Some say that as a photographer you get to meet people on the best or worst days of their lives. Just about anyone can handle the best days - everyone's laughing, they don't mind being exposed and they want to tell stories of adventures, accomplishments, and joys.
It's the bad times that are difficult. Those are the days where you are more of a person, than a photographer. You just happen to have a camera, and you just happen to be documenting the situation.
I'm sure there's something to be said about diving in and getting a shot without caring what the situation is about. Get the photo you need and get out. That mentality, however, is not in my nature. And although at times it could work to my disadvantage, it's important to me to establish a rapport and gain trust from people in photographs. I realize everyday that it's part of my job to photograph people and situations - whether I am welcome there or not. More often than not, however, as human beings we care about situations at hand and I'd rather show the natural emotion that's taking place in front of me - than create tension within a group I am photographing.
The last thing I want to do is expose people when they are already grieving, which is why I explain why I am at the situation I am at. I spend time talking with people, asking them questions...but mostly listening. I think sometimes people forget that if you just listen, people will tell their story. A simple head nod, let's them know you are listening - and more times than not, they go into detail of their story. After that, they know why you're there, and you have become a part of the group - but the invisible part. The part that doesn't interfere. The part that is invisible and only documents what is happening.
The following images were taken at two different WalMart vigils. A 23-year-old man by the name of Terence Adams was ran over by a car in the WalMart parking lot on Blairs Ferry Road on the northeast side of Cedar Rapids. He was hospitalized and on life support for a few days. Friends and family members gathered at the place where he had been hit and dragged several feet before the car rested on his neck for nearly 20 minutes.
During the day vigil - his friends prayed, wrote messages, and essentially hoped for a miracle. But it wasn't 24 hours later when the family made the decision to pull him from life support as his brain was non-functioning and his lungs had collapsed. The night vigil took place the following night. He was the father of two young children and his fiance was 14 weeks pregnant at the time of the incident. All he was doing was walking into WalMart to get food for a barbecue.
Photos by Julie Koehn/The Gazette
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