Platform Screen Doors

I mean, it's definitely a photo of the year, maybe even decade, but why the fck was that person taking a picture and not trying to pull the guy to safety?!
 
datadyne007 said:
I mean, it's definitely a photo of the year, maybe even decade, but why the fck was that person taking a picture and not trying to pull the guy to safety?!
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I have to wonder the same thing! I know how fast these things happen and how stunned/shocked people are in this type of situation but, IMO, if the photographer has enough reaction time to take the pic, then he/she certainly had time to rush over and at least attempt to yank the guy out of harms way! However, Data, people have been asking your same question for many years as witnessed by the following article!

http://whereinsoever.wordpress.com/2007/03/07/ethical-photography-the-case-of-kevin-carter/
 
I sure hope that photo was taken by a station camera of some sort, and not by a witness. Why... (how) could you not help, if that was the case?
(Edit: I see this has already been discussed...)

Chilling stuff.

But you present a good argument. Obviously incidents like this will continue happening and more lives will be lost, and platform doors will help with that. But in the end it will come down to if the money is "justified" or not.
 
datadyne007 said:
I mean, it's definitely a photo of the year, maybe even decade, but why the fck was that person taking a picture and not trying to pull the guy to safety?!
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Because trains move fast? Remember, NYC has much longer platforms than we do, so trains enter the station at higher speeds. This isnt exactly a Harvard situation with a training moving at 3mph.

Same reason dude on the track didnt walk away from the train.
 
Whether a human took that photo or not, the Daily News should not have published it, IMO. If I'm that man's family, the newspaper just made a horrible situation that much worse by showing 20 million people my loved one's final panicked moments, rather than allowing us to remember him in a more dignified way. The headline makes it worse - it looks like some demented combination of thriller film poster and internet meme. What a shameful day for the newspaper (and yes, I know it's one of many for the Daily News).

It's not just the photographer, BTW. I realize that the man was pushed in front of the train as it entered the station, so most people had no time to notice or react, but that picture, if it hasn't been doctored, shows an absolutely empty platform. If witnesses heard and saw an altercation and saw the man get pushed onto the tracks, than why is no one even attempting to run toward him? At least, why does it not look like every subway platform I've ever seen when a train is arriving with people crowded at the line? It looks like they all ran away...
 
^agreed

that picture should never have been published as the cover to a newspaper. I am not at all for censorship, but i am all for dignity of individuals in their final moments.
 
The photo is really damn clear and focused. So much so that it is eerie given the situation that had just unfolded. It doesn't look like a CCTV screen grab as it appears to be from a person's perspective, but could be. If a person did take it, then they'd either have to launch their camera app and snap the pic or take out their DSLR, turn it on, and snap the shot. Idk... the shot just doesn't sit right with me. The platform is eerily empty too for an arriving train.

Edit: MSNBC is about to show some of the video of the altercation.

Edit 2: Breaking: Suspect has been arrested in NYC.

Photo was confirmed to be shot by a "professional photographer"

"Photographer did what was natural for him (photograph the scene) instead of running to help the man."
 
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The photographer claims he was running towards the man, and "using his flash" to warn the train.
 
What the hell is wrong with the NY Post? What a horrible headline and picture to show.
 
Maybe just add a small ladder like structure to climb on.
 
My apologies, I didn't notice that the article didn't mention this.

The photo was taken by a NY Post freelance photographer. According to him, when he saw the man thrown into the tracks from the corner of his eye, he was stunned and didn't know what to do except trying to flash the driver of the train with his camera to signal to him to stop.

Whether that is true or if he knew what he was doing and was just saying that, I don't know. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt because if I was in that situation the only thing I can do is wave to the driver as hard as possible and then turn to look away.
 
jass said:
Because trains move fast? Remember, NYC has much longer platforms than we do, so trains enter the station at higher speeds. This isnt exactly a Harvard situation with a training moving at 3mph.

Same reason dude on the track didnt walk away from the train.
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Not entirely sure, but I read somewhere that the Q line does NOT stop at this station, meaning it may be coming in at full speed.
 
Downburst said:
I sure hope that photo was taken by a station camera of some sort, and not by a witness. Why... (how) could you not help, if that was the case?
(Edit: I see this has already been discussed...)

Chilling stuff.

But you present a good argument. Obviously incidents like this will continue happening and more lives will be lost, and platform doors will help with that. But in the end it will come down to if the money is "justified" or not.
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True, but it normally takes shocking "photograph of the decade" to make changes. Who knows? If this does change things, this photographer should be praised.
 
