Urban Shield in San Francisco 2016

One intense weekend in September brought an incredible experience.  Urban Shield is a first responder training weekend.  First responder teams including Police, Swat, Fire, Rescue, Emergency Medical,  Explosive Ordinance and EMS form around the world participate.  

Intense because the training takes place over an entire weekend - a solid 48 hours straight at locations throughout the San Francisco area.   The teams go from one scenario to the next.  Each one having a different challenge.   After each scenario the teams are briefed on their performance. Before moving on to the next one.  Added to the long hours is the fact that it is a competition. With awards given to the top performers.

The sales rep for the company I was working for and myself spent the weekend chasing through San Francisco to capture these images.  The company, Airstar America - Safety Division, provided lighting for some of the scenarios. This gave us VIP status and gave us a close up view of the training and excellent photography opportunities. He was the driver and director, I took the pictures.  From early Saturday morning to Late Sunday night we managed  three short naps.  The rest of the time we were out talking pictures or troubleshooting the lights the company provided.

We through in the towel at about 10 p.m. On Sunday night.  The training teams would not be done until about 5 a.m. Monday.  We would need to get up on Monday and strike the lights the company provided. Despite the long hours the weekend went by very fast.   

JTR Imaging Photography Studio and Custom Framing

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