Illustrative - April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

Drivers in their 20s are 23 percent of drivers in all fatal crashes, but are 27 percent of the distracted drivers and 38 percent of the dis­tracted drivers who were using cell phones in fatal crashes. (NHTSA) 

     Did you know that 26 percent of all crashes involve cell phone use? It is said the best way to end distracted driving is to educate our friends and neighbors about the dangers it poses and I decided my post should address something I really care about. It is one of my biggest pet peeves and it is not uncommon for me to be screaming down the boulevard at the dozens of people texting down the road every day. I have written letters to the editor and even to Mayor Pike addressing the issue, but so far the publicity campaign in our city is still severely limited.
    I went through several ideas dealing with prescription drug abuse and the homeless struggles in our city before I settled on texting and driving. I am sure creating editorial photos isn't always exciting, but I had a fantastic time figuring out what to do because I was so passionate about the idea. Any one who has traveled in a car with me has probably been annoyed at my preaching and even yelling at them to lose their electronic devices. Even a simple text can change a lifetime. JUST DON'T.
   At first it felt unnatural for me to begin planning a photograph. I have always been of the mind that photography happens naturally and being able to capture the moment is where meaning is derived from. That is another reason I have been resistant to engage in digital editing because I thought what the camera snaps is what you get...win or lose. However, once I began mapping it out, I discovered how much fun it is to be creative about something you care about greatly. Considering the contexts suddenly became easy and help me develop my shot.
     While considering the physical, I wanted it to relate to the university and the students I hope to save from accidents. I had to find a location that would be easily identifiable to the community and also be functional within the shot. I settled on university avenue and wanted to include the street, camera and sign in my frame and the only way to achieve this was a slightly dangerous position just inside the road with traffic whizzing by my feet. I thought about different ways of changing the perspective and settled on a short focal length, but getting the perfect angle to contain every element was challenging. Psychologically, I wanted to create a sense of dread with the broken glass and drops of blood exploding from the street towards the sign. This took a little self-sacrifice and smidge of temporary pain was totally worth it. I wanted to highlight the temporal context by shooting during the day because it relates to the student actions and areas around campus can be extremely dangerous during school hours. Socially, I think we can all relate to that areas of education should be safe zones and anything that jeopardizes that status quo should be alarming. We live in a new electronic culture where everyone can relate to the correlation between cell phones and the use of them on the roadway. It was my hope that the different symbols in this shot would hook the audience into wondering what story I was attempting to tell and it may have worked to well. I shared it with some from friends on April Fool's day and the common response was "WTH?" but at least I know they care!