Comments on: Choking back the horror

By: aaroblue

aaroblue — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:48:29 +0000

Tom, I am at awe at reading your article. Your observations are descriptive as well as poetic. I too want to thank-you for putting yourself in harms way. Thanks and prayers for your safety. Your stories will impact the world.

By: blileycontactpi

blileycontactpi — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 13:47:15 +0000

Beautiful piece Thomas. I feel new respect for you guys.

By: Adro

Adro — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:08:09 +0000

This is brilliant mix of writing and images. To see it all, even the stuff you didn’t capture on a film, but then synthesise it, is the mark of a great news photographer. Well done.

By: khiromi

khiromi — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:32:43 +0000

Tom,
It was a painful disaster, and reading what you’ve gone through reminds me of the fear. The first photograph of a crying lady and bodies of children, it leads me imagine that it’s happened all over the place. Each of your photographs and writing tell us a lot of stories. Thank you for sharing.

By: EMS

EMS — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:49:38 +0000

Thanks for sharing this with us Tom. Your words convey the horror of what you saw clearly and its good to hear what the voice behind the lens has to say..although your pictures give a very good narrative on their own.

By: Johnmatus

Johnmatus — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:42:10 +0000

Thomas
Very moving piece. “To the point” writing. It really puts everything in perspective. Unlike Katerina, Phuket did not allow the businesses and homes to be rebuilt in the same vulnerable site. It is hard to imagine 225K people parished in one day.

By: auskearney

auskearney — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 03:07:04 +0000

Great piece, particularly the poignant pen portrait of you walking back through Customs at Changi airport “barefooted and broken” – what a contrast of our times.

By: shootsam

shootsam — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 12:25:38 +0000

thomas, hats off to u that in such conditions u were able to not only create images that honestly speak to me as if ON BEHALF of the people that suffered, as well as telling ur story wonderfully thru ur compositions at the same time…

as importantly, i was moved to read ur sincere, matter-of-factly report of the devastation and the human emotions u faced while doing ur job as a photographer. as one myself, i have new found n deep respect for what u folks do- with courage, risk, sincerity.

we do indeed live in a selfish world n it takes images n reports like urs, to make one believe things are worse of for so many than our own menial issues…

By: jenpev

jenpev — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 07:34:19 +0000

I, too, dodged the bullet and feel your pain. Your pictures told a thousand words for those that parished, injured and paralysed, orphaned, widowed, and traumatized by the tsunami.

Thank you Tom… I’m humbled to be alive. Your pictures brought back memories of the horrific moments and how fragile life is. Most importantly, it provided closure to those that have lost their loved ones to the tsunami.

By: denisekmckinnon

denisekmckinnon — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:27:17 +0000

Tom, thank you for giving us an honest and heart-wrenching glimpse into the experiences and emotions a photographer must face when capturing the horrific images of disaster and destruction. I have often wondered how photographers are able to cope with such situations. I suspected that the camera would act a a shield and buffer during the shooting, but at the end of the day, the camera comes off and the reality must surely set in. Thank you for taking photos that enlighten us, and for writing about what must have been a very difficult story to re-visit.