‘If it bleeds, it leads’ – LA photographer Alexander Gitman on documenting over 100 crime scenes

Nightcrawler, a film starring and produced by Jake Gyllenhaal, exposes the seedy underbelly of a lesser-known profession: the 'stringers' that take full advantage of the twilight hours. Together, they film and photograph horrifying crime scenes for the next morning's news. Jake's character is a greasy, gaunt entrepreneur with vision. "If it bleeds, it leads!" he soon learns and adopts as his mantra, sticking his Best Buy camcorder closer and closer to the action. It's visually jarring – you've never seen Los Angeles portrayed like this – and unsettling in a way that leaves you mulling over larger questions of ethics and entertainment, and how fine the line that exists between the two. The other day, an article was penned about how far networks will go to gather eyeballs for reality TV programmes (are those involved 'victims'?) Most write off 'reality' TV as scripted drivel, but what about the news? We love to stay up to date, right? The truth about how this news is gathered – how we stay 'informed' – might be different than you first thought. These crime chasers often respond to police scanners before the first-response teams have a chance to flick on a siren, sometimes even arriving first on the scene to snap a few pics or film some TV-ready segments. As with any job, a certain professionalism is maintained, but whichever way you spin it, it's a fascinating look into a world not fully explored. One such photographer is Alexander Gitman. "A lot of my passion for this stuff comes from a profound love of the city of Los Angeles," he says. "I've always been obsessed with how it is portrayed visually in films and photographs." Since 2010, he's been on over 100 ride-alongs and witnessed countless deaths, getting into it through a friend he met in high school. "I started coming along with him because it was a thrilling thing to witness and then I started bringing my camera along." In the film Jake's character falls into documenting crime scenes because he finds out he can make money from it. Is that realistic? Alexander Gitman: It's very competitive. There are guys who are very close to the way (Jake Gyllenhaal) acts in this film. It's about getting to places quickly and working hard at it. If you're really quick and devote a lot of your time to it then you'll be very successful at it. Even if someone is that sort of crazy personality type who's in it for questionable reasons – if they're spending a lot of time on it, they're probably going to do well for themselves. Can you tell me about the weird people? Alexander Gitman: It's like any sort of job, as weird as that sounds. Some guys will be really rude and obnoxious toward the civil services and they'll suffer the consequences; they'll get less access. Everyone's unifiying thing is that they want to make money – if one guy is selling a lot of footage and making a lot money the other guys will suffer for it because news stations or websites don’t need more than one guys' footage.

Can you tell me any stories about anyone who has been really pushy? Alexander Gitman: There are certain boundaries – such as when the cops set up crime scene tape – that you don’t cross when law enforcement is involved. A lot of the guys will ignore that and drive right into a crime scene just to position themselves to get great footage. There are people who drive way too fast to get to these incidents – just as fast or faster than the cops. There's a scene in the film in which he crosses the yellow tape and goes right into the house where there has just been a shooting. Once inside, he positions this family photo on the fridge next to some bullet holes to get a more dramatic shot. Alexander Gitman: It's not far-fetched doing something like at all. What is the relationship like with the cops when you arrive at the crime scene? Alexander Gitman: There are cops who relish the attention. They love that they're being filmed. It definitely boosts their ego. I don’t mean that negatively – it's like an appreciation of their work. Then there are others who immediately have a poor attitude. They don't want you anywhere near it. Some of them don’t like to be taped. Fire fighters seem to be the most pleasant about this sort of thing. They love the attention. It's easy to get really in the moment and get knocked down by these guys because they're doing their job.

Photography by Alexander Gitman

What is the most off-putting thing you've seen? Alexander Gitman: After a year or two you’ve seen everything that could happen short of a war zone. There are fires where people don’t make it out, drunk drivers who get into horrible accidents and pedestrians getting hit by cars… The fires and the car accidents are extra gruesome. Have you seen a lot people die? Alexander Gitman: Oh, yeah. Tonnes. For me it was always when you take photos of something like that you feel pretty far removed from it. You're focused on what you're capturing rather than soaking it in. It's almost like the camera is this protective shield or blanket between you and the real emotions of what's happening. I look back and I know it's not normal (laughs). It's beyond – you're desensitized. It's just the way you feel. If you don't have the stomach for that kind of stuff, you can't be around it. “I look back and I know it's not normal (laughs). It's beyond – you're desensitized. It's just the way you feel” – Alexander Gitman Does guilt factor in it at all? Alexander Gitman: Maybe for the people who tamper with something to give themselves a better shot or situation. There’s guilt there and there're moments where people don’t want their face in a photo or a video but in a public space, it’s not really up to them. The people I’ve worked with are really respectful of that; they’ll take that into account most of the time.

Photography by Alexander Gitman