Plane Crash

This post is a far stretch from a wedding or engagement post, but definitely falls into the category of personal. So two days ago on Sunday I was sitting in my living room, trying to get started on my laptop on editing some images. I got a text from a friend that said a plane had crashed near my house. Immediately my first responder instincts kicked in, which then switched just a fast to my photojournalist instincts. I, of course, was concerned for the victims and began praying for them as I walked out of my house, camera in hand. Please note: I would not dare post an entry like this if the victims weren't going to be okay!

As many of you know, I live in the country on 14 acres about 20 minutes from my downtown studio office. We are far enough out to not get cable TV (which is good AND bad :). Anyway, I began to scout my property for a plane, thinkin' it was really close. As I began to get in my car I saw the entire calvary of 2 fire engines, 1 ambulance, 3 CHP, the Sheriff's office and a bunch more zip by my 1/4 mile driveway. I was right behind them!

The hard part was locating the aircraft. For about 30 minutes "we" couldn't find the crash site, but thankfully CalStar (emergency helicopters) were able to locate the victims and fly them to the hospital. But we still couldn't find the site. As it turns out, it had crashed in to the Salinas River which runs about half a mile from my house. The actual location though was in the river about three miles from my house, across all of the famous Salinas Valley fields. Of course, to present an even greater challenge, we've had a lot of rain lately and all of that great dirt for growing things becomes a beautiful, sticky mud...at least on the farm roads. Emergency vehicles were faced with their challenges, and I was faced with a decision: How badly do I want to photograph this, especially first on scene? So I began to walk.

Little did I know what distance 3 miles could be in the mud! I asked myself several times Why am I doing this? I like to finish what I start, and I'm stubborn, so I continued. Anyway, for a good part of the trip I was running...why, I don't know. But still. It felt good in theory.

So alas, the images. They were featured on 2 news channels. For those that say God doesn't exist, consider this: Both men are still alive! Pretty awesome. Keep 'em in your prayers for sure. I'm reminded that you never know, so cherish every moment with your loved ones!