Adventure May/June 2001 @ nationalgeographic.com

Photo Gallery
Outbreak—Ebola

image: Pierre Rollin [of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] wearing full protective gear

"That's Pierre Rollin [of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]. Here he's testing the virus in the Lacor hospital's Ebola lab. He is wearing the full gear. There's no part of his body that's exposed to the virus.

"On the door it says, ‘Do not enter—very dangerous virus.' I wasn't allowed to go in. I'd never have been allowed out with the cameras. They could have picked up something.

"The whole Ebola story, it's almost like science fiction. I didn't set out to shoot it like it was a 50s horror movie. But this photo, to me, looks like a movie poster for a pretty fantastic science fiction movie."

—Photographer Seamus Murphy

Photo Facts

Camera: Canon EOS-1N
Film: Fujifilm 1600 ASA Neopan, pushed one stop to 3200 ASA
Lens: 17-35mm zoom

Shoptalk
"It's very dark where Rollin was, so I had to use very fast film. Also, the light was coming in from behind him.

"I knew I had to expose for his face, and I wanted the sign to be properly exposed. I knew if I did that, the light behind would burn-out, or highly over-expose, [creating] a washed-out look."