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Street photography, homeless and strange people
My perception, when reading threads about people wanting to shoot street photography, is that there is a great deal of interest in shooting the homeless and, for lack of a better word, "strange" people. Is there a reason for this seeming fascination of subject matter? Oct 19 06 01:50 pm Link A photo of a homeless person doesn't really interest me.. However, thats just a personal thing. Having a homeless person in a 'real life' city scene or something of that sort that depicts reality is fine. I do see it, sometimes done in a journalistic style, and sometimes just degrading.. Like they are being made fun of or looked down upon. That is just wrong to me. I guess it depends on how, for the lack of a better word, 'tasteful', it is done. David Oct 19 06 01:57 pm Link Yes, because the usual models with the usual poses gets rather boring to look at after a while. It's nice to see a photo/subject with a story behind it. Oct 19 06 02:00 pm Link The faces of some of the street people are full of character. Their weatherd skin, coarse gray hair and lines (and wrinkles) have a strong visual impact. However, I still have trouble with the idea of trying capitalize on someone's misfortune (even if they have freely chosen thet lifstyle). At any given moment, it could be me in that situation. Bottom line: Whatever a photographer can live with. I was told during journalism class, shoot the photo first and then decide if you can live with it. Oct 19 06 02:01 pm Link I don't know about the homeless but I love the hookers, pimps and barflies. ESPECIALLY in smaller towns where maybe you don't expect them so much and where they tend to be more "accepted". I also like OLD people. Not in nursing homes but still living independently. I think a lot of people are fascinated by the dark side of life. Look at the successful films and books. Any wonder it spreads into photography? From Avedon to Robert Frank to the photojournalist like W. Eugen Smith and Henri Cartier Bresson many photographers have an obsession with the streets and the people on them.  Oct 19 06 02:06 pm Link Mike Walker wrote: Mike, that's a great shot. Oct 19 06 02:14 pm Link Get 'Suburbia' by Bill Owens, the classic on photography of everyday life that we consider boring, but that's fascinating when covered well. Shooting homeless is a cliche, just like doorways, squirrels in the backyard and parkas (and I've done it all, except the parkas...) Oct 19 06 02:26 pm Link KM von Seidl wrote: Sometimes there is pathos [and they don't sell that in the shops] like the old scruffy homless guy that sleeps on the streets with his eqally old and equally scruffy dog because he won't give up the dog, maybe his only real friend, to get a shelter place. Oct 19 06 02:33 pm Link What is being photographed, and why such photographs are sometimes compelling, is that they are a reflection of the human condition from a position that most people can not relate to from first hand experience. Exactly. Could not have said it better myself. Everything is cliche, if you look at it that way. I shoot models, children, the ocean, a bird, old people, abstracts etc. But people....my god....look at them...the stories, the lifelines in thier faces, the wonderment in a child's eyes or years of experience through an elderly person's eyes. Why do I want to shoot homeless or street people. Because I am intertested in why they are there. What's your story? Were you a CEO of a large company and now on the streets? Were you a vet? Drug addict? Broken home? I don't want to just get out my 300mm and shoot up an alley, I want to sit and talk...capture the faces, happy, sad, freaked out, strung out....it is compelling to me and I am sure many other people. And so if I can bring these stories to life through my lens and put some words behind them to describe the "scene", then that is what inspires me. Models? Love em....love to shoot...high fashion to string bikinis, but I need to challenge myself as an individual and as a photographer and shoot a project with depth. I feel this is just the project...and if hanging in a gallery showing, I see people walking around looking at the photos feeling sorry for these people, or feeling like they would like to help these people or just "feeling", then I have created something that moves people...and that my freinds...is what photography is all about to me. Cheers all, Scott Oct 19 06 04:18 pm Link Normal people are just so... normal. You do a double take when there's a weird person walking down the street - if you're lucky, they might yell, "Take a picture, it lasts longer!" Oct 19 06 04:22 pm Link I love "street photography" and practice at it all the time. To me it's just the spontaneity of it and the element of surprise and voyeurism. Araki, my favourite photographer is quite proficient at it. It also strikes a nice balance between the superficiality and contrived aspects of fashion photography with doing something un-self concious and just for the pure joy of it. Realy, I am all for it as long as no one is exploited. Oct 19 06 04:27 pm Link They don't have laptops and are unlikely to sue. -D Oct 19 06 05:25 pm Link I just posted 4 more examples on my profile if you want to take a look. Mike Oct 19 06 06:01 pm Link Been there,lived there and recieved mail there. I kept my cameras in a bus station locker for over a year. It was a hard time. I don't want to ever go back. Oct 19 06 06:01 pm Link Mike, Awesome work. Love the B&W street scenes. Kudos sir! Scott Oct 19 06 06:19 pm Link D. Brian Nelson wrote: Sometimes as wise and funny man can reduce it to a sentence. Kudos. Oct 19 06 06:40 pm Link |
