Re: [Leica] 'this is how the photo business works....

["Tom Smart" <tom@sleepytom.com>]

Interesting to read your perspective.  I'm one of the guys who puts the
little ones to sleep here in my town.  I don't get teary, but the days we
have children come through the OR are definitely stressful.

Tom

- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Ted Grant" <tedgrant@shaw.ca>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2002 4:41 PM
Subject: Re: [Leica] 'this is how the photo business works....


> Hi Guys,
> Seeing many of you were interested in Kyle Cassidy's assignment here's a
> shoot I just finished and developing film in a few minutes.
>
> Well it wasn't bands and dancing girls or anything exotic, but it was
little
> kids having an operation. A few under five years and some a wee bit older,
> but scared never the less. After all being operated on for eye repair and
> the likes in ophthalmology isn't going to the circus!.
>
> So we have little kids scared to death in an environment not of their
> liking, parents who carry their child into the OR and attempts to calm
them
> until sedation takes effect, some parents tearful... And for Alan's
> benefit.... not the least bit aloof!
>
> Then watching and shooting a very skillful eye surgeon do her wondrous
> things with little bitty tools to straighten a child's eyes, clear really
> really tiny tear ducts and lots of other stuff. This was interesting and
> amazing to watch, let alone photograph.. And given I've seen and shot an
> amazing amount of OR activities, it's the first time for little kid eye
> fixing.
>
> The old emotional jerk here couldn't handle the little folk crying in
their
> fear of the unknown, strangers, lights and this very odd place. The first
> one I handled the crying while they got him organized. I choked a bit,
tears
> welled but didn't happen and I got though it. However, the next, about two
> years old, a pretty little girl and she was in sheer terror of what was
> going on.crying out, "mommy, mommy!" And with those plaintiff little cries
I
> couldn't hold it any longer and lost it as tears clouded my eyes making it
> impossible to focus and I left the OR until the child was sedated. Oh yeah
> and I regained my composure.
> And so it went for 5 hours of operations one right after the other. To
make
> it through the morning I stayed out of the OR until the child was "down
and
> out" it sure made the shoot easier.
>
> Being a photojournalist isn't being a hard nosed ass kicker with no
> emotional feeling for our subjects, quite often we're the direct opposite
> with great feeling for our subjects and people in general. Which in many
> cases allows us to feel the scene as opposed to shooting it by numbers.
>
> Mean while the good ol' M7 crapped out from battery failure, but I quickly
> switched to manual continuing shooting as it seems there's enough power
left
> to operate the metering, if not the automatic shutter speed selection.
Like
> it's no big deal and you just carry right on until you have a break to
> install new batteries which of course we always have right there in your
> pocket  for every type of battery required camera you use. ;-)  Yeah
right!
> ;-)
>
> So it wasn't all the jamming bands, drunks and hop heads, nevertheless it
> was a very important shoot under tough conditions. That is unless you're
> just a cold hearted bastard! Which I'm not!  Just thought you folks might
> like to know it isn't always Hollywood! ;-)
>
> ted
>
>
>
>
>
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