What does it feel like to take pictures of the apocalypse? How does one stay calm in the midst of Armageddon? Questions I have been asked numerous times. To which I simply answer, I just go with the flow and do my best.
Obviously it's not that simple. How do you go with the flow in a chopper whirling around at crazy heights trying to avoid the carnage around it? Keep in mind, when Jaeger and Kaiju fight, every single thing around them becomes a weapon. I have seen Striker Eureka pick up a freight ship and use it like a clobbering bat on the skull of a Kaiju. I have seen Jaegers easily pick up containers weighing tons, only to smash them like they were nothing on the heads of their extra-terrestrial opposition. Guess what? None of this brought down their intended targets, which should tell you just how tough these aliens are.
We are not safe in the Chopper; we could easily be snatched out of the air and hurled as a projectile by either Kaiju or Jaeger. There's also the fact that there's so much debris being tossed around by these monstrosities that puts us indirectly in the line of fire. There's a reason why cities are evacuated quickly once Kaijus are sighted. It's not only for fear of what the Aliens will do, but also the damage that our robotic saviors wreak also.
Needless to say, I have gotten used to being tossed around like a rag doll whilst the pilot tries to keep the chopper safe from harm. In whatever moment of stability he buys me and other photographers aboard, my hand moves manically over the shutter button, snapping God knows as many pictures as I can. Never tell me one moment isn't valuable, I'll prove to you why it is.
To complicate matters, some of these shots occur at night in terrible weather. Yet we are expected to deliver top class shots for our readers and editors. I am not tooting my own horn, nor asking for sympathy, simply stating that there's a lot of risk that goes into getting shots of such.
Take for instance Gipsy Danger. One of the jewels of the Jaeger production line, this Mark-3 category machine, had been responsible for 10 Kaiju kills alone. Controlled by the brother combination of Yancy and Raleigh Beckett, Danger is one tough SOB. These two guys had built up quite a following due to their heroics and I have had more than a few opportunities to shoot them up close whilst tackling the Kaiju in their prized machine. Yancy being the older brother is the more level headed of the two, whilst his brother Raleigh, who is somewhat of a firebrand is undoubtedly the more talented sibling. Even in fights, you can see how Gipsy seemingly takes on the mannerisms of the younger Becket, being just as unpredictable as he is with its fighting style.
Sadly, I was also around to shoot the eventual fall of Gipsy Danger. Yet another period in this war that I wish I could forget but the images will forever haunt me. This tragic incident would occur in the choppy seas of Anchorage, Alaska were Gipsy was deployed to take on a Kaiju with the name Knifehead.
As far as Kaiju anatomy goes, Knifehead was one ugly alien. It looked like the bastard creation between a Rhino Beetle and a shark. It had weird rune like tracings all over its body with a very pronounced nose hence the name Knifehead. Its jaws could crush a tanker without much difficulty, oddly enough, there was a weird blue glow coming from its insides whenever it opened its mouth to roar.
It had four arms, two large ones and two small ones sticking out from its lower sides. It wasn't until I developed my pictures that I realized its large arms were actually made up of two other arms fused together.
The chopper I was situated in carefully hovered in the distance whilst we took pictures of this monstrosity. We watched as Gipsy Danger approached it, getting ready to mete out some righteous justice. I watched with awe as the Beckets moved as one, breaking through the waves, prepared to slay yet another enemy.
All of a sudden they stopped. They were only a few feet away from the Kaiju, but weren't advancing further. Something was wrong. The weather was crappy that night and the seas were angry. Waves and rain make it hard for visibility, even with the best camera gear in the world, we are all still at the mercy of the elements.
I trained my camera on Gipsy, only to see it scoop something out of the water into its hand. Whatever it was, it was set aside momentarily away from the path of the Kaiju. Seeing an opportunity, Knifehead pounced before the Robot could get into a proper fighting stance. Gipsy quick to react unleashed a bunch of fatal blows on the bug like creature, quickly taking it down.
Everyone in that chopper yelled with joy as the Kaiju slumped into the sea. It was a quick defeat and yet another victory for the human front.
And that was when things went awry…
Our victory was short lived. The Kaiju was far from dead, bidding its time underneath the water to launch a devastating attack on Gipsy Danger.