Listen closely to the local police radio for breaking news photo opportunities like rescues.
When a young boy ventured from the
banks of the Merrimack River and found himself stranded on rocks in the middle
of the river, he was rescued by Lowell, Ma. firefighters, who rowed out to grab
him, pulled him into the boat and lectured him as they rowed back to shore (© Michael
Maher, The Lowell (Ma.) Sun).
The Photo:
One
hot summer Sunday afternoon, a kid was discovered stranded in the middle of the
Merrimack River. The young boy had
wandered along the rocks into the center of the river at a shallow spot, but
when the water level began to rise, he was marooned in the middle. When I arrived on the scene, three members of
the Lowell, Ma. Fire Department were rowing out to the rescue. I was there in time to photograph with a long
lens and get a sequence of photos – the boy stranded on a rock as the boat
arrived, the kid being lifted into the boat, and the fireman lecturing him
sternly during the return trip to shore.
It was a compelling series of three photos that definitively told the
story. No doubt that kid learned his
lesson and never did anything like that again.
3 Tips:
1) Rescue photos usually require
long lenses because you typically can’t get very close.
2) The best pictures are just as
likely to be of the rescuers as the people being rescued (sometimes the
spectators also provide great images).
3) Look for emotional facial expressions -- intensity during the actual rescue, or relief afterwards.
