Most Dangerous Photo Shoot

BryanFlnt

Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2023
Messages
30
Location
Tacoma, WA
Format
Medium Format
What was your most dangerous photo shoot? Not as a professional, but for your passion. I mean the one where you hanging off an ice cliff and you have the voice of your spouse/partner/parent/children when they said to you "be safe." Where the inner dialogue is "Is this photo worth it if I fall/get shot/end up in a hospital in a strange land?" (Bonus if you think the photo was worth it.) (Double bonus if you share the photo.)

Here is mine (yes the question was an excuse to tell my story). I was traveling by myself on the Aran Islands off the West coast of Ireland. No one in my life knew I was on the Island, let alone that I was walking out to the 300-foot cliffs on the edge of the Island. The folks at the hostel, and the bike rental had no idea I was out there. As I stood at the edge of the cliff, with a strong upwind ready to blow me off I kept saying to myself "Do one thing at a time". Plant feet; take the lens cap off; take meter reading; compose shot; look down at where your standing; take shot....

The photo is no much to right home about.
 

MurrayMinchin

Membership Council
Subscriber
Joined
Jan 9, 2005
Messages
5,481
Location
North Coast BC Canada
Format
Hybrid
In 1992 spent 6 months sea kayaking the coast of BC with my wife, photographing with a 4x5 field camera.

We had deck compasses, paper charts, and line of sight hand held marine radios. The radios were of sporadic use, as we'd sometimes not see a boat for over a week at a time. Lots of opportunities for things to go wrong.

After landing and setting up camp, I'd venture off into the forest, up a creek, or along the shore to photograph. There were a few times where my wife wasn't sure if I'd return to camp at dark.

Lots of nay-sayers and predictions of doom before we left.

The rewards were equal to the risk.
 

MattKing

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Apr 24, 2005
Messages
53,097
Location
Delta, BC Canada
Format
Medium Format
A couple of weddings that I photographed come to mind ..... .
And if weirdness counts, covering a Lou Reed concert in the 1970s from down in front in the "pit".
 

MurrayMinchin

Membership Council
Subscriber
Joined
Jan 9, 2005
Messages
5,481
Location
North Coast BC Canada
Format
Hybrid
First time this north coast country bumpkin went to art school in the Big City of Vancouver (1980) I used to photograph in downtown alleys with a Pentax 6x7...at night.

Luckily, nothing bad happened.
 

CMoore

Subscriber
Joined
Aug 23, 2015
Messages
6,221
Location
USA CA
Format
35mm
Circa 1980.
Color film at night.
Shooting 2 girls from The Condor, on Columbus under a building light. They wanted some candid shots for their 'Portfolio'

Red on Black Porsche pulls up and Cindy got in. Typical legs sticking out the door as she got in, ass end first in a short skirt.
Shot 4-5 frames of her slinking into the seat.
The car makes it as far as The Philly Cheesestake place on Columbus and stops.
Big guy exits the car, walks back to me and says...like in a movie... 'I Need A Favor'

He wanted to give me 100 bux.
My gut told me to pass on the money, so i did.
I just handed it over and said... 'No Problem'
 

Kino

Subscriber
Joined
Jan 20, 2006
Messages
7,767
Location
Orange, Virginia
Format
Multi Format
16mm low budget feature; Shooting a crane shot in a Cemetery early one morning with an unskilled crane operator for an independent filmmaker. It was a huge cherry picker that extended up about 70 feet and the director, who had never operated a crane of any kind before, was running the controls with me squeezed in beside holding an Aaton LRT 16mm camera.

He wasn't particularly good, as you can imagine.

After the 3rd take, and just missing a large tree, some big power lines and crypt on the way down, I jumped out and refused the 4th take.

I told him, "Take the 3rd shot or do it yourself".

