in journal
A big storm was approaching really quick from the West. They were talking about winds up to 100mph and heavy rain -clearly a time to stay indoors, but nothing to worry about. Then, our phones started to go crazy with a sound I hadn't heard in years, and for very different reasons. Back then, it was an Amber alert. This time, though, it was a tornado warning, the first one I'd ever seen.
As we rushed to gather a few things -cameras included, of course- and went down to the crawl space, I thought about how cool it'd be to make an image of a tornado. Should I shelter or should I just wait at the window, ready to capture whatever might happen in the next few minutes?
After a few seconds of doubt, I decided to join the others. We sheltered for 15 minutes until the alert expired. An EF-1 tornado touched down some 10 miles away. A funnel cloud did a bit of damage in our local area as it took down a few trees on nearby power lines - we lost power for 24 hours and, as of the time of writing this, almost 5 days later, we still haven't gotten Internet back.
I'm glad I decided to shelter and not chase the possible tornado. This is one of those cases where an image is not worth risking your life. Capturing that photo would have made no difference.
I can think of just a handful of situations where it'd be worth it, though - scenarios where I'd put myself at risk to take the photo. After all, images have the potential to change the world, if the moment is powerful enough. From the photos of Tiananmen square to the video of George Floyd's death, visual records can spark a revolution and change -or even save- the lives of many.
When it comes to art, though, it's never worth it. It's not only about you - putting yourself at risk might put someone else in danger as well, like a rescue team trying to get to you. Think twice about the possible consequences of making that image.
I've left plenty of images behind because it felt unsafe. Maybe I had to get too close to a cliff, the terrain wasn't stable, it was too windy, or icy, or just too hard to get to. I regret none of those, because more important than getting that one image is to be able to come back tomorrow and get another one.
Please be safe out there, and happy shooting!
