It has taken me a little while to think about this. One month ago, Sunday25th April was Anzac Day. So at 5am my family and I attended the dawn rememberance parade. Certainly a time for reflection. Army, Navy and Air cadets were on duty as cenotaph guard, standing absolutely still to attention in front of thousands of people there to pay their respects. It was during the quiet reflective moments between speeches that I realised what it was that was bothering me. Camera flashes. I considered it for a moment and decided that you could probably capture quite an emotional image; the young cadet in front of the cenotaph head bowed in respect. So when was it a shot too far I hear you cry? These were the ones taken by people during the “Last Post”. This is probably the time when emotions are at their highest. I believe there is a right and wrong time to capture a moment. Here is a moment I captured at the Boxing Day Cemetery Circuit races in 2008.
Bryce Meads Cemetery Circuit 08
The unlucky rider is Bryce Meads. On the overbridge corner he hit the hay bales and was catapulted from his bike, hitting the fence on the otherside of the barrier. Racing was delayed for quite some time while Paramedics attended to him. It was during this period that a fellow photographer kept snapping, getting between the ambulance crew to ‘get that shot’. All I could think was ‘what shot?’ The intrusion on the rider’s situation was inexcusable. Am I the only one with this thought?
