December 6, 2012
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Sometimes You Have To Take the Photo
Many of you probably heard the story about a photographer who took a photo of a man who was pushed on the tracks in a subway.
The man was killed moments after this photo was taken. There are those who believe the photographer should have put down his camera and helped the man out. Here is the link: LinkBe honest.Would you have taken the photo if you had your camera out?
Comments (54)
No
I think I would have been too panicked to take a picture….honestly.
although, I’m not sure if jumping out and dying too would have helped…
You have a typo…and I would have helped him.
No.
Yes, there was very little that could have been done to save him at that point.
We’re better off with the photograph than without it.
I would’ve definitely helped him, no doubt about it. My first thought isn’t to take a picture…ever. I don’t know why, that’s just the way I am. I’ve missed lots of moments that would’ve made great photos – not like this one though. I am always the first to help people out though.
Absolutely NOT. That just sickens me.
Help some douche or get famous taking his picture? psh. please, nigga.
Take the picture? No, and I believe the family of this deceased man ought to sue the photographer for trying to get fame instead of trying to help. In fact, I’m — well, not really, in this “me first out for #1 culture” we’re living in — surprised that the photographer hasn’t been brought up on charges of accessory to murder…
It’s somebody’s life. I would have tried saving him. I remember there was an old lady that fell in the street, and I didn’t think twice about helping her. The man that took that photo is a grade a douchebag.
the story at the link indicates several things
1. it’s very hard to climb up or pull somebody up at that spot
2. an unknown assailant pushed the guy off; that dude should be the target of the ire
3. this is a common safety hazard; many suicides deliberately jump off onto the track
no
No, I would have tried to help him out of that predicament on pure adrenalin.
If i had my camera already out, i would have taken a picture of the person who pushed the guy and given it to police.
I don’t understand what is wrong with the world. As if I didn’t have misanthropy at such high levels already
If you were the editor-in-chief of a daily news publication, would you run the picture on page one?
Never. And, honestly? I scrolled quickly down this post so I wouldn’t see that picture. If the table’s were turned and it was a baby…well people would be singing an entirely different tune.
According to the person that took the photo he did it to try to show the conducter something was wrong. At the point he took the photo it was too late to pull him up so he thought the flash might draw attention to the mans fate.
I would have been screaming at the top of my lungs to save him while running and trying.
The first news story that came out was clear about what happened. The “photographer” wasn’t trying to take photos- he was using the flash on his camera (which you have to take a photo in order to use) to try to get the conductor’s attention. He was trying to get the subway train to stop, but it didn’t work. He’s not actually a bad person at all- he WAS trying to help.
That’s just a really sad situation… The guy fell at the wrong time, the train came at the wrong time, and according to the people commenting above me, the photographer actually WAS trying to help… I don’t think that anything could have been done to save this guy (the train couldn’t have stopped fast enough, I don’t think), but I think that out of respect for him, this photo shouldn’t have been used.
Also, it reminds me of this: http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&safe=off&tbo=d&biw=1138&bih=532&tbm=isch&tbnid=NjEh5Lnl1IV7tM:&imgrefurl=http://surferblake.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/14/&docid=gram5Y3puioSkM&imgurl=http://surferblake.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/29fd46830769.jpg&w=338&h=465&ei=LZ3AUKy8EYav0AGaioDIBw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=4&vpy=134&dur=1889&hovh=263&hovw=191&tx=102&ty=112&sig=115148577493518614399&page=1&tbnh=151&tbnw=113&start=0&ndsp=14&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:114
Though, in this case, the photographer really WAS just taking pictures for posterity… but there was literally nothing that anyone could have done to save them (the woman, anyway– the little girl survived the fall because she landed on the woman).
Is this any worse than the pictures they used to publish in the Chicago Tribune about 90 years ago of gangland killings, people with their faces shot off in the seats of their cars, or pictures of people horribly mangled in car wrecks in the 40′s and 50′s? What ought to be done is, to slow the trains to a crawl 300 feet before the station, and install light beam sensors across the tracks to detect anyone or anything in the path of the train. Why is this not done? To save a few seconds. To get that train into the platform as fast as possible, and on it’s way as fast as possible. Why? Commuter demand. Want to blame someone for this? Blame yourself as you race from terminal to terminal, trying to “get somewhere on time”…
It wouldn’t even cross my mind to take picture of a man who was about to die. I’d be screaming my head off while running towards him and trying to pull him out. I couldn’t even live with myself for not even trying. That photographer is a piece of shit. He claims he wouldn’t have been able to reach him in time, but oh, he certainly did have time to take a picture. My god, I can only imagine the pain of the dead man’s family seeing this picture being splashed about on the front page news. Disgusting.
