Invitation to disaster Photo

Photographer’s Note

The traffic on Indian roads is quite chaotic. The same narrow roads are shared by zipping new cars as well as ancient bullock carts. It is, therefore, not the ideal environment for a careless speedster on a fast bike.

This image is of a man who was riding his bike too fast in adverse conditions: (1) narrow and crowded roads full of lorries, (2) night and (3) fog that limits visibility. I took this picture very early morning on my way to Delhi from Chandigarh, a town in Indian Punjab. The speedo on the crashed bike still shows 90kmph, the speed at which he hit the back of the truck. Ironically, his first name was the same as mine.

p.s. With the first few reaction to this post I am considering to remove this picture since it appears ghory and repulsive to many. However, I would like to let everyone know that what I felt when I passed by this scene is that we all are responsible for the world we create. So let us make this world a nice and beautiful place to live in--together!

sohrab, Bogdan, cessy, castellano, kajspice trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

lukasfoto (3078) 2005-01-19 3:47 [Comment]

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sohrab (7423) 2005-01-19 3:52

uuuuuuuuh
the body seems to be broken in all pieces.. i saw a similar sight at north campus, delhi yeatserday.. quite a common and ghastly sight now a days.
nothing much to add here.. it's a journalistic shot..
i'm surprised that this body was not crowded by people, atleast you make it seem as if it wasn't.
just curious about something.
what did you feel when you took this photograph and when you uploaded it? did you feel any guilt?? i'm not intending to lambast you or anything for taking this photograph, because it is something that falls in the "daily life" category here in india. but im just curious to know what went through your mind.
also it might seem really ummm insensitive or whatever when i ask you this.. where did you get the photograph printed.. the toning is good .i'm asking this is only from a photographic point of view since i'd like to have a similar tone in some of my "normal" photographs
take care

p.s. it's quite difficult writing to this photograph, since someone out there must have lost someone close to him/her. so have to turn off all the emotions and ask the question about the toning

SoupDragon (652) 2005-01-19 7:20 [Comment]

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tongapup (1574) 2005-01-19 12:00

Tragic. I have never seen a body so twisted and broken before. I have a feeling that in India one is far more exposed to this kind of scene than here in Canada -- not just because it happens less (although I think it does) but also because we're pretty good at sanitizing everything, for better or for worse. So I understand where Sohrab's coming from when he says that it's a part of life in India (and therefore has its place on TE).

I feel repulsion and sadness at this picture. Then another part of me is analysing it as a picture (it's inevitable): how's the composition, etc. It seems callous to begin that kind of discussion in light of the fact that this is a brutal tragedy, and yet I think that the emotional impact is key to this photo and that composition and so on has much to do with that impact. So, as Sohrab says, it's a very journalistic shot, meaning to me that it's "objective." I think it's telling that he had to ask you what you were feeling when you took this. I thought the same thing, and I think it's because there's nothing in this photo to tell us how you felt. I don't know quite how a photographer might achieve that (I have a feeling that if I came upon this scene I would not have the presence of mind to compose a good picture). Perhaps less explicit, more of a telling detail? (crit con't in thread)

maciekda (19599) 2005-01-21 7:10

yes, it is hard to comment such image, very sad scene, but the photo is good, good journalism

cessy (13647) 2005-01-27 4:38

it's awfully sad moment, good journalistic photo. I think about taking picture of this and show it to all of us, is always difficult choice for a journalist.

jhe00 (271) 2005-02-25 3:48

don't remove the image; it is very worthy artistically and in the information it conveys. it's difficult to treat critically, but you have captured the scene to excellent effect.

yanldion (184) 2005-03-01 8:31

It's very hard and sad but it's a moment of life...i'm agree with jhe00: "it's difficult to treat critically, but you have captured the scene to excellent effect."

DAM (153) 2005-03-02 20:29

Well, most of us here are adults and can make our own decisions. Speed, and many other choices we face continuously. The unfortunate part of this, is that we know speed kills not only in India but everywhere in the world. Machines are not perfect and the operator of the machine makes wrongful decisions. I have seen my share of horrific accident scenes, and everyone is just as sad as the last one. Your comments hit the nail on the head. So leave the photo here, and let the world learn by this young man's mistake. Perhaps you may save someone elses life by exposing such a grafic journalistic photograph. Well done.

archanabhimasen (270) 2005-04-04 13:08

The very 1st of its kind that I am seeing on Trekearth. Very harsh reality on Indian roads!!! Cant comment much thou' ...I cant say its nicely captured picture either because its very disturbing too!!! And i feel you have taken all the strength to stand in this kind of situation and cature it.

joseelias (367) 2005-05-17 8:39

This is a very strong and shocking image. As said before, hard to comment on… Personally I think it’s ok to be posted, especially with the accompanying note, as it shows a very sad moment in our daily lives and alert for these kind of situations. In fact I thuink it’s not as much seen as they should be because some people only wake up when the face the raw reality.

Portugal is one of the most dangerous countries in Europe to drive so I understand well what you mean.

It’s a good journalist photo.

nlediard (160) 2005-09-05 15:30

Very strong image which illustrates so well every day life (and death), but not in an overly voyeuristic way.
Nice work.

castellano (708) 2005-11-05 12:30

I agree with many of the members that think that this picture is strong or hard, however it is an awesome and shocking way to show what happens in this kind of roads due to human mistakes or due to the bad conditions of the road itself. I think it has been a brilliant idea to post this shot. On the other hand I have to confess that I'm amazed with the clarity of the composition, which explains (without the need of words) the tragedy and the dramatic situation that the driver suffered.
Good job!
Regards,
Javier

kajspice (4534) 2006-02-08 16:10 [Comment]

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