No photograph is worth dying for.

Isn't it about time we all started taking responsibility for our own safety/actions like we used to?
I used to photograph local rallies, I used to watch the super bikes etc at Brands Hatch if at either I strayed from the usual spectator area's I took responsibility for that action and if I did get hurt it would be no ones fault but my own!
If I think about it the initial accident, (that led to me eventually being bed bound for nearly 9 years now) that happened on a local common owned by the council, so I could have sued them for the overhanging branch that I hit and that resulted in my injuries, but honestly the thought never crossed my mind until a friend mentioned it recently, my thoughts on it now are the same as they were then, it was down to me, I blasted round a blind corner at speed on my mountain bike and hit the branch, it wasn't the branches fault for being there, it was my fault for riding like a looney without checking where I was going to ride first.
Sometimes we all do something thats stupid, sometimes it costs the person their life, sometimes serious injury, other times just a change of underwear, but when it does happen we need to at least have the balls to stand up and admit that it was no one's fault but our own and stop blaming any and everyone else for our own stupid mistakes.
 
Reading a bit more about this particular incident it seems there were a multitude of failings. The people who died were not apparently paying much attention or were not very familiar with the sport. There was also a photographer who was with them who moved out of the way when he saw the car was out of control, and who had discussed moving earlier due to concerns (presumably w/ the others). It also seems that the area was intended to be marked as prohibited as it is a known high risk location, but it wasn't due to some failure. And because it wasn't marked correctly, the marshals didn't know either.

So, yes... a sad story.
But no-one who died was a photographer taking pictures.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-40812681


Clearly you haven't read the actual report.

Taken from the report

"The fact that I was obliged to deal with issues of conduct of photographers is particularly ironic given the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Provan the photographer who was killed at JCR."
 
I’m resisting putting my pedants hat on and saying it’s obvious who hasn’t got a clue about rallying...
for the uninitiated; ignore any posts that use the words, race, track, or talk about oversteer.
This is a gravel rally stage, the cars behave and misbehave in a very predictable way, but it can’t be compared to any ‘racing’.
And as far as safety is concerned, the crews of these vehicles are taking calculated risks way beyond what most ‘racing drivers’ ever contemplate. There’s no sand traps, safety barriers or run off areas, and driving a car on the loose at 200 kph with only trees for comfort should something go wrong.
 
Back
Top