I didn't want to wind up a resident in the place we were shooting...
 

choiliefan

Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2013
Messages
1,314
Format
Medium Format
Most dangerous for me was after covering a football game at Fairfax HS in the early 70's I got punched in the face by a kid trying to pull my Mamiya C33 with grip from my hand. He gave up and ran when he realized I wasn't letting go of it. Bruised the next day but deemed a hero by my HS photog friends.
 

pentaxuser

Member
Joined
May 9, 2005
Messages
19,980
Location
Daventry, No
Format
35mm
None of the above or even remotely like any of the above. It's a picture of the mother-in-law in her natural state. Well in truth, not so much the picture as daring to show it her

pentaxuser
 

guangong

Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2009
Messages
3,589
Format
Medium Format
Surreptitiously photographing in North Korea in early 1970s with handlers at my side. Used M4 with long release cable running through jacket, jacket sleeve, into jacket pocket. 28mm lense.
 

jeffreyg

Subscriber
Joined
Jun 12, 2008
Messages
2,645
Location
florida
Format
Medium Format
Some years ago while on a trip to Yellowstone National Park at sunup I went out on the trail around the geysers with cameras and tripod. I was the only one out there. At one point I stopped and setup Then out of the mist I was surrounded by a herd of snorting bison. There was a bench that I was able to keep between me and them. Fortunately they passed around the bench and both I and my camera went untouched and I was able to make a decent photograph
 
OP
OP

BryanFlnt

Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2023
Messages
30
Location
Tacoma, WA
Format
Medium Format
guangong said:
Surreptitiously photographing in North Korea in early 1970s with handlers at my side. Used M4 with long release cable running through jacket, jacket sleeve, into jacket pocket. 28mm lense.
Click to expand...

Wow! That is bold!
 

Saganich

Subscriber
Joined
Nov 21, 2004
Messages
1,279
Location
Brooklyn
Format
35mm RF
One afternoon in late 2001 I had a 4x5 set up on Kent avenue in Brooklyn, which was pointing in the general direction of the Williamsburg bridge, and was detained by concerned citizens who were convinced I had untoward intentions. I often took night photographs of the Domino's sugar factory and other quasi famous industrial landmarks; that's also wasn't popular. One night a security guard abandoned his post and chased me a whole block before he figured I was just a distraction so the actual terrorists could slip in the gate. I was detained by undercover narcotics police one night while shooting the Gowanus Canal. I was pressed up against a beat-up red Honda civic by two 6'2" cops with forearms bigger than my thighs while they poked at the M2 on the tripod. Then they asked, "So, your taking pictures?" "Yes sir, the moon over the Gowanus is quite nice tonight."

 

Andrew O'Neill

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Jan 16, 2004
Messages
12,023
Location
Coquitlam,BC Canada
Format
Multi Format
Many photos I took in abandoned mines were a bit dangerous. Probably the most dangerous one was balancing my 8x10 looking down a long, descending staircase, with a howling wind blowing down from above.
 

Vaughn

Subscriber
Joined
Dec 13, 2006
Messages
10,100
Location
Humboldt Co.
Format
Large Format
I just call it photographing. Spent a lot of my time photographing solo in wild places where if I got too hurt to get out, I would most likely die. The trick is not to get too hurt. So far so good.

During a 10 minute exposure in the redwoods I got surrounded by an elk herd. As the exposure was ending the bull started making very unfriendly sounds. I never tore down the 8x10 and packed it up so fast in my life. Climbing over a couple fallen redwoods satisfied him. Must have been fun to watch, too. Unfortunately none of the ladies showed up in the image as they were moving too much.
 

Andrew O'Neill

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Jan 16, 2004
Messages
12,023
Location
Coquitlam,BC Canada
Format
Multi Format
Then there was the time I was photographing way up in the Highlands of Scotland. I had to navigate my way through a bog. I jumped over a wet spot, then sunk up to my waste. Finally pulled myself out, losing my shorts in the process. I had to walk back to the car in my underwear.
 

