Midnight Oil

[Powderworks] Cameras + flash = bad.

C-ko Linde spinifex@speakeasy.org
Sun, 7 Jul 2002 20:44:46 -0700 (PDT)


Those with cameras, please use low speed film and no flash. It's a lot less 
intrusive that way.

Taking a picture of a band with a flash can be a very disorienting thing to
do, and potentially harmful. The flash can temporarily blind band members,
and if they're moving when blinded, suddenly they don't know where that
momentum is going, or where they're moving to. I know that in one of the
Vancouver shows earlier in the year, Peter made comments that the bright
lighting was horrible, and that he was 'blind as a bat'  on stage. So, 
taking someone whose already sensitive to bright ligthts and then using a 
flash on them can be especially crippling. 

Due to an iris disorder, I am especially light sensitive (aka
'Photophovbic'), and the easiest way to set me off into a rage is to take
pics of me with a flash. I go from 0 to pissed in about .5 seconds, because
it suddenly feels like my eyes are being gouged at by hundreds of icepicks.
It is extremely painful. And I'm blinded for minutes afterwards.  Now
imagine having this 'icepick to the cornea' feeling hitting you when you're
on stage, trying to avoid bodyslamming Bones, and singing passionately about
the Blue Sky Mining company.

Just to let you all know. Please don't flash Peter Garrett in the future 
unless you are a professional. 

On behalf of all photophobes I thank you,
C-ko

-- 
"It's hard to enjoy a $40 bottle of wine while watching a deeply troubled
woman screaming "BITH! HOAR!" at a one-legged pigeon for 20 minutes."
                                    - The Stranger newspaper on Seattle -
....C-ko Linde......spinifex@speakeasy.org...............................