Photographer under attack for photographing pothole victim

darin3200 · Dec 27, 2005

Basically this photographer in China waited by a pothole and got pictures of a guy riding his bike as he hit the pothole and crashed. He is being criticised for not warning the guy about the pothole, but he defends himself by saying he was raising attention about the pothole problem.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1399668.html

Opinions?

Alexandra · Dec 27, 2005

why, the photog hasn't done anything illegal... I'm defimitely on his side, although morally speaking, he should've warned the other guy. But he didn't, and that's not criminal... furthermore the other guy's alright.
And that does rise attention to potholes. Criticising the photog is just a tactic to avoid the subject.

Tooloose_Letrek · Dec 27, 2005

Perhaps the photographer could have found another way to illustrate the danger of the pothole without knowingly allow a cyclist to risk harm to get his picture. Even a staged photo could have illustrated the danger.

The photographer should be executed.

(Just kidding.)

This reminds me (loosely) of a movie I saw years ago called C'est arrivé près de chez vous (Man Bites Dog) and it was presented as a documentary about a man who wants to make a film about serial killers and he actually hooks up with one and accompanies him on his killing spree, even assisting him once when the killer needed one more hand to complete the task. The connection here between the pot hole incident and this movie isn't solid but loosely hints of a link between the observer and the incident.

Man Bites Dog.

Hertz van Rental · Dec 27, 2005

The guy on the bicycle was using an umbrella. He should have been paying attention to the road.

darin3200 · Dec 27, 2005

I'm sort of unsure about this one. On one hand, the guy on the bike is going to crash regardless, the only reason the photographer is there is to the take a picture of the inevitable. On the other hand, at the point in time that he is there it changes the equation a bit.
I think on the photogs side

Peanuts · Dec 27, 2005

Hertz van Rental said:
The guy on the bicycle was using an umbrella. He should have been paying attention to the road.

Or the lack of it. :lol:

mentos_007 · Dec 27, 2005

pffff I think pgotographer was right.... I don't care that the guy on a bike is a muff... it is his problem... I agree with Hertz here... he should be paing attention to the road... what a fool takes a bike AND an ubrella when it is raining??

danalec99 · Dec 27, 2005

good captures though!

Alexandra · Dec 27, 2005

danalec99 said:
good captures though!

pheeew, I thought I was the only sadist to think that

panzershreck · Dec 27, 2005

he didn't create the pothole

he's taking flak simply because he photographed it happening, whereas if you were a bystander or if you had a video camera setup and were not there when it happened, nobody would bring it up

darin3200 · Dec 27, 2005

Alexandra said:
pheeew, I thought I was the only sadist to think that

I thought the same thing

Alexandra · Dec 27, 2005

People like us should be locked up

Tooloose_Letrek · Dec 27, 2005

Or how about this scenario...would it be okay for a photographer to spill water on a floor that made it super slippery, and sit there and take pics of the people who fall? They (the victims) 'should' see that it's slippery, right?

Hmm...I wonder if I dare ask you guys what you think of a photographer taking pics on the public streets of strangers, never asking permission to do so? :0

Alexandra · Dec 27, 2005

Hmm...I wonder if I dare ask you guys what you think of a photographer taking pics on the public streets of strangers, never asking permission to do so? :0

that's what i do... just befor running away. Actually, if you ask'em, they won't look natural anymore. I think that kind of photography is all about the sponeity (is that the word?) of the capture.

darin3200 · Dec 27, 2005

Tooloose_Letrek said:
Or how about this scenario...would it be okay for a photographer to spill water on a floor that made it super slippery, and sit there and take pics of the people who fall? They (the victims) 'should' see that it's slippery, right?

Hmm...I wonder if I dare ask you guys what you think of a photographer taking pics on the public streets of strangers, never asking permission to do so? :0

Most people wouldn't support the first position because the photographer is then the cause of the person falling, not just someone observing.

The second scenario is basically street photography. If people go out into public they are free game for pictures.