Practice safe portraiture

Practice safe portraiture

A photographer running away from a train heading toward them at sunset.

Practice safe portraiture


Hearing about the death of someone while taking photos is always heartbreaking for me. Recently, A Singaporean tourist, Nur Aisyah Binte MD Akbar (39), tragically died after falling off a cliff while taking a photo with her husband. The tragedy occurred at Minnewaska State Park near Rochester, New York, on December 22, 2023. The couple had been hiking the popular Beacon Hill trail and stopped to take a photo when Akbar lost her footing and fell 70 feet, eventually succumbing to her injuries. 

State police reported that the woman fell while posing for a photo at the edge of a cliff. Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I am extremely vocal about safety when taking photos, and not putting yourself or others in risk to get that perfect shot. I personally adopted this mentality almost twenty years ago when I was shooting at the Grand Canyon and witnessed a family of four that had scrambled over the railing and were taking photos of family members jumping into the air on one of the cliff edges. 

Since that time, there have been countless reports of deaths due to lack of safety, many stemming from photographers offering portrait sessions on active train tracks.  Geetting that perfect shot is not worth putting yourself in danger over.  

Stay safe out there.

 

If you would like to read more about this tragic storyfollow the link below. 

https://www.diyphotography.net/singaporean-tourist-dies-after-falling-from-cliff-edge-while-taking-photos/?feed_id=9741&_unique_id=659436cd986ab&fbclid=IwAR1cAPtVlfKnoj4fxZmamhk4DrGRQjAddsil8rVb_QUje_KCzQ89p-pYdmU

 

If you would like more information about safety near railroad tracks check out Operation Lifesaver

https://oli.org/

 

 

“Ted’s journey into the landscape of the human body is a marvelous celebration of all that is physical, sensual and diverse
” – FSTOPPERS

About the author

Ted Tahquechi is a Denver Colorado based professional landscape and travel photographer, disability travel influencer and is almost completely blind. You can see more of Ted’s photography at:  http://www.tahquechi.com/ 

Ted operates Blind Travels, a travel blog designed specifically to empower blind and visually impaired travelers. https://www.blindtravels.com/

Ted’s body-positive Landscapes of the Body project has been shown all over the world, learn more about this intriguing collection of photographic work at: https://www.bodyscapes.photography/

Questions or comments? Feel free to email Ted at: nedskee@tahquechi.com