Top 10 - #9

#9 - Redwood Meadows probationary firefighter Trevor Huggins dumps a bucket of water

on a camper at the annual Firefighters Burn Treatment Society water fight Aug. 13 2010.

Thanks to my long term project on the recruit class (I'll post about that later) I was with Redwood Meadows firefighters when they were reminded about the water fight at the Firefighters Burn Treatment Society's camp for children with burn injuries. Members of the volunteer department join in the water fight which is the highlight of the week for the kids.

Going into this assignment I had been asked not to photograph the kids faces. As a journalist this was a sever handicap. I now had to find some way to tell the story that these children recovering from severe burn injuries were having a great time being themselves. The kids often times stood out at home and could be the only kid with a burn scar in their community. Here at the camp there was no teasing, they could just be kids. I had to try and show this without showing the kids faces.

It rained the day of the water fight which was a blessing in disguise. With all the kids wearing blue ponchos and hoods their faces were often times hidden. Even with this I found myself drawn to pictures of the firefighters and camp councillors with kids in the background. Just as my #10 pic needed the expressions to be great, I needed the peoples expressions to tell the story.

With this shot I saw Huggins going for the kid with the bucket of water and knew what was going to happen. I took the shot and after talking with the camp organizers got the OK. It ended up running on the front as the perfect storytelling image from that day.

For more pictures from the water fight go here.

Or read my story in the Eagle here or see my blog post.

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