Car Accident

A Dekalb County officer directs traffic to stop, while the accident's only victim stands in the background surveying the damage.

An officer allows the driver to retrieve a few personal items from his totaled vehicle before it is towed. (The car door is jammed shut.)

A tow truck flips the car right-side-up. Then the driver watches as police search the vehicle for alcohol.

This is the first accident I have ever shot. I was less than a mile from home when I came upon the scene of a car crash. A man had swerved to avoid an animal and had flipped his car over. There were already three police cars on the scene, but no ambulance because the driver was miraculously unharmed. I parked down the street and made my way back on foot. Surprisingly, but also luckily, the police didn't mind me taking photos at all. They allowed me full access and I just shot away. I was definitely surging with adrenaline. I couldn't have asked for a better "first time in the field." My biggest challenge was that I don't have a flash, but as the saying goes: you make it work with the equipment you have. So I set my ISO to 1600, slowed my shutter speed to a 40th of a second, and shot wide open at 4.0. The slow shutter speed resulted in some fuzzy images, but I also got some good images.

P.S. Thank God for seat belts and air bags. Drive safely.