View from Engine 4

In Cleveland St. Patrick's Day is a party that would rival any city in terms of pure debauchery. It is a weird family party mixed with binge drinking and green everything. This all culminates into a large parade which last multiple hours through the heart of Downtown Cleveland. In other words, this is a bar's black Friday if I may be so bold. The way to clear out the coolers of old beer that was left over from the winter and what better way to mask the skunked flavor than to color it green?

Like many people I often relive this day in pictures the next day. Seeing what people saw and listening to stories from the day, often in a haze of a hangover. But rarely do I ever see a well thought about picture. Only recently did I start to follow some great photographers and they always put out great photos, but they are often from the sidelines. Very artful compositions, but always from the curb looking into the parade. 

So when I was invited on a ride with Engine 4 in the parade I jumped at the opportunity to bring sweet photos from inside the parade. I hung off the running boards of the rig, I stood on the roof, and even laid down on the bed, just to get interesting poses. 

The one I loved the most was hanging off the driver's side running board, holding onto a rail, leaning out to get a good shot of "BROWN" on the side of the rig and yet, capture the crowd all in the same shot. Some of them fell short, but some came out well. 

I am proud of this set.

The Big Tease

The big tease. I have been working on a fire training video and it is finally nearing completion. Here is a sneak peak of what is to come.

Scene Size-Up

This is a piece I wrote for Fire Photographer Magazine: You can see it here.

You hear the scanner crackle to life with the words you've been waiting to here, arriving fire crews have just confirmed a working fire. You heart starts to pound as you grab your camera bag and rush out the door.

By the time you arrive on-scene you can hear the mutual aide fire crews en route, sirens blaring and the adrenaline is pumping through your veins. Like the arriving fire crews, you too must size up the scene quickly. You identify if there has been a perimeter set up, where the first due engines are set up and where new arriving crews are going to set up shop and where the fire is and is it accessible.

You work from the outside in, snapping crews walking down the D side, B side. You snap teams staging at the front door before making entry. After snapping photos you perform a secondary size-up. What is above me, what can possibly fall on me, what looks unstable, is it safe and accessible to get to the rear of the structure? You see ladder crews raising the tower to gain access to the roof. You stop, drop to a knee, grab a photo, and move on. You spend your time shooting the structure and the firemen coming in and out, those images are perishable. They won't be walking out of the fire for the first time ever again on this working fire, they just did that and if you weren't ready, there isn't a re-do.

The fire is out, you stop to check the status of the battery because you might have drained it during the fight; then you start to shoot the apparatus on the street. The wide shot showing the scope of the response, the close ups of the various trucks, lights still on, the fire fighter unstrapping his gear and sitting on the front bumper of the rig to catch his breath. You get close-ups of dirty faces, dirty gear, and spent tanks. In the 35-40 minutes you've been on scene your memory card is bursting, you're almost out of room for more, but you press on.

Fire scenes aren't just hectic for the firemen on scene, it is also a target rich environment for fire photographers trying to capture the moment as it is happening. In my opinion it is the closest thing you can get to combat photography outside of actual combat. Like firemen responding to a fire, photographers also need to have tactics and rules to keep themselves safe. We have to get the shot without putting ourselves in immediate danger.

This is our rush. This is our job.