This is a bit of an old news, but for those who didn’t know – tragedy struck Canada as a lone gunman brought a rifle to school and fired upon its students and teachers.
The newspaper last Friday carried this dramatic picture of people frantically rushing out of the school, obviously in terrible state of shock, feeling fearful of their lives.
I thought the photo published here was a great example of photojournalism. The photo captured the very essence of the moment as the story unfolded. Jeff Ooi and his folks at LensaMalaysia would’ve been proud. It’s as if the photographer was standing right there in front of the schoolyard at the right place and the right time, holding up his SLR camera, snapping photos of visibly distraught schoolkids as they dashed out.
But then I start to think about, and I begin to wonder… WHAT KINDA SICK PHOTOGRAPHER hangs around the front of the schoolyard with his camera, waiting for an emergency to happen just so he could take photos of frightened schoolkids running out!?
Upon closer inspection, I noticed something doesn’t seem quite right. In fact, I think I smell a rat. A big, fat, juicy rat.
Why was she smiling? She looks like she has just finished school and is about to go on a holiday. Hey I thought the only crazy person in the school is that teenage psycopath with the gun. Don’t tell me she’s finding this whole thing humourous!
Wah! Talk on the handphone somemore! Not scared he shoot you from behind is it!
Makes me wonder this photo real one or not. Don’t liddat simply put on newspaper bluff people one.
Hangout Hotel at Mt Emily seems like a pretty good place to stay in Singapore; although my experience was marred 15 minutes after I checked in, when I was cautioned by one staff member because I was searching for a USB port at the back of their public computer.
S$28.75 gets me a dorm bed in a room that I gotta share with 7 other people whom I’ve never met before. That’s 7 people to share my Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundâ„¢ Snoring with tonight. 😉
bro, u think too much le
lol!!! what you say makes sense too… and it´s not unheard of that journalist ask people to re-create scenes so that they can snap some interesting photos…
yea…agreed. u are a good blogger but i think sometimes u overanalyse/overhype things up. maybe we should give them the benefit of the doubt?
Hahaha, that is some funny things you talked about. Seriously, the girl needs to die. She seems to be so happy. omg. Either this pic is a fake, or she’s just.. not worried for her life at all.
he probably think he’d die. so he called his love ones. isnt tat sweet.
hahaha, funny lar you flyingwheel.
Waaa kenny, kudos to you, if it was me, I’ll just take a look at the pic. Read the article and just move on. This proves that you’re really observent.
Wah Kenny posting so early in the morning. A great post i must say.
forrestRain
Sabah
haha. very astute observation.
The girl is probably happy cos she can get home, and the guy on the phone is probably calling loved ones. Nothing too spectacular about the phone guy, but the laughing girl really seemed to be enjoying herself trotting with the rest. Irony. Oh, you must have missed this, Kenny. Another girl behind the girl you ‘circled’ was actually laughing as well, in a way. I know nothing of the incident, so for me to know the authenticity of the pictures, that’s like asking me to explain how labour feels like. Good effort to point out though. Have a safe trip, again.
there’s more than one smiling face in ther by the way. LOL.
i thought the exact same thing when i saw the papers that day. what sick person would be smiling when there was a shooting going on?
i thought the exact same thing when i saw the papers that day. what sick person would be smiling when there was a shooting going on?
Perhaps the photo isn’t taken by a journalist.. there is such thing as ordinary people selling snaps to press, u know…
Most of 9/11 videos weren’t even taken by professionals..
http://www.scoopt.com/
true. hehe good one a0z0ra
Oh yea, you definitely made your point. I doubt it’s a real photo, but then if it were a reenact of students rushing out. Wouldn’t it sound ridiculous because people died in that tragedy and you are asking people to cooperate and pretend ‘rushing out terrifying’ just so that you have a hot photo?
getting a lil ahead of ourselves are we, agent kenny?
good eye, Kenny! btw I tried to look for other photos, came up with this news article which has a smaller pic from a slightly different angle: you recognise the guy with the slipknot shirt, the green girl… and juuuuuuust at the end of the pic is – the smiling girl, seeming to again be grinning widely. Hmmmm…
well that’s the job of a photojournalist. he may not be standing outside waiting for tragedy to happen but he may be passing by at the right time, or he may have gotten there in time.
it may seem heartless that he’s just standing around taking pictures of people in distress but that’s his job. he needs to eat too. but rest assured not all photojournalist sleep well at night, especially those that cover news on wars and such.
i dunno why that asian chick is smiling. but erm. we are all kinda weird, aren’t we? lol.
well that’s the job of a photojournalist. he may not be standing outside waiting for tragedy to happen but he may be passing by at the right time, or he may have gotten there in time.
it may seem heartless that he’s just standing around taking pictures of people in distress but that’s his job. he needs to eat too. but rest assured not all photojournalist sleep well at night, especially those that cover news on wars and such.
i dunno why that asian chick is smiling. but erm. we are all kinda weird, aren’t we? lol.
I think the journalist probally asked the people to re-enact the shooting incident.
