Firemen

[jbtaylor]

Had not posted in a while. I came across these guys mopping up after a small air conditioner fire on the roof of a local business on my way home from work.
Nothing special but what the heck.

[aster]

Good-quality photojornulism photography, Jbtaylor.

Good light and vivid colours and good angle in the third shot...and just by looking at the fire equipment one feels safer. Looks like all is taken seriously and well under control!

Thanks for sharing local news,

Yildiz

[jbtaylor]

Thanks aster.
I keep the camera in the car at all times now. It sits under a towel so as to regulate temperature and of course to keep it out of site. I had the Zeiss 85mm 1.4 on it at the time. This is not the ideal choice for this kind of work but the challenge to compose images is great training.
BTW, no comment on the "big hose" image?

A few more for you.

[Juanito200]

Great pictures. Perfect reason to keep the camera with you always.. The hose is my favorite, but the firefighter working the controls on the ladder is a close second.. I wonder how the boots photo would look in B/W.?.? Nice work, John

[Dusty]

I like the boots.

Dusty

[bossel]

Hi jb, the hose is a good compositional idea. But you should slap a zoom on the camera if you just take 1 lens, like the 18-250. If you don't need the quality of the 85mm it would be more useful for an 'allthetimeinthecarcameraset'

[jbtaylor]

You are right bossel, I do need a better walk around lens. Sony should make one. The often times rumored 24-105mm f.4 would be perfect. I don't want to afford the Zeiss 24-70mm 2.8. That leaves little choice.
However, I am sitting on a Leica 50mm 1.8 Summilux manual focus that I am thinking of converting to the Alpha mount. It's still a prime but a bit wider.
Thanks to all for your interest.

[aster]

Thanks Jbtaylor.

They indeed have sparkling equipment, something most essential for emergency situations...and you are well-prepared for these emergencies as well! Just as any good reporter always is while shooting live-on-scene!

I like all of the photos in the second post:
The rusty, worn saw is a good implication that things can get really serious sometimes and it's not always this clean and sparkly.
The clean boots by the seat that has a 'Firefighter' tag on it is rather dramatic.
And I like the way they so randomly carry equipment on the crane...

I'm glad they did not object to being photographed or called out 'Sir, you're under way, please clear the space, you may be in danger!'...

Yildiz

[jbtaylor]

Interesting story aster, nobody gave me grief. In fact, one fireman approached me and asked if I was press. Funny thing is, if you look like you belong, they think you do.
Anyway, once told that I keep a website, the fireman asked me to send him the link to my gallery so he could share the images wihth his son. I received an e-mail thank you stating that he and his son really enjoyed the images. That made the whole experience memorable.
This is the guy. The image is also a great example of a shot that was missed. The text on the bottom of the steps reads "Smoke Alarms Save Lives" and would have made the image complete. Maybe it's an endorsement of a 100% viewfinder. However, I think it is more indicative of the need to see all things in the frame while in the heat of battle.

[jbtaylor]

As requested, the boots shot is provided in black and white. Thanks for asking Juanito 200. My PP skills are weak at best.

[aster]

That's great Jbtaylor.

It's a nice feeling that what you have done matters very much to some and is genuinely appreciated. The son must be proud of his fahter. And now they'll always visit your website to check back for anything new too.

The boots photo looks fine in B&W as well but I personally will still admire the one in colour because the 'Firefighter' text tag on the seat is no longer readable or visible as clearly in the B&W image which actually makes the story of the photo intact to my eyes.

Thanks for these lovely images and the trouble Jbtaylor...well worth it.

Yildiz

[Juanito200]

Yeah I have to agree that the color version is better... Don't worry about your PP skills- You should see how long it takes me to crank out images!! John

[Dr. Harout]

JB, the shots are not showing (reported as missing files).