I was left with a bloody stump for an arm after Sunday’s street luge assignment. “Look out” were the last words I heard before bales of hay were airborne and my arm was wedged between the pavement and one of these modified skateboard contraptions.
OK, so maybe the “bloody stump” is a huge exaggeration. Nonetheless, while lying on my stomach to make photos of kids speeding down 96th Avenue through an obstacle course, I was suddenly struck by an out of control youngster participating in the USA Luge Slider Search tour put on by members of the USA Luge National Team.
After the impact, I stood with a gash in my wrist and bloody elbows and knees. I fumed. I was about to yell at the kid who ran me over but, after inhaling deeply, I realized no one was to blame for our painful introduction. I was positioned off the course and in what I thought at the time was a safe area, and the young man was certainly not intentionally trying to grind my hand away from my arm. It was a simple accident.
As photographers, we understand that there are some risks associated with our profession. It is our job to get the best photo possible and sometimes that means we get hit, bitten and bruised (if not worse) in the process. It’s not the first time I’ve come back to the newsroom a little bloody, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.
–Kris Holland
