Does a Cambodian landmine clearance zone count?
Does a Cambodian landmine clearance zone count?
I surveyed a live/work loft once at the old GM plant on the Oakland/San Leandro border. It was a nice unit. While walking through the neighborhood I stopped to ask a man what it's like living there. "Oh, you get used to it", he said. "Used to what?", I asked. "The gunshots every night. After that cop got killed on the corner last year the police beefed up their patrols."Originally Posted by vann webb
Inner city is always risky.
About the only truly remote place I've photographed was outer Mongolia, including the Gobi desert. Not too dangerous, though, unless you count the risk of dehydration. East Cleveland was pretty scary in places, but I never actually photographed there.
Most remote place I've photographed, was on top of Mt. Whitney at sunset. My most vulnerable moment was as a student. I was a photo student in the early 80's at S.F. City College. Out late one afternoon looking for something to photograph South of Market, I pulled into an alley and parked my truck across from an old rail box car. I set my camera up and was under the dark cloth trying to compose a shot of the wheels. I didn't hear a car pull up and two men get out. The next thing a feel a tap on my shoulder and someone asking me what I'm doing. I nearly knocked the camera over coming up from under the dark cloth. I was in shock. One minute the area was completely deserted and the next standing there were two S.F. City cops. I explained I was a student photographing etc.. but I still got a citation for parking the wrong way in the alley and trespassing on railroad property. After they finished with the citation they turned friendly and asked to look under the darkcloth. They parted with a warning to watch myself photographing in the city. After that I was always acutely tuned into what was going on around me as I set up the 4 x 5.
Not large format, but definitely fun, and landed on the cover of the national hang gliding mag a couple of times in the 90's...
"I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."
I think some of the most dangerous things I've done have been when doing some annual report - industrial corporate type photography. Really tight shots next to spinning sawblades or intense acids; crawling on catwalks over molten glass for Corning; or leaving strobe and power cables strewn through high traffic, damp areas.
But the worst was when we were shooting in a lab that did AIDs testing and a tech came wheeling around a corner with a cart full of blood samples, stopping short when he saw us. Yep, the blood went flying onto the floor...
Utah, had a bullet whiz by me. Montana, was surprised to find myself about 25 feet from a black bear and her cubs. Newfoundland, found myself face to face within 20 feet of a Bull Moose on a narrow, dense trail. And in an earlier incarnation of my career, foolishly standing behind a tripod in the path of sportscars doing high speed skid pad tests.
Anyone else ever drive 4-5 miles on a narrow, one lane (not quite, just slightly wider than the car) jeep trail with a multi hundred foot sheer cliff drop off, only to find the trail run off ( that is runoff the side of the mountain and leave a cliff where a trail once existed) have no chance to turn around,and to then drive in reverse for 4-5 miles while you try to keep from going over the cliff?
The stupidest thing is my first trip to do landscape photography out west. In 90 degree heat, at 8000' elevation, climbed the Great sands dunes (the 700 foot one of course) carrying 2 suitcase type camera cases weighing about 65 pounds (plus a 10 pound tripod). My heart did things that I hope to never experience again.
I've gotten smarter now......
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