Rough Start

[Lucryster]

Uh Bribrius, thats a rubber manequin....

nope

Yep.

Mannequins don't get married.

using tapatalk.

Yeah, cause its real hard to slip a ring onto a mannequin..

 

[pixmedic]

*sigh*
well, I was hoping to get a little more action on this post before setting the record straight..but oh well.

its not a dead body.
Its not a mannequin.
its my partner helping me with a staged shot.
I appreciate your concern.

im not walking any line, regardless of whether its real or not. Coming straight from the mouth of our multinational companies corporate attorney, (whose sole job is to deal with HIPAA violations) its not any sort of legal violation if there is no identifiable parts visible.
(face, unique tattoo, nameband, etc etc)
even if it were a real corpse, there would be no legal ramifications from this picture, since there is nothing identifiable showing.

and please...playing with my phone while im on work time? really? now your just reaching, and i am totally going to say your probably the pot calling the kettle black on that one. I mean damn...I didn't run my first call until 8 hours after i got to the station last shift...what do you think we are doing with our down time on a 24 hour shift when were not sleeping? or is me sleeping on the companies time going to get me fired as well? I could also mention that some of the pictures that have been taken by crew members on shift have actually been printed on canvas and are hanging on the walls of our main office.


ethically/morally speaking, I find trespassing just as morally wrong as this might be considered to be, but i don't see very many people speaking up on it on threads where people have clearly trespassed to shoot an abandoned building, so I really fail to find voiced concerns on this topic very compelling.

Now, its hard to say whether or not there would be some issues if this were not a staged shot with my partner.
I am fairly certain that my boss would probably not be terribly thrilled. However, there have been real patients photographed in the past, (well, parts anyway..and not by me) and the issue has gone to the corporate lawyer, and the response was what i mentioned above. no identifiable features=no problem. (well, from the companies legal standpoint anyway) The person that took the pictures were simply told to make sure they don't violate any HIPAA regulations, and that was the end of it.

Its a shot that I have been wanting to take for a while, but I keep forgetting to take the camera to work.
(didn't think my cell phone would cut it)

so...
now that the formalities are out of the way, any chance I can get some C&C on this shot? Anything I can do to improve the realism? maybe some more "work items" strewn around like some stuff had actually been done?

 

[Rick58]

I guess that's that

 

[pixmedic]

I guess that's that

yea...
sorry for the disappointment guys.

 

[snowbear]

I kind of thought that's what it was but decided to stay out of it. You seem to take your job very seriously and I truly doubt you'd have photoed and posted a real patient, even if covered.

Besides, the battle going on about photo plagiarism is a little more lively.

 

[weepete]

I guess thats a lesson to us all not to get on our high horses and speculate about conditions a photo was shot under where we don't know anything about it.

Anyways back to the photo. It's a pretty straight shot and the lighting is a bit flat. I think I'd have preferred it if say there was a detail picked out with some moody lighting, say maybe a snooted flash picking out the ring on his finger, shot at a lower angle with an underexposure on the fabric covering him and some reflected light just picking out some details on the equipment in the background kinda Rembrant style. That would be what whould pop into my head anyway.

 

[Rick58]

so...
now that the formalities are out of the way, any chance I can get some C&C on this shot? Anything I can do to improve the realism? maybe some more "work items" strewn around like some stuff had actually been done?

That's a tough one. The scene does look very sterile, but if this guy OD'ed on his living room floor, what else would you see? On the other hand, I can only assume you wouldn't leave an arm dangling outside the sheet, but you kind'a need that for the purpose of the photo. Maybe a little morbid, but maybe take mental notes on the next real case.
Note on Weepete's lighting comment. While never have been in the back of an ambulance, it may not be flattering, I have to say that's the kind of lighting I'd expect to see back there.

 

[runnah]

the fact that the back of the bus was clean was a dead giveaway!

Next time leave a bunch of used supplies and various puddles of fluids.

 

[manaheim]

Wheee... I haven't been on in months and look what I bump into first?

 

[Rick58]

Hey Manny!

 

[tirediron]

The window-licking bunny's back!!!!

 

[snowbear]

I'll go with runnah - at least a glove or two in the floor. Lighting is about what I'd expect.

 

[bogeyguy]

I'm betting it's Pix or a colleague. The van is too neat and clean for it to have been a real transport.

 

[snowbear]

I'm betting it's Pix or a colleague. The van is too neat and clean for it to have been a real transport.

Post 17.

 

[crimbfighter]

Here's my thoughts. On the way the photo is now, it does seem too sterile, as others have said. Every death investigation I go on, where Paramedics were involved anyway, there always seems to be more evidence of the chaos created by the life saving measures. Whether it be open packaging thrown about, a ball of used gloves laying on the floor, spots of blood on the sheet, an empty IV bag hanging, stuff like that. The little details that represent the ultimately futile efforts. Usually if the decedent is this clean, they would be sitting in the back of the funeral home van, not the ambulance. I also would like to see this shot at night, with the e-lights shining in the background. So that's my C&C on the image as it stands; add paraphernalia of the life saving efforts and a little more ambiance.

Now, if I were going to re-shoot this, here's my idea of how it could be more compelling. I'd like to see it shot from the back of the ambulance, at night, with the e-lights going, back doors swung wide open, the decedents feet exposed from under the sheet, but the rest of him/her still covered up, though leave the exposed arm hanging. Then put a Paramedic in the jump seat behind the body, and have them either with a leaned back posture with hands in lap and eyes closed, or leaning forward with head in hands. I'm torn, too, on whether I would like to see it taken close to the feet, so they are larger in the frame and using good DOF control to throw the paramedic just enough out of focus, or if I would like to see it shot a little further back and put the focus on the paramedic. Probably the latter, since the paramedics emotions are what we're talking about.

Hope that's helpful.