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[Chief1C]

This came from the Amb. Assoc. of PA's weekly newsletter, thought it would be fun to share.

[Just Plain Ruff]

This came from the Amb. Assoc. of PA's weekly newsletter, thought it would be fun to share.

Heck of a photoshop image.

The helicopters look cropped in.

But well done and pretty darn neat.

Edited May 25, 2010 by Ruffems

[Richard B the EMT]

If everybody is there being in the picture, WHO IS MINDING THE STORE?

[Don1977]

I have that pic on my facebook, trust me, there was several services not there, The Sprinter Ambulance on the right side is my company.........too bad its the owner's Ambulance....

Love the pic!

Edited May 25, 2010 by EMTDON970

[emtannie]

If everybody is there being in the picture, WHO IS MINDING THE STORE?

HAHAHA - I thought that too! Right after I thought "Very cool pic - I wish my service would do that.." and then I thought "If there was an MCI a mile away, right at this momemt, wow the response time would be great..."

[Chief1C]

That's not a photo shopped image..

By Tom Fontaine

PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Friday, May 21, 2010

Emergency medical service providers, many at least partly funded with public money, spent thousands of dollars combined to take part in an elaborate photo shoot at Pittsburgh International Airport involving two medical helicopters and nearly 10 percent of the region's ambulances.

Organizers say the photo taken last week was intended to showcase the region's variety of emergency services and equipment for National EMS Week, which ends Saturday.

Allegheny County Councilman Chuck McCullough said the photo on a taxiway shows how much traffic has fallen at the airport in recent years.

"There's so damn little airplane traffic, I guess they have to use those runways for something," McCullough said. "It's come to using the airport as a backdrop for photo shoots."

Sixty-six EMS vehicles -- ambulances, special operations vehicles, two fire trucks, two helicopters and a motorcycle -- assembled for the photo. The vehicles, valued at more than $15 million, based on conservative estimates from organizers and participants, came to Pittsburgh International from bases across a 10-county area in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Airport spokeswoman JoAnn Jenny said the ground vehicles arrived at 10:30 a.m. May 10 and left by noon. She said they had to come and go quickly because an arriving U.S. marshal's flight was scheduled to use the taxiway a short time later, as was a departing H.J. Heinz private jet.

Jenny said the authority used its staff and equipment for the shoot, which qualified as a training exercise because vehicles had to be mobilized to the airfield in an orderly manner.

Vehicles from Laurel Valley Ambulance (150 miles round-trip), Sugarcreek Township Ambulance (140 miles) and Fayette EMS (138 miles) traveled the farthest.

"I think this is a good way to show the region what we have," said Rick Adobato, chief of the three providers. Adobato grumbled when he noticed a hubcap missing on one of his ambulances. "Apparently that happened on the way down there."

The helicopters cost $3 million to $4 million apiece, said Dan Laurent, spokesman for West Penn Allegheny Health System, which oversees Allegheny General Hospital's Life Flight service. Tom McElree, executive director of the Robinson-based Emergency Medical Services Institute, said an average ambulance exceeds $100,000 and special operations vehicles and fire trucks cost several times that.

Officials said the pictured vehicles weren't scheduled to be used for emergency purposes and workers who took them to and from the photo shoot weren't on the clock.

"We don't take equipment out of service for photo ops," said Bob Farrow, division chief for Pittsburgh EMS. The city sent two ambulances for the photo.

Fuel was the biggest expense, adding up to more to $2,000. The gas-guzzling ground vehicles traveled nearly 3,500 miles; a Life Flight helicopter flew from Allegheny General Hospital and a Stat MedEvac helicopter came from Allegheny County Airport. Operational costs for medical helicopters are $500 an hour and up.

Jenny said the photo will be used for a calendar and promotional materials for the agencies.

[spenac]

Man if those two copters had collided and crashed into all those ambulances that would have been one expensive MCI. Not sure I like how they had everything so close for safety reasons.

[Just Plain Ruff]

That's not a photo shopped image..

No offense 4C6 but it sure looks strange if you ask me.

The helicopters just don't look to scale versus the ambulances in the back of the photo.

The helicopters look about 30-40 feet above the ambulances and they are bigger than the ambulances in the back.

It just looks fake if you ask me

Is the picture cool? you betcha but the scale is just wrong in my opinion.

Is anyone else seeing what I'm seeing? Or is it just time for new glasses.

[gemini1030]

You can see the shadows of the helicopters in the picture. That makes be think that it is not photo shopped. I guess it is the angle of the picture and where the helicopters actually were in relation to the ground vehicles. That would make them look larger than say the fire truck way in the back. It appers the helicopters are about 4 rows into the ground vehicles.

Edited May 26, 2010 by gemini1030

[Just Plain Ruff]

You can see the shadows of the helicopters in the picture. That makes be think that it is not photo shopped. I guess it is the angle of the picture and where the helicopters actually were in relation to the ground vehicles. That would make them look larger than say the fire truck way in the back. It appers the helicopters are about 4 rows into the ground vehicles.

I've seen some really really good photoshopped photos. Shadowing is not really that hard to do

NOW to quote Shrek, I'm not saying it is, and I'm not saying it isn't

But that's the way it looks to me. IMHO