KentXie said:
True, but it normally takes shocking "photograph of the decade" to make changes. Who knows? If this does change things, this photographer should be praised.
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Praised??? Tell that family and friends of the guy who was doing his best to pull himself out of the pit! In the time it took for the photographer to make the conscientious decision to pull out his camera/phone (whatever he had on him at the time) and start snapping photos (he probably had to set the setting of the camera on flash mode), he could possibly have made it to that guy and at least TRIED to yank him up!! I mean, come on! If he saw a child sitting in the middle of the road and a truck is barreling down, you really believe someone's gonna pull out his camera and start snapping pics with the sole purpose of flashing warning lights to the driver??? I totally get people being startled/shocked/stunned/paralyzed in this sort of situation but to react as the photographer, I totally don't get it! I'll always believe that the photographer used the seconds he had to snap a pic instead of using the seconds to help a fellow human being!
 
atlantaden said:
Praised??? Tell that family and friends of the guy who was doing his best to pull himself out of the pit! In the time it took for the photographer to make the conscientious decision to pull out his camera/phone (whatever he had on him at the time) and start snapping photos (he probably had to set the setting of the camera on flash mode), he could possibly have made it to that guy and at least TRIED to yank him up!! I mean, come on! If he saw a child sitting in the middle of the road and a truck is barreling down, you really believe someone's gonna pull out his camera and start snapping pics with the sole purpose of flashing warning lights to the driver??? I totally get people being startled/shocked/stunned/paralyzed in this sort of situation but to react as the photographer, I totally don't get it! I'll always believe that the photographer used the seconds he had to snap a pic instead of using the seconds to help a fellow human being!
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I can't read the thoughts going through his mind, but if the Q line train was barreling down at full speed and at the same time, you KNOW that you wouldn't be strong enough to lift him up, chances are, the first thing on your mind would probably be, would I get killed trying to lift him up as the train is traveling around 30 mph. This guy ended up being dragged 10-15 ft and let me tell you now, I would not want to be the guy holding this guy's arms as he is nearly severed in half and jammed between the train and platform.

I definitely criticize him for publishing it, but if this photo one day convinces rail systems to place screens on platform that would save numerous lives, then there is some justification for it.

Edit: Just read on Huffington Post that Han was in the tracks for nearly 90 seconds. I retract what I said and say all the bystanders completely fucked up. On the MBTA, you saw passengers respond nearly instantly when someone falls into the track. On the MTA, people stood there like sheep.

Absolutely disgusting. This is no different than when that child got run over in China multiple times and nobody did anything. What is this world coming to.
 
The Post should be ripped a new one for that headline. It makes the dirtiest tabloids look like the NY Times. This photograph should have been treated with the same respect as anything a photojournalist takes in a war zone or similar.

That being said I can somewhat understand the photographers story. I think the "flashing the operator to help" part is probably bogus to just save face (and may actually have made things worse). But at the same time, most photographers I know have their DSLR strung around their neck practically 24/7, and its usually powered up. A good photo can present itself for only a fraction of a second, and they are usually ready for it. Even riding the T, you see photographers playing with their cameras all the time, messing with white balance, shooting out the window, sneaking a shot of a couple nuzzling in the back of the train, deleting shots. Its very very likely his camera was on and in his hands in the station, what else is he gonna do waiting for a train?

Also, cameras have this amazing thing called zoom. He could have been a few hundred feet away shooting this.

Shame on the Post though, what a pathetic excuse for a rag.
 
The debate over running the photo aside...

...is there some way to create an emergency alert system to stop trains in an instance like this? Perhaps some sort of "Pit alarm" - with red buttons placed periodically inside the pit, either along the platform wall or on the track bed. Such a button could stop trains in the prior two signal blocks and alert dispatch of a passenger in distress. Installing such a device on the actual platform would probably be a non-starter due to vandalism/pranks.

But in the instance somebody found themselves or a loved one in the pit, it would at least be a reasonable option and would probably be better than waving ones hands and trying to frantically climb out.
 
Kahta said:
Maybe just add a small ladder like structure to climb on.
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I think this is actually a great idea and not just because of this incident. Here in Boston we've seen countless minutes of CCTV footage of people walking clear off of the Red Line platforms. A pit ladder or two would be very helpful, very inexpensive and wouldn't require someone on the platform to be physically able to lift the person out.
 
Isn't there an overhang on each platform with enough room for for a reasonably sized person to lay under, out of the way of the train?

Granted in a panic mode, it might be too much to ask for someone to figure that out.
 
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