I was taking photos of kids who compete in freestyle skiing at Bradford Ski Area Saturday morning. I had all the photos I needed and was walking back down the hill when a snowboarder went off a large jump and wiped out about ten yards from me. His little brother started to yell asking him if he was okay, but the snowboarder continued to lay perfectly still on the ground. I thought maybe he was joking to scare his brother, then I noticed he had gone into convulsions. I threw my cameras in the snow and dialed 911. In 2002 I had gotten an EMT license because I was considering becoming a volunteer firefighter. I asked the brother to get the snowboard off the victim in order to roll him onto his side to prevent any choking. Fortunately, the convulsions stopped before I could turn him over. In hindsight this would have been a bad idea since he had head trauma. His breathing slowed and his eyes dilated. I made sure his airway was open to breath and kept tapping his collar bone to keep him awake. I tried to get him to respond to basic questions but he was unresponsive for over a minute. The gash to his forehead started to slowly bleed. When the medics arrived he was just starting to come to and tried to talk. He seemed to be stable, but he had no idea what had happened. When I knew the medics had the situation under control and there was nothing I could do to help, I took a few pictures, then left.
As I was headed to my next assignment I felt a little shaken up by what had happened. I had often wondered what I would do in a situation where I was the first responder. Working for a newspaper you are constantly having to take photos of traumatic situations, but there are usually police, EMTs, and other emergency personnel there taking care of the problem before the photographer even gets there. Instead of helping the victims, I usually just do my best to stay out the way and let the professionals do their jobs. In hindsight, I had just failed as a photojournalist. Had it turned into a more serious situation, I would have had no photos of the accident. Not only did I not take a photo, I threw my cameras on the ground.
I remember listening to a photojournalist talk to a group while I was in college. Someone asked him what he would do in a situation where he could help instead of take photos. His response was that we are human first and photographers second. We need to respond and have compassion for a situation before we start firing off frames with little thought for those in the photos. Sometimes I worry how much compassion I have for the people I photograph in rough situations. Some days I just feel jaded. I forget that these are real people and it could have just as easily been me or even worse, one of my family members in their situation. I had an editor once tell me “If you’re going to wear your heart on your sleeve, you’re probably in the wrong business.” Maybe he had a point, but I think there is more of a balancing act to what we do instead of his all or nothing mentality.
