Pop Quiz: A train is about to hit someone and you have your camera. What do you do?

[Sirius Glass]

The photographer is the OP's post said that he was too far away, many other people were close enough to help, but did not. He thought the firing the camera would alert the train engineer that there was a problem. I see that this incident is plagued with inaccurate reporting by multiple news groups.

[mark]

I am not sure I buy the zoom lens scenario. The image does not seem to be compressed the way zooms do it. He may have been too far away, I was not there, I can't say. What I can say is that the paper published this photo to get people to buy the paper. Death sells, unfortunately.

NY Post: Anguished fotog: Critics are unfair to condemn me


Anybody around here ever hear of a zoom lens?? It's not like this happened directly in front of Mr. Abbasi. He didn't back up to get a better shot and recompose. When it happened, Abbasi was at the other end of the platform, and began running towards the man on the tracks.

When you're too far to help, that's just the way it is. Instead of berating Abbasi, berate the onlookers who were closer, and just stood by.

[Bob-D659]

Well the only people who do know what happened, were there, and also the ones who have seen the sequence of photos that were taken. Everyone else is speculating. The paper sells papers, if they had a good bloody shot of the aftermath, that would have been in or on the paper as well. Well maybe in europe, it might have been too gory for the "politically correct" in north america.

[Sirius Glass]

It is easy to critize someone while sitting on an easy chair or sofa at home and reading about it the next day.

[Darkroom317]

If there was nothing I could do, then yes I would take the photo. More importantly I would publish the photo. The conversation of safety is being brought up again in part because of the photo.

The photo in this book springs to mind

http://bhs.cc/journalism/pdf/Chapter10Ethics.pdf

After it was published there were fewer incidents

Also, before criticizing the man, keep in mind the bystander effect. In most situations people don't do anything because they believe someone else will.

[batwister]

There's no proof without video... The photograph is a flawed means of documentation. Discuss.

[BrianShaw]

Well, OK, perhaps to a certain degree, but especially if the still camera does not have a motordrive in use at the time.

There's no proof without video... The photograph is a flawed means of documentation. Discuss.

[Dave in Kansas]

There was a short interview with the photographer this morning on the national news. He indicated that he was not strong enough to pull the man back up onto the platform. Perhaps, but you would think most people would try.

However, events like this may unfold very quickly, and for many people there is a lag time for the brain to process the information before any action can be taken. It is much easier to analyze an event afterwards that you did not witness first hand and say "I would have done such and such."

Dave

[Benoît99]

The man would still be alive if the architects and engineers who built the N.Y. Subway had done it right. In the Stockholm, Sweden subway, there is a one-meter space next to the track that extends under the platform, providing refuge for anyone who falls off the platform onto the tracks.

Frankly, it's surprising the New York subway has not already been successfully sued for such an obvious and deadly design flaw.

[tkamiya]

it might have been too gory for the "politically correct" in north america.

I wouldn't term that as an issue of political correctness. That's just wrong, I think.