Hey all-
Yesterday I got the chance to take some (well...300) pictures of a SKID (Stop Kids Intoxicated Driving) simulated DUI accident at the local high school. I was just wondering what you guys think of them? I am supposed to be giving the fire dept, the police and the SKID people copies of the best ones, so I was wondering if I could get a few opinions?
Oh, and for more info on SKID, you can see the little blurb in my profile.
Here's a couple of them, if you're interested in looking at more, the rest are in my portfolio, under S.K.I.D.:
Thanks so very very much guys!!! : )
Wow... stunning captures of emotion, regardless of a simulation or not. We do this every other year at the high school for which I work. It's a wonderful, powerful, emotional exercise that really brings home the dangers of drinking and driving. You have some extremely powerful shots here. The parents, the witnesses, the friends... very good images. Thanks for sharing! :o)
Nice work. A few of the images are a little bit grainy, but it wouldn't be noticeable if I weren't looking closely for it. I left a comment for the first image posted in this thread.
How do the students react while watching this demonstration? I can imagine some of the people I knew in high school trying to laugh it off. Have they had any problems with inappropriate reactions from the audience?
Thanks everyone--I was not expecting such positive feedback! : ) You just made my day! lol
And yes, the actors were very good! The whole thing was purposely scripted as little as possible so that it could be as natural-looking and emotional as possible. Like, the kids who were playing the witnesses, and the parents of the one girl who was doa, didn't get to see the other kids beforehand, so that when they did, it'd still be sort of a shock, you know?
I don't think they've had any inappropriate reactions from the audience--but while they were doing it here in Colton, there was a family who lived next to the highschool, that didn't know that it was all just a simulation. They looked out their windows that morning and saw these crunched up cars and firetrucks and bodies everywhere and a guy fighting with a policeman, and they thought it was all real! So they came running down to the track, the husband running in to help the police and his wife running over to help with the hurt people and the bodies! : ) But some people saw them running into the field and told them what was going on, and I don't think anyone even noticed.
Anyhoo, it was sorta funny.
These are fantastic shots, you have really captured the emotion and trauma that comes with such an incident. I can relate totally to this, as my job entails dealing with this from time to time. I've only just realised that your only 14! Your going to go a long way if your already taking shots like these. A real natural, keep it up.
Wow these are great. The third one says it all for me. The image has to be kind of destressing for it to get a reaction. For people to take note, and I think you have captured that image well.
Thank you all!!! : ) You're so nice to me... : )
edit: Oh, and a big huge thanks to bandit--I just saw that I'm one of your favorite photog's...THANK YOU!
Excellent shots and the concept is just fantastic.
Being a Paramedic and being part of the "real" thing...the set-up done here are great. I found the 3rd, 5th and 6th shots really carry the message...It is those left and theose that witness the loss that are so deeply and profoundly scarred.
Great education...and good photo's that have captured the emotions and the scene of a multi trauma.
Well done...
Just a little update here, in case anyone cares/remembers--I sent copies of some of the best shots of the day to the guy who runs the whole thing, a guy by the name of Tim Moore who works with the Washington county sheriff's dept, and also to the sheriff's dept's webmaster because they have a special page on their site dedicated to SKID.
Well, just a few weeks ago, the webmaster lady emailed me back, saying that they would like to use my photos on their SKID site, and would give me photo credit, as well as a link to my website on their page!
And then, Tim Moore emailed me back and said that they'd like to use my photos on SKID's main site, as soon as it gets up and running! Plus, they'd give me photo credit and a link to my site, too!! (oh, and SKID's site is located at //www.skidusa.com but is in the very beginning stages right now)
So yeah. I'm super excited, in case you couldn't tell. ;) Thought all that was pretty cool. :)
I agree with the others that the shots are well done. I especially like the first and the one with the parents. You've done a great job and I'm glad they are getting used on the site. I'm sure that's real encouragement to you! I'm impressed that these (and others in your portfolio) came from a 14 yr. old. Keep clicking!
I agree that they are all very good. I really like the one with the parents and the DOA girl.
The fireman and the chopper pic is a bit flat for me emotionally. I am sure there might be somewhere where it might come in handy on the main website though.
I know that a lot of people felt the second pic of the young man hiding behind his car isn't so good, but I felt it was actually quite good. I feel that by focusing on the car, it pulled a bit of attention away from him, highlighting his shame and hiding and perhaps the fact that he was drunk. He was enough in focus that you could see some of the emotions on his face, so I feel that that picture is actually one of the better ones. The lack of focus works with the context. I wonder what that pic would look like with a selective desat, leaving only him in colour. I feel it might give it a bit of a shell-shocked feel.
I don't really know how to use PS well, and I really mickey moused this pic together, but I played around a bit with doing this and have a sample pic. I feel that it really improves.
Sorry, I'm not a member, so I can't link the pic right, but here is a link.
