Covering an accident after being in an accident.

Top shots is with the flash; Bottom is slow shutter speed.

Well, I was headed home from work the other night, and traffic slowed to a stop on the major highway. I stopped and was waiting for traffic to start again when I heard a screech of someone's brakes. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw headlights sliding towards me. He stopped just in time, whew. Then I hear a second screech. Another car smashed into the one behind me, sending him into mine. Great.

We all got out and checked to see if every one is OK. We were. So then the police came and they had us move to the side of the road. He got our info, and we all waited in our cars. All of a sudden, the double blammo of cars smashing into one another as I look to the roadway. The traffic had slowed again and a big yellow work truck was hit by a red Chevy four door. Then a Ford crashed into the back of that one.

The cop got out of his car and proceeded to try and rescue the guy in the red car, who was trapped and unconscious. He broke out his window and checked on him, then waited for the fire department. This whole time I am wondering if I should shoot some pictures. I was still a bit shaken from my accident and did not want to piss off the cop who was filling out my paperwork.

I decided to shoot a few and try and keep it on the down low. I fired off a few flashes, but every time I have done this in the past, I would draw attention to myself. I shut off the flash and switched switched to a really slow shutter speed. It was 1/8th of a second at 800 ISO, wide open at 2.8. To pull this off I was resting the camera either on the bed rail of my truck or my open window frame.

I was also limited in where I could move. I basically had to stay near my vehicle. The restrictions on movement and the camera settings limited my coverage, but I did get something for the paper.

What would you have done? Would you risk making the cops angry and possibility of arrest? It is a tough call. If I was not in an accident myself and just shooting for the paper I may have been more bold.