The kids don’t look like they’re crying either…hmmm
some people are heading the wrong way (near the pic with the guy using the handphone)
Its just the crowd after school
Wow I would have never caught that if you didn’t point it out. True, what kind of sick person would hang out at school waiting for a shooting!
Good observation. But I wonder if you edited the photograph yourself? 😉
Kenny, I noticed that same pic on CNN’s gallery regarding the news item. The accompanying caption: “Students dash from a building next to Dawson College. Police cordoned off the 12-acre campus and searched a nearby shopping mall for suspects.”
So those kids pictured weren’t fleeing the same building in which the shooter was opening fire at people. So it’s possible these kids were not completely aware of what was going on – could have been a fire drill, for all they knew. The fact that most of the faces do not troubled indicate it was more a routine evacuation procedure.
yeah, i dont think its fake just cos of the smiling girl. she could be from a bulding far away, or maybe not even know whats going on… just everybody run out so she go an run out too lor…
I thought the pic looked staged when I first saw it too. Did you notice that almost all of the kids had their backpacks properly slung on both shoulders? In an emergency, you’d probably have dropped everything and run for your lives.
I think the pic was taken before, and not after the fire.
That’s why everyone seems relax and rushing for home.
i spotted all the discrepancies there too. how weird.
There’s a girl behind her was smiling as well.
kenny ah, why u so like that one???
so rich and yet stay at a dorm which you have to share with 7 other people?? a bit too much la…dont be so kiam la….
None of them looks worried at all leh?
I KNOW WHY THE GAL SMILE,”YES,I CAN HAVE A LONG LONG HOLIDAY LIAO AFTER THIS”!!!HAHA!!!
THAT IS WHAT I THINK!!!=_=”
I’m writing this from Canada, though not in Montreal. I remember that when this occurred sometime last week, it was all over the news, and I mean round-the-clock coverage. I had just finished classes at university and I was glued to the TV for hours, wondering at what had happened.
Kenny, the picture you refer to is real and not ‘staged’, as far as I know. The students who were evacuated from Dawson College did not know initially what had happened, many had assumed it was either a fire drill, or a prank (a student commented on camera thinking that it was fireworks set off somewhere)
You have to remember that although shootings like this are awfully rare in Montreal and Canada as a whole – Those 17-19 year old students wouldn’t have been aware of what was going on until a bit later. Can’t blame a few of them for having a rather whimsical attitude over it all.
I have to say, most of the students they interviewed later were crying or in shock though.
Not to be overly snarky Kenny- you made a good observation but there is a whole lot more behind the story than you (or we) actually see in the media. Especially the Malaysian media. Cheers, and keep up the entertaining blog!
Bwahahaha!!
See i do comment -_-
*rainbow*
aiya, who’s care the picture real or not real, there’re Canada, here Malaysia, the most important is the story true or not true… there is a funny thing the picture such a nice shot composition, dont u think the photographer is invisible so that he won’t afraid the guy shot him…
hey, next time you can stay over at sleepysam’s b & b in SG. highest rated hostel in asia in hostelworld.com. cheaper than hangout! 😀
oh yeah, you pointed the 2 mistake that I spotted as well, Its obviously this picture is a re-act of the real situation.
its a freakin fake picture that The Star randomly picked from a scene that looks like kids are running but they are actually just after you… just face it you morons….. ya’ll are pathetic with the hey maybe its real maybe its not…
lesson: read newspapers with a critical eye 😛 nice one dude
Funny, that was the exact 2 ppl i noticed when i first saw the picture. But what i felt was ppl react differently to panic situations. sometimes we burst out laughing when we mean to cry. sometimes vice versa. maybe the guy just had to call someone and be lovey dovey in a time of crisis?
Maybe that girl too scared till smile?
Pic 2
Ang moh : Darling ar.. wa maybe tiok “shoot” later.
Darling : Mai ane kuan.. T_T
Ang Moh : I call u just to say how much I love you.
Darling : What u want for dinner?
Ang Moh : …
what’s wrong wif the smiling girl? never heard of the term “laughing at the face of danger”?
lol. kenny, you really have the time to actually observe so closely. muahahaha.
probably the smiling girl is a conspirator.
nicely spotted 😀
It happens most of the time in US or Canada. So I guess people just get used to it. lol, someone actually smile -_-”’
if u see that girl picture again, u can see another girl towards the left of the smiling girl is also quite smily…….how to explain????
Good observation. Stranges ….. but funny
Talking on the phone should be normal. As he might just inform his family on what’s going on. For the girl who smile, the most reasonable explaination is that she’s crazy, or else the news is fake.
hilo kenny , i am a new blogger i was hoping that amidst in ur busy schedule u could take a few seconds to read my blog and give my some pointers on how can i improve my blogging skills.
thanks for ur time n help my blog add is tongallen.blogspot.com
Lee’s comment ‘naughty’
BANGI: Malaysia can do without scathing comments from its neighbours, especially if the statements made are inaccurate and have political implications, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.
He said that a recent statement made by former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew on the status of the Chinese community in Malaysia and Indonesia was seen as “naughty.â€
“I do not know the reason he made such a statement but it should not have been made at all. It’s a comment that we can do without and it is not appreciated at all,†he said after launching and presenting the Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) Sejahtera aid to the hardcore poor yesterday.
