Speeding Will Kill You
by sahko

Comment by Focused:
Um, don't know the rules about jumping into a comment section about one of the winning shots, but I wanted to ask Nawets about his monitor calibration. I'm looking at this with an Apple 30" HD Cinema Display that is well-calibrated and the photo is not at all dark. Is your contrast adjusted correctly?

Also, just wanted to add that I think the toe tag is necessary in the shot if you want to give context for a MVA due to speed. The tag gives a very impersonal, almost "statistical" quality to this photo that gives it impact in my view. As a former healthcare person who has seen thousands of dead human remains (yes, thousands), this struck me because after a while, you start to just categorize them in certain ways -- such as "the MVA, the CVA, the MI, the Suicide, the homicide," etc. . . . In this photo, the photographer chose to illustrate a speed MVA fatality with that one item that grabs people's attention -- a toe tag. In fact, how would one even really know that the person is dead without it? This could be a tall guy waiting for a massage and treatment at the physical therapists office for all we know. . . . They use white sheets. And in this day and age, I haven't seen a dead body in a clinical setting without a toe tag -- too much risk of a mix-up. so yes, the toe tag works in my view. . . .

Speeding Will Kill You
by sahko

Comment by Nawets:
My opinion: Poorly composed, toe tag very unecessary, too dark....sorry, can't all give you kudos all the time!

Speeding Will Kill You
by sahko

Comment by Focused:
LOL! yeah, unless you have access to your local hospital or county morgue it's pretty hard to come up with a dead body in 48 hours. . . . but you could create the liver mortis with make-up, although that gets a bit messy. . . . in any event, good job!

Fragranced
by sahko

Comment by Rasai:
Martin, I missed voting on this GREAT photo during the challenge... my vote would have made it '50' tens. It's inspirational ! I've added it to my favorites.
Tim

Speeding Will Kill You
by sahko

Comment by sahko:
Thank you guys, it's nice to get the blue again :)

Focused:
Yeah, you're right, I know about these flaws. But it was a 48h speed challenge, and as you can imagine, it is pretty hard to find some free corpse available for shooting during the weekend. :) Thank you for your nice feedback.

Refinery Disaster
by sahko

Comment by Focused:
You know, I hang out with the press pack a lot doing photo shoots and it isn't unusual for several photographers to get the same exact shot given that many of us are bracketing and standing in the same place (taking several shots per second). I'd advise caution in calling someone a theif unless you have some stronger proof. The buren of proff is, afterall, on the accuser.

Fabulous image. . . . perfect.

Speeding Will Kill You
by sahko

Comment by Focused:
Nice composition, exposure and the use of a cooler light temperature really makes this shot. I have to say though, as a person who has seen many bodies laying on morgue tables that I knew it was a fake from the minute I looked at it. For this to have been more realistisic, there should be some blue discoloration (liver mortis) around the heels and bottoms of the legs. That's when the blood settles due to gravity. This guy's feet look alive and well. The feet also would not be hanging over the end of the table (its kind of hard to tell what type of table that is, but it doesn't look like a morgue table to me).

But keep in mind that I was a professional health care provider so I am going to look at this photo far differently from the average viewer. Does it evoke strong emotion in me even though I see the technical flaws? You bet. It's good work in my book. I think that it is worthy of a blue ribbon for many reasons and my congratualtions go to the photographer.

Message edited by author 2005-03-08 09:30:54.

Speeding Will Kill You
by sahko

Comment by erel:
Congrats go to Bratislava again!

Clever idea and technically well executed!

Speeding Will Kill You
by sahko

Comment by kiwiness:
Choice! Congrats!

Speeding Will Kill You
by sahko

Comment by cycon:
This is an actual billboard here in New Zealand. Not implying that any less skill went into composing the shot!