No. That’s awful.
I would have taken the picture. I probably would have been taking pictures at the time anyway and it would have been natural to take this one. Since the man was pushed, I’d probably have pictures of that part as well.
Even I would have tried to help him and I love to catch a photo.
I didn’t read the article you posted but I did see one this morning. It stated that the photographer was not taking pictures to just take pictures, he was trying to warn the conductor with the flash of his camera. A similar incident happened where I live, it makes me wonder why there are no bars blocking the tracks till the train gets there. I probably would have tried to help the guy because that is just me but I honestly think it would be smarter to try and warn the conductor somehow instead of having that man dead as well as myself.
No!
Even if his intent WAS to warn the conductor… who thinks to do that instead of trying to help a man off the tracks? I just shake my head. The world is filled with a lot of people who just watch and wait for someone else to help instead of actually help.
And to the papers that published this photo, how shameful. Imagine how this man’s family feels seeing his last terrifying moments plastered on news stands and websites for us to gawk and comment upon. It’s really disgusting to make money off that, have some respect for the family.
“Freelance photographerR. Umar Abbasisaid he was too far away to help Ki Suk Han, the 58-year-old man who was pushed in front of the train and killed earlier this week in New York City. Instead, the photographer frantically flashed pictures in an attempt to get the driver’s attention so he would slow the train down.”
Still, it’s disgusting that the NY Post published the picture.
No way…
I would rather see the guy alive.
Some people want to make that “profit” or “get known” which seems to be the photographers motive. Either way, I personally think I’d at least TRY to help.
How would the photographer feel if that was his father’s last picture? IF he didn’t have time to reach the man, and IF he was just using his flash to get the conductor’s attention, and IF he truly was trying to help, then taking the picture is not grounds for condemning the photographer. HOWEVER, should he have submitted it to a newspaper? No, if the photographer had all the best of intentions, he blew it when he made money off another man’s death. Morally corrupt is what he became.
Nothing could compel me to take that picture. I don’t feel sorry for the photographer and all the steam he’s getting. He deserves to be criticized.
No. But there wouldn’t be much to do in saving him though. I wouldn’t risk my own life.
What everyone is expected to say: “I would have helped”
The amount of people not taking the picture who were also helping: NONEWhat people tend to do: NOTHING
Let’s not pretend that humanity is not generally selfish and self serving. You can like to your friends, I can lie to my friends, but lets not lie to each other.
No, I would NOT take a picture. I read somewhere that the photographer was trying to get the man’s attention by using his flash on his camera, and he flashed it 49 times. If it’s true, and if he was able to flash it 49 times, that was enough time to grab the man and pull him out.
The photographer said he wasn’t strong enough to pull the man out of there so he did the only thing he could, which was flashing his camera furiously at the train conductor. Have you seen a subway platform? Do you know how strong you’d have to be to pull someone out of there? You’d need at least two people. The train came pretty quickly after he was thrown onto the tracks. Other people were rushing towards him but it was too late. I think the only person to blame here is the guy who threw (not pushed) the old man onto the tracks.
OMG… I’d hope to get to help him, but likely not make it that distance in time… it realy looks hopeless! I never would have thought to snap a picture… that I’m sure about.
@FattiesGonnaFat - ……yeah. i wouldn’t take the photo either.
If he was actually trying to save the guy great, but Istill don’t like the photographer or trust him because he sold the photo and profited off of someone’s death.
I was in the same position as the man on the track, and someone saved me.
Seriously people, have a damn heart.
It would be a difficult thing to do. Not cause I’d want a photo cause I wouldn’t. I’d be scared about helping him. But if it looked like I really could do it than yah I’d give it the best shot I could. And NO photos I hate scary stuff like that let alone would never take one. I’d help as best I can … Φ ≡
@Megabyyte - This is my exact feeling about it
I don’t really ever comment on Xanga anymore, but it seems like you all need a little reality check here.
