Behind the Image - The Pakistan Earthquake

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I have chosen the photograph above as the first installment of my new Behind the Image series. The concept behind this new segment is to give background details to some of my more well-known images and some personal favorites. Sometimes the stories behind the images are more moving than the image itself, other times I may talk more about technical aspects of the image or what it was like to be in the situation in which it was captured.

This photo was taken in a hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan in 2005 in the wake of the Great Pakistan earthquake, which struck on October 8, 2005 and killed nearly 80,000 people, injured 100,000 more and left more than 3 million people homeless. It was the first week of this project and I had been documenting life in the refugee camps and hospitals while planning my route into Kashmir, the region hardest hit by the earthquake.

I will never forget my first few minutes in this particular hospital, as I was invited into the emergency room that was taking care of several severely wounded individuals. The tile floor of the ER was slick with so much blood in certain parts of the room that I actually felt my feet getting soaked through my boots.

 
Earthquakes are difficult disasters because of the large number of people who survive with massive injuries. Houses collapse on people, causing bricks, rocks and other items to fall, buckling walls and rupturing propane heating tanks,which spill boiling water on children or blow up and catch people on fire. An earthquake of this magnitude would have caused severe damage in a developed country with sound building codes and adequate medical care; here, there was not much people could have done to escape and those who did found an already stressed hospital system completely overwhelmed.

As I was walking through the hallways of the hospital, taking photos of the patients who were overflowing out of their rooms and into the cramped passage ways, I was approached by a man in his 40s who put his hand on my shoulder, gestured to my camera and gently waved for me to follow him. Most of my communication overseas is non-verbal and I usually am able to understand people's intentions, so it was obvious to me there was something he wanted me to see and photograph.

He brought me into a small room packed with people, all of whom were visibly distraught. A woman was crying, sitting on a bed holding a lifeless body. A doctor came in and explained to me that the young woman's husband had just succumbed to injuries he sustained in the earthquake. He then told me that the family would allow me to stay and take photos.

I snapped images as the woman cried and sang a mournful hymn over and over. Two female family members comforted her from either side, holding her shoulders and doing their best to console her. It was a surreal moment for me and I felt the emotion of the moment deeply.

This was one of the few times I cried while working. It was an intense and emotional atmosphere, but I was most touched by the fact that the family had brought me in and allowed me to document what was likely one of the worst moments in their lives. The fact that they trusted me with their story fundamentally changed my approach to my work and produced an image that will always be dear to my heart.

TECHNICAL: This image was difficult to capture because of the lighting situation in the hospital, as it turns off its lights during the day and relies on natural light coming in from the windows to illuminate the rooms.  It can be stunning for photography if you can manage to use the available light, but it is often tough to work with. This image was shot at 1/30th of a second at f/2.8. The ISO was 400 and it is shot at 35 mm. I have a lot of frames from this series but this one caught the drama in a way the others did not. I also lost a good number of images because of the low shutter speed and the movement of the subjects.

Post Script: The important events and issues I cover aren't always the subjects that sell to corporate media. These human stories need your support and funding to be told. The cost to produce this work is substantial and I can not continue to do this without your support. Please consider a subscription of $25 per month to help insure I can continue my work:

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-- Thank you -- Zoriah

Comments

[Brian Auer]

This is a really amazing story, Zoriah. The image by itself is powerful, but in conjunction with your personal account it becomes complete.

I just finished reading "Reza War and Peace" and this type of photo/story combo reminds me very much of the work in that book.

[Mamen Portillo]

It remembers me the great masters of dark and light paintings (claroscuro in spanish). It's really powerfull. You said you lost many shots because of the low shutter speed, and you shot this one at ISO 400; couldn't you use a higher ISO to get faster shutter speed ?. Which focal lenght, or which lens did you use ???. What about the metering mode ???
I posted this in Facebook. I wanted to show it everyone there.
Best regards Zoriah :D
Mamen

[Osborn]

I love these pictures because they are so raw and something real!