On Sept 15, Reuters quoted Lee, who is Minister Mentor for the island republic, as saying it was vital for the predominantly ethnic Chinese state to stand up to its bigger, majority Muslim neighbours, Indonesia and Malaysia.
OFFICE VISIT: Najib having a discussion with Wolfowitz at his office in Putrajaya yesterday.— Bernamapic
Lee, who was speaking at a forum on the sidelines of the World Bank-International Monetary Fund meetings, had also said the attitude of neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia towards Singapore was shaped by the way they treated their own ethnic Chinese minorities.
Lee had said that Singapore’s neighbours had problems with their Chinese communities because they were successful and hardworking and “therefore, they are systematically marginalised.â€
Najib said Lee’s comment, apart from having political implication, was also not accurate and did not represent the actual scenario in the country.
“We do not sideline the non-bumiputra in this country. What are in place are efforts to create a balance between the bumiputra and the non-bumiputra,” he added.
Asked if Malaysia would send a diplomatic note to protest Lee’s statement, the Deputy Prime Minister said: “I don’t know about that. It is up to Cabinet to decide.â€
On another matter, Najib, who met Paul Wolfowitz at his office in Putrajaya yesterday, said the World Bank president had asked what was the key to the nation’s socio-economic and political success and had wanted Malaysia to share its success story and experience with foreign ministers of 18 African nations.
“We are glad to share our experience and impart the factors that have made us successful. But I informed Wolfowitz that Malaysia does not want to be seen as ‘preaching’ to them what to do.
“We will give the facts and it is up to them to consider what can be used, accepted, modified and implemented in their respective country,†he added.
but maybe it’s real???
hehe, I thought it was just a bunch of students who’re about to miss the bus.
AHAHHAHAHAHAHHA! the smiling chick looks like me
If you look closely, you can see Bert in there with his AK47.
hey..the guy holding the phone, looks like one of the pic circulating around the internet, saying that he was one of the contact for osama bin laden on the 11th of september.
oh well, obviously it’s photoshopped!
kenny: ur Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound snoring got THX effect or not? hahaha…
I guess they get “anonymous” tips when things are about to happen so they can get the scoop really fast. Paparazzi are a big deal and very scarily competitive. Although I agree, that photo looks like school’s letting out on any ordinary day and they used it as a reference for the article.
Hilarious.
She was probably smiling because she saw a loved one or someone who can help her. It was a traumatic experience and it is not unimaginable that one may react in joy when they feel relieved. Please don’t trivalise the horrible incident.
Same goes for the person who probably called his loved one to report that he is safe. You may feel safe one kilometre away from the place. Someone else may have a different perception of safety.
If you have nothing to blog. Don’t.
i wonder if the picture is taken from their file collection.
it doesn’t look like those students were running away from a psycho. more like end of the day – running out of school.
It mustn’t be a photographer, it can be a student whois taking that pic. The gal smiling there is happy caz disaster (as in chinese proverb ‘xxing zai le huo’)? lol.
wahlau.. kenny.. ur eyes vy sharp o!!
In my humble opinion, I think that only the picture is fake. Seems like the photographer took a picture of kids finishing school on a normal day and just thought that he could pass it off as a picture taken on the day of the incident?
Well, Kenny, the same thoughts ran thru my head too when I first read the article…. What a coincidence that a photographer was standing by when the incident happened. But I just kept the thoughts to myself but knowing you Kenny, you’ll braodcast your thoughts to the entire nation.
But how true isn’t it? So was the picture a real one or not?
Yeah, my friend noticed it (smiling girl) when I was reading the Star newspaper in the library. Discused that the person is a psycopath, or yeah, fake photograph. It’s not unusual for reporters to do that, according to other newspaper reports.
Jesus, maybe some of these people had no idea that there was a shooting outside when a bunch of other terrified people came rushing out. I am sure some of you probably smiled when 9/11 happened.
I think the Technorati ranks are quite skewed with regards to blogs the recently moved to science blogs. And from my own experience with Technorati, “recently” in their terms can be weeks… They’re not always up to date, and have a very hard time handling moved sites or merged domains (two urls both leading to the same site). I tried that once and suddenly I had 0 incoming links, said the mighty Technorati website. Then I had to wait about a month for support, so you can see why I don’t believe in Technorati’s numbers very much.
nice article haha
strange. but still fun to read. 🙂
Typical Malaysian mentality to call your observation as “thinking too much”.
That’s because majority of Malaysians prefer not to use their brains at all for anything other than day-to-day routines.
It is almost impossible for a photographer at the scene at the moment of occurrence, unless he is really lucky. But it is altogether very unlikely.
This photo, as someone has mentioned earlier, is a re-enactment of the scene. Photographers do it all the time. It can difficult to get a huge crowd of school kids to cooperate especially since many would be more than excited to know they might end up on the front page of the next day’s paper, thus you have faces that care barely conceal their excitement. The picture was probably the best of the 50-odd photos taken by the photographer.
she might be the armed killer’s partner…
n there’s another ppl behind her is smiling too!
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