The scene down there was frightening, clouds of smoke, bloody “mock victims” moaning and screaming “help me!”, splayed across the platform and in between the rows of the train. As the marines walked by they would reach out for them, yelling things like “please don’t leave me!”, “I need to go, my son needs me!” and “I was just getting on the train!”. I couldn’t help but think of my dad who takes Amtrak back and forth from Boston all the time on business. The marines walked through the scene in their heavy suits talking to each victim, rating them in order of priority, stabilizing them and evacuating them on stretchers to the decontamination tent that had been set up outside the station. There they would hose them down, move them to the medical tent and run back down to evacuate more.

The whole thing was like something out of a horror movie. New Yorkers sometimes complain about how security and surveillance we live under. You can hardly go into any office building here without going through security, showing an ID, getting a pass, going through a metal detector, having your bag searched. There are cameras everywhere in the city. There’s police on every corner, in every subway, in every train station. But this was a reminder of the very real threat we live under, and it’s good to see that we’re prepared for this worst case scenario.

Things backstage are always very chaotic, hair and makeup are usually done in small cramped rooms with people running around, working on 2 or 3 models at once. There’s a constant flurry of hairdressers running around applying clouds of hairspray, bobby pinning loose ends, makeup artists with pallets of foundation, blush and eyeshadow. Sometimes the models aren’t even completely ready, dressed and made up, until a just few seconds before they step onto the runway. The hardest part for a photographer can be just trying to stay out of the way!

I’d been wanting to take a class like this for a few years, and especially after watching Libya, where the dangers of freelancers running into situations of unrest completely unprepared became evident, but the cost of the course was just unaffordable. A basic medical class seemed like a good idea, but it didn’t cover all the other things that are just as important in those situations. Pioneer offered the course at a huge discounted rate for freelancers, and when I heard about the class I jumped on it.

For four days we learned about everything you might need to know going into a war zone, protest, riot or any situation of unrest including planning for your trip, knowing the current political and economic situation and history, how to pick the safest hotel and hotel room, how to avoid IED’s, transportation safety, how different weapons work, kidnap prevention and survival, as well as a whole bunch of medical information.

The last two days it was time to put all the information to work. The two instructors, Tim Crockett and Chuck Chiodini, and a handful of volunteer actors staged a scenario in the woods, complete with the sounds of guns and bombs, where we had to use all the training and medical information to get our team in and out, as well as carry a victim from the scene, which was not as easy as you would think.

I highly recommend this course to anyone who has or plans to cover a situation of war, unrest, protest or really anything. Theres lots of information I learned last week that could have helped me in my past trips to South Asia, where I was no where close to a Hostile Environment.

Pioneer Consulting is offering more courses in September and October. http://www.pioneerconsultinggroup.com/consulting/

Please contact Tim Crockett <tcrockett@pioneerconsultinggroup.com> for more information on the course.

Spain’s soccer fans celebrate their country’s victory over Italy in the Euro 2012 final soccer match on July 1, 2012 in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain.

I was there on vacation and had vowed to try to put the cameras down as much as possible for the week, but when I saw the entire town rushing into the square I had to run back to the room and grab my gear. It was really an amazing time.

The Boatel is an eccentric floating hotel run by artists in New York City’s Far Rockaway neighborhood. Built out of 16 abandoned or discarded boats at Marina 59, near Kennedy airport, the lovingly restored accommodations are decorated with colorful paints and decorations. A psychedelic-themed cabin is complete with tie-dye and a beaded chandelier, while another with a science theme has fossils, a magnifying glass and binoculars.

A one night stay costs between $55 to $100 for a boat, all of which can comfortably accommodate at least two people, and in some cases more. The proceeds go toward taxes, upkeep, and future art residency programs that will allow more boats to be restored….

Read the rest at the Reuters photo blog here

Last week my editor forwarded me an email containing a cute blue invitation to a bridal shower and asked if I was interested in covering it. I immediately wrote back “YES!” because this wasn’t just any wedding shower, it was for Lucky Diamond, a Maltese dog.

I arrived at the Muse Hotel in Midtown for the big event. One table was set with bright blue cupcakes, teacups and finger sandwiches. There was another table set with 10 different kinds of teas for dogs, mini milk bones, and doggie cupcakes. Absorbent pads were placed around the room for the special guests to do their business. As waiters were serving champagne, the bride-to-be, decked out in a pink tulle dress and bonnet made of pink lace, pranced around the room with her canine guests……

Read the rest at the Reuters photo blog here

A few weeks ago, while I was at the Empire Hotel having a drink with friends, a latecomer arrived and laughingly said that on his way, he had passed by a goat hanging out at Lincoln Center. We were incredulous until he showed us a photo he had snapped on his phone and sure enough, there it was, a goat actually hanging out in the Lincoln Center fountain! Within days I read a story on Gawker titled “Amazing Pizza Goat Risks Overexposure,” which stated that the “pizza goat”, aka Cocoa, had dined at Serafina. I thought that this would make an incredible visual “only in New York” sort of story, so I tracked down the goat’s owner, Cyrus Fakroddin, and met them at their home last weekend in Summitt, New Jersey with the Reuters TV crew…..

Read the rest at the Reuters photo blog here