Victor Biro is what many people call a “nightcrawler,” but that nickname doesn’t represent what he does at all. “I hate the term nightcrawler,” Biro says.

 

He believes that term associates him with the word “bottom-feeder.” Call him a photojournalist, instead.  

 

Victor Biro has been driving around the GTA after dark listening to the radio chatter of first responders for six years now. He rushes to the scenes of crime and accidents in an effort to get a picture he can sell to news outlets. “Like any other journalist, I became a photojournalist to make a difference and tell important stories,” Biro says.

 

Covering spot news as a photojournalist is a dangerous job. “I know people that have been shot at,” Biro says. Aside from the job being dangerous, it has also become tougher to cover spot news. The Toronto Police encrypted their radio-based frequencies in 2014.

 

The encryption of police scanners has made it tougher for photojournalists like Biro to get their job done. Chris Doucette, a crime reporter for the Toronto Sun for more than 13 years, says the silencing of police scanners changed the game. “The business has changed so much that most news organizations don’t have people out overnight anymore,” he says. The silencing of scanners forced news organizations to stop sending people out overnight. Doucette says there are very few people like Biro out there nowadays, but he values the work they do. “If you don’t have people out overnight by the time it’s morning it’ll be old news and no picture to use,” Doucette says.

 

Biro says spot news isn’t the type of job you get into for the money; you have to have a passion for it. “News outlets aren’t covering as many spot news stories, a few years ago everything would make the news,” he says. Before Biro started in photojournalism he worked in the telecommunications sector.

 

With his background in telecommunications, it helped him receive information about crimes and accidents. “I built a web interface that pulls through the police and fire information,” he says. Biro decided to quit his well-paying job because he wanted to stay true to himself and his passion for photography.

 

Biro usually starts around 10 p.m. and packs it up around 3 a.m., but it changes depending on how the night is going. “There is no regular shift for me, I start and end when I think it’s best,” Biro says. He listens in and checks Twitter in his old minivan until he hears something that could be newsworthy. He racks up a lot of mileage as he drives across the city when he hears a call that could be worth it.

 

When Biro first gets to a scene he makes sure it’s safe and that he’s not in the way of first responders. “As long as I’m not in the way, the police recognize that I’m there to do my job,” he says. “Most cops are great because they understand it’s a symbiotic relationship.” Biro works efficiently once he arrives at the scene. “I get my shots quickly and then I start working my way around the scene to get different angles,” he says. Biro uses DSLR cameras and constantly has to change his shutter speed, aperture and ISO in order to get the picture he wants. News outlets look for pictures that have a human element to them, so Biro always tries to have a person in his shot.

 

There are some instances when Biro arrives before the first responders. “If I get to the scene of a car crash before the paramedics do the first thing I do is first aid,” he says. “These are moments where people’s lives are changed and you have to respect that.” Biro puts people’s lives and safety above his need for a picture. “I’d rather help first and foremost, that’s why I’m in this business,” he says. Though Biro is there to tell a story, he says people’s lives are more important than a story.

 

Biro says Biro recalls the time he was at a house fire in Scarborough in 2015 involving a family. The mother and father were carried out of the house without their vital signs and paramedics were performing CPR. “The five-year-old kid was screaming and hollering for his mom and all this was playing out right in front of me,” Biro says. Scenes like this stick with him to this day and it will never get easier to see.

 

Will, who wanted his last name kept private, runs a Twitter account, @TorontoStreets, which he uses to break news from. Will has been listening to scanners for over 25 years and is constantly in touch with photojournalists. He believes it’s important for the public to know what’s going on around them at all times. “People want to know what’s happening in their community – they’re naturally curious,” Will says. Will says photojournalists are important because the truth comes out when it’s from a neutral news person. “They show transparency in what’s going on, and I think right now there’s a big issue with the police and the public with that,” he says.

 

Biro isn’t sure how much longer he’ll be doing this. But until he calls it quits, he’ll continue to tell stories with his camera. “Writing can be done from anywhere, but to shoot a picture you have to be right there,” he says.