Behind the (Dangerous) Scenes

Oh dear. Rhode Island Monthly photographers are certainly suffering for their art lately. This week, Pat O'Connor was taking some pics at Water Wizz in Westerly for next year's summer guide when a renegade adult came down the chute with such a splash that it soaked (and ruined) his $4000 camera. I suppose when you're stationed at the bottom of a slide with wet bodies flying toward you, things could have gone worse, but to a photographer, I'm sure nothing is more painful than a destroyed camera.

Here is Pat, before The Adult:

Then we have Dana Smith, who was photographing Spartina author John Casey for an upcoming feature in our October issue. In his effort to get the perfect shot of Casey, who was rowing a boat, Dana leapt into the water and got stung by a jellyfish. I arrived on the scene afterward to find Dana being a very good sport about his red, swollen, painful leg, as well as the discussion over whether jellyfish stings are better treated by meat tenderizer or urine.

Here is Dana, before The Sting:

Last, Jesse Burke was supposed to take some photos of a piece our intern Josh wanted to write on the status of the very mysterious Rhode Island Mall, home to just five open stores, rows of gated vacancies, an army of mall walkers and the DMV (at the time.) It turns out you're not allowed to take photos in the mall, or uh, ask any questions about why it is still open and what its future holds. Jesse, our assistant art director Dean, and I all ended up out on the sidewalk with a security guard and two very incensed mall walkers. I don't have a photo of it, but I did get a photo of a sign outside the toy store:

pat and dana photos by dean welshman