It’s pretty clear, Dan, that very few of your readers have actually ever looked through a camera lens or been in the vicinity of a subway train rolling into the station. To get that shot, Abbasi would have had to be a good 20 feet or more from Ki Suk Han. Also, those trains go really effing fast, even when they’re arriving at a stop. They’re going 55 mph between stops, but even if the train had slowed to 20 mph as it was blowing into this station, think about how long it takes to come to a stop when you’re going 20 mph to avoid hitting a small animal in the road. Or to avoid that fender-bender.
There is no. way. Abbasi could have sprinted 20 feet and managed to get a full-grown man out of the train’s way before they were both kaput. There’s no way the train could have slowed down enough for either of them to live.
And the reality is, none of us can know for sure what we would actually do in that situation, or the tools we would employ to do SOMETHING. So to sit on our self-righteous butts and pretend that any of us are somehow more humane, sacrificial or heroic than this photographer is honestly just laughable to me.
@SecretNeverTold - That’s well and true, you certainly can’t guarantee you’d do something heroic in the same position, but would you pick up your camera and take a picture? What if he really did mean to warn the train conductor with the flashes and now he has the photo of a dead man’s final moment… would you think to sell it to the media? That’s where this situation angers me. I can understand that it might have been impossible for him to help but you can’t justify the sale and distribution of the photo.
I should make note though, that I’m not a big fan of shock media when it comes at the price of hurting an individual or collective group (and seldom does it offend no one, let’s be honest). It’s exercising your right to free speech and never a big deal to the masses though until it’s something that affects them directly, and then it’s suddenly unethical. I wish the media were more responsible and accountable to what they publish – if you had to look some of these people in the eye who their stories affect, perhaps they might be.
end rant…. for now..
Hindsight is often too late. Next time you see someone fallen down off the subway waiting area, you should not climb back up but run forward where the train will stop. Even laying down between the rails is not safe.
The photographer did what he naturally does and will live with regret that the man’s life was not saved. That will be punishment for him. However the New York Post will continue to publish sensational photos.
The person who pushed the man off the waiting area is arrested:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/nyregion/police-arrest-naeem-davis-in-subway-death.html?_r=0
and the family of the man who died will mourn his death.
People who witnessed the altercation with the victim and the perp stepped away from those fighting. Thus hardly anyone was nearby when he was pushed off the waiting area. If the victim was slightly inebrieated maybe he was in panic and could not save himself?
@steph843 - Except look at the *very* important discussion about public transit safety it has provoked. I am not sure which side I fall on this issue, honestly, because I am a journalist and am acutely aware of these types of ethical issues on a daily basis, but rarely are they fatal. Some good reading and important perspectives on the matter here, here, here and here.
My bottom line is, regardless of your feelings about what he did, we’re all a bunch of self-righteous hypocrites, because which of you wouldn’t have shared that photo if you *happened* to get it on your phone? And you’re coming down on the guy who *shot* the photo? What about the effing editor, the final and most authoritative line of decisionmaking?
I get it. We all just need a scapegoat for our own guilt about the fact that atrocities like this happen every day. But for real. If you were a photojournalist whose livelihood is his camera and the images it records, I dare you to tell me you would never show those to an editor and allow him to decide whether he would buy them and publish them.
Dare you.
i know id panic, but id still try to save him, a picture? people are assholes! i hope that person gets haunted!
tbh, I would’ve def helped. And what sucks about that, is when a train if going that fast and how heavy they are (( and I hate saying this )) no one probably would’ve made it in time, nor been able to pull him out in time. And I probably would’ve killed myself for trying to help him.
You never know how people are going to react. He had his camera, his first instinct in panic could’ve been to just take a picture. Someone could’ve helped pull that guy out, and they could’ve been tossed in to because no one thinks clearly in a moment of panic and he probably wouldn’t have been calm.
I’m weird to the point that I find myself calm in the times where panic should be the first emotion. lol And I know this because of some situations Ive been in. Then I’ll panic when I don’t need to. haha But none the less, I find myself very calm when situations like this arise. And it’s chaos if you do panic and will never help the situation out. Not that I blame him for panicking either. lol
In that moment, I am not thinking about capturing a picture. And no way can I pull out my cell phone in time. I couldn’t watch someone die without helping them.