What’s it like to shoot photos in the operating room?
We asked JPS Health Network photographer Kevin Fujii, a Pulitzer Prize winner who captures breathtaking images of the incredible care delivered every day to patients at JPS, what it’s like to try to do his job while surgeons are working to save a life only a few feet away.
Kevin explained that shooting in the O.R. is one of the most fascinating assignments of his career. He’s humbled to witness medical magic, trying to capture the perfect image while being careful not to distract or interfere with the job at hand.
Kevin:
Lighting is a challenge. Action happens fast. So, you need to be in the right place at the right time. With hands moving rapidly, darting in and out of the beam of light, it takes some luck that things will be in the right spot. You have to be prepared by anticipating exposure, focus and timing.
In this photo, Senior Certified Surgical Technician Denise McKahan hands surgical tools to Dr. Seyed Khalafi. The speed and precision of the exchange made it difficult to capture. The most comparable situation was trying to shoot a faceoff in an Olympic hockey game. You know it’s coming. But it happens so suddenly that it’s over in a nanosecond. While it seems like the shutter reacts in a blink of an eye, all cameras have “shutter lag.” That means you have to compensate by pressing the release a fraction of a second before what you want to capture actually happens.
My point of focus in this photo was on McKahan’s thumb. I noticed earlier during the case that Dr. Khalafi tended to reach in Denise’s direction where she already had the tool waiting. I waited and waited and waited, holding onto this exposure, anticipating this moment. I kept the focus near the area where Denise’s hand would go. She raised the needle holder and I waited for Dr. Khalafi to reach in her direction. Click, click, click, click, click… I squeezed the shutter-release button and hoped one frame would work out. Four photos happened in less than one second.
Kevin said it’s amazing and inspiring to watch a surgical team in action, knowing that the patient’s life is in the balance – but also in capable hands. It’s the primary goal of everyone at JPS to deliver the best care possible. It’s Kevin's job to use his incredible talent to capture moments in time to share the wonderful work of his colleagues with others.