photo:safety
safety for photographers, their gear and their models
Introduction
photographers often place themselves and their subjects in hazardous situations without adequate safety risk assessment and management which would probably have them fired from a usual workplace for disobeying standard OH&S policies and procedures
each week we hear of bloggers dying or being seriously injured in recklessly attempting to gain those extra thousands of Instagram followers and keep their blogs “exciting”, but there are also more insiduous health risks of which many are not aware.
even apparently minor abrasions or wounds to the legs in rivers and oceans can result in nasty bacterial infections which require special antibiotics to treat.
do you have insurance for yourself (eg. travel insurance), and will this cover you for your “high risk” activities
do you have public liability insurance?
the international traveling model or photographer
international travel increases risk due to unfamiliar situations and cultural expectations and behaviours compounded often by lack of sleep and exhaustion
international travel represents particular problems in that the traveler is unlikely to be able to receive free or discounted health care, and it may be that travel insurance may not cover particular circumstances such as high risk activities or perhaps even work-related injuries, potentially leaving the injured substantially out of pocket unless they have their own insurance to cover this scenario - which unfortunately many don't.
this also makes potential legal cases far more expensive as they tend to be long drawn out affairs requiring travel back to that country.
PREVENTION is FAR BETTER than CURE when it comes to TRAUMA
trauma is not a word to be taken lightly, even simple trauma events can result in life-changing long term disabilities - even just a foot or ankle fracture, let alone a serious head injury from a 2m fall onto boulders or being involved in a motor vehicle accident, falling off a cliff or having serious wounds from an animal or human attack.
legal liability for injury on model or client shoots
Animal attacks
most animals will not attack humans unless they, or perhaps more importantly, their offspring, are being threatened or hurt eg. bears
some animals will prey on humans in an opportunistic manner - eg. crocodiles, lions, sharks, etc.
the large animal which causes the most deaths to humans is surprisingly, the hippopotamus
but there are also small animals, often venomous ones which pose great dangers for the unwary or unprepared such as:
venomous snake bites
venomous sea creatures - jellyfish, stone fish, cone shells, etc
venomous spiders such as the Sydney Funnel web
insects - mosquitoes,, ants, bees, ticks, etc which may cause life threatening allergic reactions, or transmit diseases such as malaria or dengue fever, and the many encephalitis viruses
Enviromental contagions and allergens
shooting in dilapidated buildings is a great opportunity for many photographers but doing so comes are considerable risks if one is unprepared:
falls from broken supports, stairways and flooring, and hidden dangers such as wells full of water
soft tissue injuries from the many sharp objects - and risk of infection and tetanus
industrial sites are often contaminated with various poisons
inhalational risks:
self-created inhalational risk shooting models with throwing flour, etc into the air
exposure to toxins in lakes
Electrical and thermal injuries
this is most likely in the studio when using AC voltage lights, heaters, etc
great care must be undertaken if use of fire will be incorporated in a shoot
things can rapidly go disastrously wrong, especially when in a hurry
in many regions, a special training and licence is required for use of fire (eg. as in fire-twirling)
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Falls and drownings
subjects just love to pose on top of boulders, cliff edges, at the top or bottom of waterfalls, and on ocean rock platforms which have the added risk of the occasional massive rogue wave sweeping them into the ocean
most rocks when wet are extremely slippery - ankle injuries, head injuries, broken arms and even falling into the current and drowning or being taken over a waterfall are significant risks
in 2014, a female UK backpacker fell to her death in Kings Canyon, NT trying to get a selfie
2)
in 2014, a French student plunged 40m to his death at Wedding Cake Rock in NSW’s Royal National Park
in 2016, at least 70 people were injured when a freak wave hit the Figure 8 Pools in NSW
in 2017, the body of a Sydney teenager was found at the base of Wedding Cake Rock after she had gone missing during a bushwalk.
in mid 2018, a female blogger fell into a river at the top of a waterfall, her two male bloggers dived in to save her but all three perished over the waterfall
in 2018, a 20-year-old man died while trying to take a photograph at a notorious sea cliff known as The Gap near Albany in Western Australia
in 2020, a young British tourist died after she fell from a cliff at Sydney’s Diamond Bay Reserve, only 5 months after a local lady also fell and died
3)
in Dec 2020, a 38yr old lady fell to her death from Boroka lookout in the Grampians whilst taking a selfie
4)
in Jan 2022, 21 yr old hiker dies falling 700feet taking a selfie
5)
rocks are very unforgiving objects when it comes to crashing your skull against them
when shooting at sunset, remember to bring a good head torch for the walk back to the car in the dark!
Poisoning or suffocation
3 killed at Instagram influencer's party by suffocation with carbon dioxide when 25kg of
dry ice was dumped into a swimming pool for fog effect
6)
Road trauma
photographers often push boundaries, drive in unfamiliar areas, often at high risk times for animal impacts (at sunrise, sunset, at night), and often get distracted by navigational issues or potential photographic opportunities they note as they are driving past.
make sure the driver is not the one being distracted and slow down in high risk times
if stopping the car for a photo:
NB. rental car hire insurance does NOT usually cover you for driving at night outside urban areas, nor for reckless driving
in 2019, a 36 yr old well known storm chase photographer hit a deer on a highway leaving his car immobilised on the highway so he sought safety by going into the roadside ditch to await help, unfortunately a car swirved to miss his car, ended up in the ditch and killed him.
in Australia, kangaroos account for 90% of car impacts with animals, swirving to avoid the animal can result in a more serious accident by hitting a tree or on-coming car at speed or having the car roll over.
Human attacks
bad people
an extreme minority of people purposely attack photographers to gain their equipment even in Western countries - this may be at gun point
photographers have been murdered at some popular tourist sites at sunrise when there are few others around - eg. in the USA
impoverished countries
angry people
opportunistic predators
if you are careless with your expensive camera gear, don't be surprised if someone tries to steal it - and if caught in the action, there may be a violent altercation in which you may come off second best!
high risk environments
getting lost or incapacitated in the wilderness
many areas are without mobile phone access, and it is incredibly easy to get lost (your smartphone battery runs out and you didn't bring a map and compass) or incapacitated (eg. by a fractured ankle, allergic reaction, heart attack, snake bite, or a vehicle breakdown)
getting stranded in a hot environment runs a massive risk of dehydration and heat illness
getting stranded in a cold environment runs a risk of hypothermia
be prepared
protecting your gear
consider insurance for your gear
consider taking the minimal gear you need
consider avoiding highly priced gear if you don't really need it
consider purchasing highly weathersealed gear where possible for outdoor use
theft
damage
sensor dust
avoid changing lenses where possible, especially in dusty environments
check for dust regularly by shooting at the sky at f/16 to show up the dust
if dust is present, carefully clean the sensor as per usual sensor cleaning techniques
photo/safety.txt · Last modified: 2022/04/26 07:50 by gary1