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Nighttime
Photography |
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It was a dark and windy night… Would the oncoming motorist see the granite boulder in the middle of the lane ahead in time to avoid it? If the person descending the dimly lit stairway had simply looked down, could he have distinguished the bottom step from the landing? Had the motorist been using high beams, would he have seen the horse in the unlit roadway? Could the locomotive engineer have seen the darkly clad pedestrian walking between the rails in the curve ahead in time to stop the train? These and many similar circumstances arise in our forensic assignments where accident avoidability in hours of low light or darkness is at issue. Reconstructions and evaluations of the adequacy of lighting and visibility and objective determinations of avoidability can be effectively communicated to the trier of fact by nighttime photography.
The goal of photography at night is to provide a fair and accurate photographic representation of the scene of an accident from the vantage point of eyewitnesses or the parties involved. The range of possibilities include, but are not limited to, evaluation of accuracy of sworn testimony or witness statements, and depiction of the scene had proper lighting existed at the time of the accident. Since 1992 we have been retained on over one hundred cases involving photography of low light and nighttime accident scenes. Preparation- To properly photograph the accident scene consideration is given to all light sources existing on the date and time of the incident. The location and functionality of artificial sources is investigated, to include any possible changes in light fixtures or lamps since the time of the accident. Outdoor scenes also require research to determine sun position below the horizon and the moon phase and location if above the horizon at the time of the accident. If natural light is to be considered, then weather conditions that could affect intensity of natural lighting is also researched and evaluated. Other physical changes since the time of the accident should be evaluated, including roadway resurfacing, changes of signage, or other roadside or accident scene features. Where vehicle headlighting is involved, utilizing the same make and model of vehicles involved in the accident is necessary along with a confirmation of proper headlight aiming for these vehicles. Equipment – To achieve the end result of highly detailed photo enlargements, medium format cameras are most often used in combination with a lens having a focal length that proximates normal human vision, and high resolution film. A fully manual Polaroid-backed camera is used to generate a series of photographs of varying exposure that can be viewed at the scene using a controlled light source. A selection of the accurate Polaroid image is then made which is later used as a control for the proper printing of the film camera images. Securing the camera at the approximate viewpoint of the pedestrian or motorist ranges from simple tripods to special camera mounting devices, which are installed to enable the camera to be positioned at the driver’s seated position inside the exemplar vehicle.
High resolution digital cameras now make it possible to use a single camera at the scene to capture both the accurate control imagery and the high resolution imaging that is later printed in larger format for use in court. Research and development is now underway by staff members to establish proper protocol to accurately utilize this new technology.
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