Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/02/19

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Interesting Fact - Crash photo
From: Ted Grant <tedgrant@shaw.ca>
Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 15:22:52 -0800
References: <5147260D71F6D111A8C4080009FCAB470173992A@mail.fkparchitects.com>

Don Lawrence wrote & showed:

<<> Interesting series of photos. That driver was luck to walk away. <<<

I noticed this post and thought I should have a look as I recall as a daily
news photographer we were always being sent off anytime of day or night to
photograph crash scenes. This also included a few passenger and military
planes during the years.

Vehicle crashes ranked good, bad, lousy and really shocking!

GOOD: The good were a nice pile up and nobody hurt but good pictorially.

BAD: Got there late and mess sort of cleaned up but car parts still about.

LOUSY: Good crash but ambulance with victims removed, missed best shots.

SHOCKING! Well these were the really grim reaper type. The kind you don't
see in the family paper but do in the rag crap tabloids. Bodies still inside
wreck or lying about on the street and worse.

When you arrived on the scene it was shoot everything as fast as you could,
trust me there wasn't too much composition concern as it was generally a
type of over all shot most times with the occasional shot inside the car
with the human remains some what unrecognizable.

Why did we shoot some of that? Well the police used them in their "improve
your driving skills and anti drinking driving campaigns."  But to be honest,
it was a very tough call when it was kids involved, particularly when you
had your own at home.

One can't say it was a pretty picture at anytime, but it's the job of the
news photographer and you did it. That doesn't mean to say you didn't have
nightmares after some of them and for me it sure helped keep me sharp at the
wheel anytime driving.

Used a Leica later during the career for some of them but in the early days
it was nearly all Speed Graphic.
ted

Ted Grant Photography Limited
www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant


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In reply to: Message from Don Lawrence <DLawrence@fkp.com> ([Leica] Interesting Fact - Crash photo)