MurrayMinchin

Membership Council
Subscriber
Joined
Jan 9, 2005
Messages
5,481
Location
North Coast BC Canada
Format
Hybrid
Vaughn said:
I just call it photographing. Spent a lot of my time photographing solo in wild places where if I got too hurt to get out, I would most likely die. The trick is not to get too hurt...
Click to expand...
I solo a lot as well, meandering back & forth through the forest alongside trails, or often going where there are no trails at all.

I'm 63 now and discovered a new thing to watch out for when hiking; slower than optimal reflexes.

Last summer I was walking up a creek with no trail to discover waterfalls. I could hear one around the corner, but had to negotiate a pinch spot beside a pool in a mini canyon. Before I knew what was going on, I fell into a pool deep enough to go past my shoulders before I could push off the bottom & scramble out.

Immediately pulled my pack off to see if the camera gear was dry, and it was, with only a couple drops of water having made it into the pack. Kept going, got the photo, see below.

Can heartily recommend Atlas Athlete camera packs, as well as habitually closing zippers all the way.

Was a reminder that I'm not as capable as I used to be, and will have to pay a little more attention when on dodgy ground.

Found that a Spot Messenger pinging off my location (when the signal gets through) every ten minutes in Tracking Mode to be a great peace of mind for both me, and my wife.

 
Last edited:

CMoore

Subscriber
Joined
Aug 23, 2015
Messages
6,221
Location
USA CA
Format
35mm
pentaxuser said:
None of the above or even remotely like any of the above. It's a picture of the mother-in-law in her natural state. Well in truth, not so much the picture as daring to show it her

pentaxuser
Click to expand...
Reminds me of the old Winston Churchill joke.
After Poland was invaded in 1939, Winston was advocating for a big increase in fighter plane construction.
A fellow MP asked him............. How many is enough.?

His answer.............. That reminds me of a man who received a cable that his Mother In-Law had died in South America.
The cable ended with "please send instructions on how we should act"

The man wired back............ Cremation, Coffin, Burial at sea.
Take no chances.!

At the shooting range i used to go to, there was frequently a Husband and Wife there. They were avid hunters.
As i recall her story from 30 years ago............... They were hunting Elk in Montana. It was their third day following several, including one very big buck.
As she told it, while they were involved in the hunt, said buck had circled around Behind Them and attacked the two. Her husband was killed.

I worked with a lot of guys that hunted.
Bears, snakes and spiders were what i always heard them express Concern/Worry for.
I was just a paper-puncher. I never hunted.
Not sure how often hunters do battle with their prey
 

Vaughn

Subscriber
Joined
Dec 13, 2006
Messages
10,100
Location
Humboldt Co.
Format
Large Format
Love it! Hopefully you did not gird your loins with cartoon characters.. My Scottish moor adventure this year was not as exciting as yours -- a solo full-moon lit walk after a long dry spell.
 

Alan Edward Klein

Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2017
Messages
9,493
Location
New Jersey formerly NYC
Format
Multi Format

Murray, Love to see the pictures. Any available?
 

Alan Edward Klein

Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2017
Messages
9,493
Location
New Jersey formerly NYC
Format
Multi Format
guangong said:
Surreptitiously photographing in North Korea in early 1970s with handlers at my side. Used M4 with long release cable running through jacket, jacket sleeve, into jacket pocket. 28mm lense.
Click to expand...

Didn;t the handlers know?
 

Alan Edward Klein

Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2017
Messages
9,493
Location
New Jersey formerly NYC
Format
Multi Format

The Gowanus Canal is more dangerous than the cops. I hope you held your breath.
 

Alan Edward Klein

Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2017
Messages
9,493
Location
New Jersey formerly NYC
Format
Multi Format

Nice shot.
 

Sergey Ko

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2021
Messages
119
Location
Vilnius, Lithuania
Format
Analog

Eating leopard, 5 meters, shot from the open car window, self drive in Etosha National Park, Namibia. Really not so dangerous as one can think
Much more dangerous were 2 rhinoceroses, which we locked in a chalk pit with a car, and which ran accelerating towards the car. I learned the Police reverse U-turn in a moment!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…