Tragedy has struck the world of photography twice during the close of August, and the eye opening events could have happened to anyone. It can’t be stressed enough that photographers take all precautions when shooting in potentially dangerous locations. It’s easy to be overcome with excitement at getting the shot, but the photograph is not always worth the consequences.
Bride Drowns During Wedding Photo Shoot:
As reported by The Daily Mail on August 24th, a bride drowned as she posed for her wedding portraits at a location just north of Montreal. While standing on a large rock, which was in 6–12 inches of rapidly moving water, the bride’s wedding dress became saturated with water and pulled the woman into the rushing water. A three hour search and rescue mission was carried out before the woman’s body was found 20 feet under the surface of the water. Find more details concerning the incident at Daily Mail.
Photographer Killed While Photographing Grizzly Bear:
Also making headlines, on Sunday, August 26th, the Los Angeles times reported the death of a San Diego photographer due to being mauled by a grizzly bear on a trip to Denali National Forest, which is located in Alaska. Using images taken from the photographers camera, officials deducted that the photographer had been within 50 yards of the wild bear, despite the park’s rule that requires a 1/4 mile of space be maintained between people and bears at all times. The photographer photographed the bear for at least eight minutes before the attack. The bear was later destroyed by a state trooper. Read the full story at the Los Angeles Times.
Photographer Nearly Struck Trying to Capture Race Photo:
This photographer was being very foolish while photographing the Karpacz 2012 races in Poland last week, very nearly being run down by two race cars:
Cases such as the recent ones listed above are not isolated incidents. Accidents can and do happen on a daily basis. Using good judgement and safety considerations can make the difference between life and death. Use caution and stay safe out there!
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Where are the animal rights people when you actually need them. The bear acted on instinct (uncontrollable) the photog acted on wanting a shot, to get noticed, maybe make a buck or two, all things that could have easily been averted.
Sadly, the rule is if a bear attacks the bear has to be destroyed. It is something I am very against especially after spending time in Alaska this summer and seeing tourist doing stupid stupid things. While on a ridge above a picnic area where a small brown bear was investigating the remnants of someone’s lunch I watched and then screamed at 5 tourists trying to get a shot with their point and shoots of the bear. The bear turned as two of the five guys approached and became aggressive. I don’t know about you but five guys come at me in the middle of nowhere and there’s a chance I’d get agreesive to. My assistant and I then came off the ridge and started yelling at the guys so that this little bear didn’t have to die.
If you want to shoot animals in the wild get a telephoto and don’t bother them. If you can afford one there are a number of places where you can rent one. It’s what I did to get my bear shots.
PHOTOGRAPHER KILLED WHILE PHOTOGRAPHING GRIZZLY BEAR: so. the photographer does not respect the park rule to get his shots by ignoring them or not being aware of them. The bear reacts by instinct and kills him. The bear pays with his life for the photographer’s mistake. Does this actually make sense?!
He wanted to use his new macro lens.