If photographers were to write down the conditions and thought pattern that led to how they took their greatest picture , it would likely take an hour to write .This would be the same time needed to fill out a police report on your last MVC. It may take a person only about three minutes to read it.
The funny thing is , by the time it took to say to yourself , “take the picture, stupid” it would have been all over and the picture would have been missed.
The time element is one of the most important elements in any story , but the hardest to understand . Journalists should know this but it is often the most misunderstood element of any news story . Time duration is an element I have never read in any story. The events of fatal MVC's ,bar shootings , raging house fires never say anywhere in the words , the total duration was 30 seconds , one minute , 5 seconds . This element would greatly add to any news story and lead to greater clarity to the reader , and car insurance companies .
It would be interesting to know if the photographer Umar Abbasi would describe his entire involvement in the space of a minute , two minutes or less than 30 seconds .(he says in the video it took 25 seconds from begining to end ,and the guy on the tracks was up and making his way to the platform to get out.) I would argue most peak moment experiences for photography last no more than 5 seconds . This one maybe a minute to realize the guy could not make it out. It would take at least 45 minutes for him to retrace every thought that went through his head from the time he saw the guy go over (he did not see that) to the time he took the picture.
Time and space are the essence of trauma and guilt . No one should judge , but we judge everyday , just hope none of us ever sees anything like this .Again our business gives away awards for these moments. These are very disturbing aspects of our trade that keep me up all night when I hear someone is going through these life changing , fatal moments .
The driver of the train actually sees in tunnel vision , he begins to slow down before he reaches the open space of the platform . He can see down the track well before , and with greater clarity that anyone else. Every train driver has this scenario in their heads . Time ,and space did not have the tolerance for rescue by the time the picture was taken , it seems obvious.
Could the flashes look like muzzle flashes to the train driver , or add to the confusion ? This is a bad situation to wittness.
I believe journalism needs to think in 360 degree formats with consideration for time and space. Different people will view the same event differently . Our view is often judgemental and it has repercussions. I believe our business should be more forgiving in these situations but I known sensationalism sells papers . Maybe not as many papers as before . This may be a clue .It is obvious to me our readers want us to be better. CNN often speculates oblique views of situations with experts and commentary . A paragraph raising possibilities should be mandatory in breaking news because facts are often scarce , even just to hedge our bet.
Cryptic headlines , knee jerk reactions are often inaccurate remnants of an old news format .It is proven day in and day out with a little more digging. ( see Fire the Photographer on page 4 of this site) Don't fire the photographer because they thrive in weak systems and chaos .
We survive because , we take pictures without hesitation , people will talk to us , because we are solid people , and because we last .We are good company in bad times and bad times are next. . In the end a good photographer and a good reporter can accomplish anything .
Consider yourself lucky when this all ends and you have a photographer to record it by your side. So don't fire them all for that reason alone ,just bring it. kg