My First Efforts

chuckinsocal · September 27, 2009

It's pretty obvious that this young lady was injured in a traffic collision and our firefighter/paramedics are putting her on a gurney to be wheeled to the ambulance.

More images of this incident can be seen here.

I look forward to any comments. Thanks for looking.

chuckinsocal · September 28, 2009

Bump

seastack · September 28, 2009

It's an okay accident picture I guess but ... I'm interested in why you took it. Forgive me but unless you're covering a beat, or working on a body of work portraying the lives of fireman or emt's, what is the value in this type of photo?

I'm asking a provocative question, kindly, but with this type of photo you should expect that ...

Having taken many, many photos like this, but worse, for a job I once held ... I couldn't imagine raising my camera for this without a good reason and even then, it was often an effort.

EDIT: Okay, I see you are working on a body of work about first responders it seems. You have access so think about what you want to say ... perhaps beyond just accident photos. For instance, this was shot in just six days and gets into the heart of the matter ... something to think about.

bdcolen · September 29, 2009

chuckinsocal wrote:

It's pretty obvious that this young lady was injured in a traffic collision and our firefighter/paramedics are putting her on a gurney to be wheeled to the ambulance.

I look forward to any comments. Thanks for looking.

Looking at the series I'd say this is a good first effort. I'd urge you to, as seastack said, think about what you're trying to say, what story you're trying to tell. And I'd have you get much closer. Yes, you need some scene-setting shots from distances, but you really need to get as 'up-close-and-personal' as you're allowed to get.

keep shooting!

seastack · September 29, 2009

In re-reading my previous comment it could be perceived as, well, snotty in tone which was not my intent. I apologize if it came off this way.

You have great access it would seem, a real gift, and I would encourage you to dig in deeper, look at other people's work with first responders, and create a body of work in your own style that tells their story. Looking at your photos, I know you can easily jump to the next level and make it happen!

)

chuckinsocal · September 29, 2009

Thanks Gentlemen for your comments and suggestions.

The intended beneficiaries of this work are the responders themselves. They've never had access to images of themselves at work and the incidents they've responded to and they are very happy with what I do. They get to revisit the scenes, discuss the incidents, and share the images with friends and family.

As for getting up close and personal, one of the reasons I have access is that I've committed to never getting in the way of, interfering with, or otherwise distracting the responders at work. If I violate that commitment I could lose my access and that would be a bad thing.

I guess I'll have to work a little harder on the PJ aspects of the work.

Thanks again for your comments.

My First Efforts

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