Giving something back
Giving something back is important in whatever role you have. The principle of karma isn’t anything to do with religion, or spiritual bullshit – karma comes about because after time, the people who have witnessed or benefited from your kindness, benevolence, and altruism will eventually mention it to other people, who will in turn repay the said acts of kindness in some way. Giving something back takes time, effort, and occasionally expense. If everybody gave something back, then a whole bunch of people would be better off, and the world would be a better place to live in. Hippie rant over.
Every year, I volunteer to shoot the Great North Run for Parkinsons UK. I have no real connection to the charity apart from knowing one of the staff really well, and having done a few commissioned shoots in the past. I have no relatives with the condition, and that’s that. There are probably many charities that I could volunteer for which I have connections to – Diabetes UK (I’m a skinny type 2), McMillan’s or Cancer Research UK (lost friends to the disease), but I do my bit for this one.
The day begins early with a good breakfast. I try to eat early the previous day so that my abolutions are done and dusted before I leave the house. No curries or stuff like that – being caught short in the middle of the day os no fun. I leave the house at around 7.30, get through the Tyne Tunnel, park near Jarrow Metro station, and catch the train to Chichester. It’s a 2 mile walk to the charity tent from there. I check in with the team, then make my way to the volunteer cheering station at the 12 mile mark. There’s a wait of an hour before the wheelchair and elite athletes zoom through, then another 30 minutes before the mere mortals begin piling in. I position myself on a roundabout, looking down at the runners, then my task is to try and capture as many Parkinson’s vest-wearers as I can. This is no mean feat. There is a seething mass of humanity swarming either side of me for two hours, and I have to find, track, focus, and shoot as many as I can in that time. The level of concentration required is epic, and the amount of runners is staggering.
Of course, you’re swept along in the atmosphere & sense of occasion, and you can’t fail to be humbled by the personal circumstances of many of the participants who proudly display images of deceased loved-ones as testimony to their efforts. After around two hours, I walk briskly back to the charity village past the finish line for some PR work. This involves shooting candids of people recovering, being massaged, and greeting relatives, and then getting posed group shots of some of the finishers with medals and huge grins.
At 4pm, after being on my feet for 8 hours with a huge weight of kit, I get packed up and walk the 5 miles or so back to the car – it’s quicker than trying to park at the event and getting stuck in the ridiculous traffic, or attempting to get onto the completely overwhelmed Metro service. It takes just over an hour. I collapse into the car and drive the hour long journey back home for an ice cold beer and some scran. Another couple of hours is spent on some very basic post-production and captioning for the Parkinsons media centre, then the images are uploaded while I have a bath and retire for the evening.
Ain’t no fee coming in, and I will either be soaked or completely sunburnt, but it leaves me with a good feeling, and the knowledge that one day my good deed will be repaid by karma.
