I was watching the swimming last night, and my partner was horrified when a camera operator dangled his camera over a swimming pool to get a shot of an athlete. But maybe, in videography/cinematography generally, it's good to be prepared to go the extra inconvenient mile to get a shot, to improve an image, or to differentiate your material from the next guy's. Even when you're not in the middle of warzone.
Reminded me of other things I've seen... A Discovery camera operator hanging off the end of a train, dangling his camera to point at the wheels and get an interesting shot/angle. A National Geographic photographer in the middle of the jungle, absolutely covered with bugs and flies, shooting some monkeys. Laszlo Kovacs hanging out of a helicopter -- unsafely, says Vilmos Zsigmund -- to get the final shot in Easy Rider.
Anyway, what's the stupidest/most risky thing you've done to get a shot? Risk to camera or yourself.
My own stock of stories is meagre. About the extent of it is: dangling cameras off boats; lying on the front hood of a moving car; sneaking on stage during a concert; and generally getting told off by police/security guards/customs officials.
Reminded me of other things I've seen... A Discovery camera operator hanging off the end of a train, dangling his camera to point at the wheels and get an interesting shot/angle. A National Geographic photographer in the middle of the jungle, absolutely covered with bugs and flies, shooting some monkeys. Laszlo Kovacs hanging out of a helicopter -- unsafely, says Vilmos Zsigmund -- to get the final shot in Easy Rider.
Anyway, what's the stupidest/most risky thing you've done to get a shot? Risk to camera or yourself.
My own stock of stories is meagre. About the extent of it is: dangling cameras off boats; lying on the front hood of a moving car; sneaking on stage during a concert; and generally getting told off by police/security guards/customs officials.
