MOSCOW, April 16 (RIA Novosti), Lyudmila Chernova – Boston Bombing Survivor Jeff Bauman is amazing person very caring for people around him, photographer Josh Haner, Pulitzer Winner for photo story on the man who lost both his legs in the terror act, told RIA Novosti Wednesday.
“I was shadowing Jeff for two and a half months witnessing and documenting his struggles and intimate moments. He is an amazing caring man generous with his time and emotions and very gracious to people around him. I felt lucky just getting to spend time in his presence and learnt a lot with the way that he treats other people,” said the photographer.
As soon as the New York Times photographer realized that he won the Pulitzer Prize, he called Bauman to share the news and to thank him for letting him document the most difficult time of Bauman’s life.
“Jeff screamed and congratulated me. And then he added that my colleague Tim Rohan and I were the least awkward part of what he was going through at that time. It was a very good compliment. I am very thankful to him”, Haner said.
The photographer said he will always remember how Bauman’s lit up eyes when he took his first few steps.
“Nevertheless the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face was practicing throwing a baseball with the friends right before his first pitch at Fenway Park. We were very lucky that he chose to share his life with us in these intimate and sometimes difficult moments”, he said.
However, there were several emotional episodes that Haner will never forget like removing of the sutures.
Haner recalls that in that moment Bauman’s face “became flat. He’d become so saturated in the pain that did not have energy even to show what he was feeling.”
Josh Haner won in the feature photography category for his moving images of Bauman’s recovery from injuries suffered in the Boston Marathon bombing. Bauman went to the race to cheer on his girlfriend, Erin Hurley. That day, he lost most of both legs.
Three people were killed and over 250 wounded after two bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15 last year.
