The Los Angeles Times recently had a piece about a commercial diver who is working in an industry that has been in decline and become more dangerous. Terry Herzik, 61, goes diving for sea urchins and sea cucumbers, which are considered delicacies in Asia. According to the story, the sea urchin market is currently overloaded. Buyers don’t want any urchins until the quality improves. But Mr. Herzik continues to dive in search of good urchins even though his occupation has taken a toll on his body. He dives in icy water and drags heavy bags of sea urchins and sea cucumbers. He’s often tired after diving for several days. And sometimes he may not get much during his dives.
Here is the link to the story complete with pics, http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-herzik19feb19,0,1405353.story
The story features two photos. One photo shows Mr. Herzik pouring warm water into his wet suit to help brace himself for the icy water off Catalina Island. His eyes are closed. One hand is on his forehead while he’s pouring water on himself using his other hand. I think the photographer should’ve perhaps captured Mr. Herzik after he completed a dive. I think this type of photo would have better represented Mr. Herzik’s fatigue or stress especially if he had just finished a dive that proved fruitless. This story was about his struggle on whether to stay in a depleted industry that had once been fulfilling for him. But at the same time, he’s diminished much of his retirement fund and he needs the money to support him and his wife. So, I think the photo should have somehow conveyed his distress.
The other photo in the story is a small headshot of Mr. Herzik wearing his divemask underwater. I think the photographer should have shot a picture of Mr. Herzik collecting sea urchins in the ocean. I think this would’ve been a better visual. But I also have to consider that perhaps the newspaper doesn’t have underwater photo equipment. Or maybe there wasn’t a photographer on staff who is a certified scuba diver that would enable him/her to shoot pictures underwater.
I also read another LA Times story about how the Chino meat packing plant in California was recently closed down by the government after an undercover investigator witnessed sick animals being brutalized there. The investigator was part of an undercover operation led by the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office. The investigator had an hidden camera that showed some workers brutalizing animals who were often too sick to go to their slaughter. Federal regulations mandate that only animals who can walk on their own can be used for meat. According to the story, cattle that cannot walk have a higher occurance of mad cow disease and need to be euthanized and removed immediately. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the recall of 143 million pounds of beef, the biggest beef recall in U.S. history, after learning of the investigation’s findings.
The article’s picture shows a close shot of a security guard shutting the gates at the meat packing plant after the government ordered for the plant to close down. I think the picture is good because it depicts the plant’s closing. But I also think it would’ve been better if it had been shot at another angle. Perhaps the photographer could’ve taken a wider shot that shows the security guard using his entire body weight to close the gate instead of a tight shot that only shows a small portion of the gate. I think the wider shot would’ve better conveyed the enormity of the situation.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-undercover19feb19,0,7609483.story?page=1
