I'm a Dancing Fool

In June of 2010 I had my first of two knee replacements, with the second being done Christmas week that same year. Six months apart and they have been  a lifesaving blessing.
I work on my feet a lot. I carry photography and lighting equipment from my car to locations as varied as an industrial manufacturer's warehouse or a corporate board room. And my knees have taken a good beating.

I've been doing this a long time, and long before my knees started wearing out for me I was smart and bought a good solid equipment dolly. I have always been a huge proponent of treating myself well on the job. I teach that to my inexperienced students, as well. "Take care of yourself, treat your body like it's important to you and it will work a lot longer for you". Most of my students figure they're never going to get parts that quit.

And I shouldn't have either. A big part of it is that I come from a crappy  gene pool.

So, I've had my knees done and taken advantage of a technology that is space aged. The parts they put into my knees are as high quality and as currently designed as there is available. And the Canadian medical system (here's my political statement that has no political intentions) has made it all happen with ease and efficiency. It's opportunites like this that make me wonder why the whiners in the United States think our system doesn't work and they're fighting so hard to remain one of the few countries in the world that are demanding to remain so backwards. (I guess that was actually my REAL political statement).

Because photographers often become the eyes of the public by getting into places that are inaccessable to 'Joe Public', I decided to take the opportunity to see what went on in the OR when I was floating around in a drug-induced TransWorld flight.
Photographing a surgery in the OR is not taken lightly as a regular tourist photo 'op'. I had to see if my surgeon, Dr. Charles Nelson was interested in allowing me to observe and shoot. I had to satisfy more than a few levels of beaurocracy and medical administration. I had to get written consent from Dr. Nelson's patient, who was not even vaguely identifiable, but hey, it's her knee. The OR manager and the scrub nurses working that day were all co-operative and supportive. And after about 9 months of pushing it all came together a few days after the anniversary of my second knee replacement.

Now, there's no doubt that this is not a scenic situation for everybody. The nurses and hospital staff were all watching me very carefully to be sure I didn't get queasy and end up as just another patient. There is blood, and they use some very agressive tools and techniques to 'cap' the femur and tibia bones and put it all back together. But it is fascinating to see how the human body works, how resilient it can be, what abuse it can take, and how it all rebuilds itself in the end.

Dr. Nelson worked with his father, who is a physician, as his support, and they work with an experienced and trusting synchronization. The scrub nurses were on top of the whole proceedure having everything organized and the right tool ready at the exact moment it was needed. There was no-one unneccessary or unimportant in this situation.

Except me.

And I do thank them all for permitting me this opportunity.

But I had to hold up my end. I had to be prepared  have get the shots I was there for. I couldn't bring in a tonne of gear, 'cause everything has to be sterilized. I had to figure out which lenses were going to get me the best views of what was happening.

I have photographed in working operating rooms before for hospital fund raising and public information campaigns, so I knew that lighting was not going to be a concern. Lighting is not even throughout the space. There are very bright, focused lights immediately over the working area that are considerably more intense than the rest of the room. It meant at times that the actual operation was overexposed when I was shooting the general room, or the room was very much underexposed when my attention was where the action actually was. But the room is very well lit overall. 

All I had to deal with was my camera and the lenses I figured I would need. So, I took my 17 - 35mm wide angle lens and my 100mm macro. I had no intention of getting in close enough to use the macro element of that lens, but it is an excellent short focal length telephoto. Besides, I was never allowed to get that close. My camera and lenses were the only things in the room NOT sterilized so I had my "stay back" zone to work from.

It required that I be as prepared for what my function was to be as any professional should be, and as the rest of the professionals in the room, doing their jobs, definitely were.

It was great to be able to get a deeper understanding of what I went through with my knees and how we all need to take care of oursleves and respect the system we have to give us the assistance when it is truely needed.