Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

Slight 'correction', Rodeo. The lack of awareness is compounded by the fact(-oid) that the dis-responsive image that was crassly posted --of a place where there's a cliff that has nothing whatsoever to do with the young man's untimely demise-- is what? maybe the 20th time this same image has been posted? Or was it the 30th? Not that I'd have been counting, mind you.

RodeoMan Loc: St Joseph, Missouri

Thank you Jim, some folks just don't seem to have a sense about how their responses will be perceived.

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

Freak accidents and many avoidable ones happen all the time. Let's not be so focused through our viewfinders, that we lose sense of all else....

kpsk_sony

Been there, done that. It is amazing how many folks gallop right to the edge sreeching "Take a my peecture!" The Bend is not lucky for some folks.

Canisdirus

To the folks complaining a photograph is on the thread...this isn't 'chit chat'.

Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona

I was there last month and posted a photo of the view. Here it is again. As a kid, I had no fear of getting close to edges like the ones here. Now, in my mid 70's, by brain creates enough fear of falling that I can't do it any longer. Note the foreground in this shot. This was taken with a 17mm focal length, so you can imagine how far back from the edge I was. I was tempted to get closer, but could not get myself to do it.

(Download)

kpsk_sony

Foreground is like "forgiveness". Every body and every photo needs some.

GLSmith Loc: Tampa, Fl

Man (or boy) has got to know his limits

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

I, too, immediately thought of Horseshoe Bend, where so many have fallen. Frequently what happens there is that the small piece of sandstone someone is standing on breaks off. That can happen at the Grand Canyon, but most there are simple stupidity. I think this is something the photography world perhaps needs to address. We are all seeking that best, greatest, most wonderful image. It causes us to get closer to danger. Young people frequently have that sense that they are indestructible and don't take precautions like us older folk. Maybe we need to be less competitive - but that will depend on those who publish the images who aren't there and don't know the dangers incurred.

PS: I always tell those with whom I hike that should I fall off the cliff, they are to save the camera!

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

Safety should always be on our minds whatever we're doing - driving, using power tools or photo gear. First, protect ourselves, as that is not replaceable, then protect our expensive gear. Always think "What could happen next?"

Many years ago, after coming back from a trip, I put a bag which had my SLR camera and lens in it. The bag was top heavy, and as soon as I walked away from the table, the bag toppled, and the camera/lens fell on a hard floor - both broke and I did not bother to fix them and just got a new one.

Vahagan on his YT channel mentioned in a recent vlog a few months ago about guarding your expensive gear in questionable, crime ridden areas (big cities usually). If they see expensive gear, that will attract the eyes of thieves and muggers, and they may even kill you if you're alone. Be careful when carrying or moving equipment car to site or anywhere, and back.

Recently, Matt Granger made a vlog about how he damaged his Z9 camera by dropping it on hard soil - fortunately not concrete. But the shock was enough to jar the protective shutter out of alignment. Sometimes we are so focused on getting the shot (or FOMO) that we disregard safety and accidents happen. Drops and bangs are the most common ways expensive equipment gets damaged, as well as for our bodies!

Gravity sucks and doesn't respect age, gender, intelligence or lack thereof, or anything else - Newton's Law of Gravity!

Alafoto Loc: Montgomery, AL

In 1986, I was on the roof of a downtown hotel (this is a relatively small city, the hotel had only six floors) to make pictures of the Thunderbirds, the Air Force's demonstration team. Due to vertigo, I assume, I fell on a skylight which immediately disintegrated and I found myself falling the entire distance through the hotel's atrium lobby to the flagstone floor below. My Nikon FE with 70-210 f/2.8 lens fell with me. After weeks of intensive care and a couple of months in a rehab hospital, I was able to walk again.

I took the camera and lens to our local camera store (now defunct, alas) and their staff repairman removed the bodies of 3 screws in the lens mount which had sheared off, replaced them, and the rig worked as well as ever.

BebuLamar

Yes sometimes the camera survive but I am just wondering in this case.

JFCoupe Loc: Kent, Washington

I have seen a number of people getting too close to 'the edge' at many locations. It makes me nervous and at times I just decide to move away from the area rather than observe a terrible mistake, not an accident.

JustJill Loc: Iowa

I just want to add anther safety reminder. Stay off the railroad tracks!

MJPerini

This is really sad, and every year you seem to hear about more of them.
Not just mountains, RR Tracks, dare devil shots from buildings, Honeymoon Selfies gone wrong,
There are even social media sites glorifying the risk taking
Pass the story along to every young person you know.