The shot that almost killed me

I was reading EricKim's street photography blog the other day and came across this article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jun/18/war-photographers-special-report

It's called "The Shot that Almost Killed Me" and it is a compilation of stories from war photographers recounting their near death experiences in the field, accompanied with the photos that they risked their lives to take. It is very moving and full of inspirational words on photography, passion, and life.

In honour of this post, I dug this photo out of my archives. I was traveling in New Zealand and was told that there was a tunnel through the mountain up head. I pulled my head inside of the speeding van a split second after this shot as taken and heard thunder of wind in the open window change tone. The wall of tunnel was inches from the side of the van. I had forgotten which side of the road we were driving on in that country, and a moments delay would have cost me my life. For a long time I was too afraid to look at this photo, and it still gives me the creeps if I think about it too much. I know it's nothing as noble in sentiment as the drive to capture the emotion of war, but I understand the feelings they express when they say they were driven to capture the image, without a second thought to their safety, without putting themselves ahead of the shot.

Please read the article and think about it next time you are fed up with the petty annoyances of your job, or hampered by minor hurdles in your photography.