the new career.

thanks Trevor..

Welcome back to the fold Mark.

It's good that you've been kept busy after a bad time so you can get your head back into the right place.

I appreciate the work that has gone into these photos and agree that the one with the helmet is very poignant.

I'm looking forward to more from you in this new sphere and, hopefully, you get to experience and document a balance between joy and sadness. I know you don't make the subject matter - you just interpret and present for the rest of us to see. I'm sure we'll all be watching with interest.

S.

I love the simplicity of the first one... great shots...

Click: freedom of the press mate... They would need a very good reason to stop you (national security etc.)
Mark is exactly right, if your are there recording the event, unobtursibely, in reality you are doing a good thing...

its if you get in the wail or in any way despoil the scene that would be a problem...

And yes, we all are, possibly, press. One of the stock sites I submit to accepts editorial photos, which some media outlets use (an example, you submit a police car and a paper some time later runs a article about police, put your car in for illustrartion)

Manta wrote:Welcome back to the fold Mark.

thankyou mate...