A Banker Whose Photos Tell the Stories of Bronx Prostitutes

"Surprisingly, being a Wall Street banker does not seem to impede Mr. Arnade. He is not shy about telling the prostitutes that he makes plenty of money in downtown Manhattan during the week, and that this project is his hobby.

The disparities in wealth and lifestyle on display could hardly be greater, and Mr. Arnade’s directness and slightly bossy manner are a frequent reminder of his status as a Wall Street dealmaker."

As John Wayne would have said, "Well that takes it!"
 
He's getting off on this. He enjoys the fact that he can "buy and sell" them if he wants, and he enjoys the fact that he chooses not to. Scumbag.
 
You can go look at them yourself, or buy a print to skip having to go to the Bronx.

Besides it is like free advertisement for the prostitutes - a totally normal profession as far as the majority of the world is concerned - but in a all new legal way!

Totally fine with it. The prostitutes are more than welcome to photograph the banker, all is fair. The banker isn't responsible for people wanting or not wanting photographs of them.

These topics are annoying when they come from a "should we be censorshipping pricks?" start. Are they good photos? Now that means something.
 
jsrockit said:
I found this part funny. Seems to me that they are not proud of what they are doing so why would they want a photo of themselves out on the street as a reminder? I mean, it's a good gesture on his part... but it still seems odd.
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If you look at his stream, he posts a lot of shots of the people holding the prints he gave them and the majority of the time they look truly ecstatic to have it.
 
I think his pictures are good, if rather conventional, but then I think in 2012 you just can't go into the Bronx and photograph prostitutes and hope to be original about it (I guess he doesn't).

I like his photos precisely because they're staged and he gets people to pose for them. I think they should stand on their own and without being advertised as "A Wall Street Banker took this photo!!" the way the NY Times article does it. That bothers me most about them.

Posting here about how he must be evil because he works in a bank (the kind of poster who have him all figured out how he gets off on being able to afford paying people to pose for them) is a bit of a joke.
 
Could it be that while they are not proud to be prostitutes, they are very happy that someone cared enough to photograph them and bring them a large print? It is a self worth acknowledgement that they seldom receive.

I once gave a print to a older nickle/dime street corner crack dealer who speaks up in my defense when needed. He was ecstatic and showed it to all his nearby friends. Then he carefully folded the 8x10 print into quarters and put it in his pocket.

andredossantos said:
If you look at his stream, he posts a lot of shots of the people holding the prints he gave them and the majority of the time they look truly ecstatic to have it.
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jsrockit said:
I found this part funny. Seems to me that they are not proud of what they are doing so why would they want a photo of themselves out on the street as a reminder? I mean, it's a good gesture on his part... but it still seems odd.
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Bob Michaels said:
Could it be that while they are not proud to be prostitutes, they are very happy that someone cared enough to photograph them and bring them a large print? It is a self worth acknowledgement that they seldom receive.

I once gave a print to a older nickle/dime street corner crack dealer who speaks up in my defense when needed. He was ecstatic and showed it to all his nearby friends. Then he carefully folded the 8x10 print into quarters and put it in his pocket.
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I do that a lot over here. Shooting digital has turned out a big advantage in this respect, I can just shoot RAW & JPEG, go to the corner lab with the person, have a print made from the JPEG and give them their portrait right away. People like it a lot.
 
I see a lot of jealousy here. Maybe he should stick to cats...

I like the project. I also like that the subject is much more important than the technique or lens.
 
I'm glad that recent comments seem to have taken a more thoughtful view of this photographer's project. Who he is and what he is doesn't matter. The Flickr series seem to be positioned well and with the little story about each one it provides context and does not indulge in sensationalism. Individually most of them are not what you'd call stellar portraits but as a series they work well together and "stellar" portraits would be out of place even if attempted in this environment.
What he's shown me, at least, is a slice of life that makes me grateful I never had to experience what these people have and that my children also got a better chance in life. No credit to me - it was the luck of the draw.
I feel many of the earlier trenchant and extreme criticisms reflect more on the person writing the post and not on the photographer. One thing I learned about America was that it is a place where you can experience extremes of puritanical self-righteousness and also of pornographic activity within a block of each other. It can be a strange country to the visitor.
 
It's sad that many are forming a snap judgement of a situation based on one article about the subject. Am I the only one that thinks that if the article had spun the story in a negative light, saying he shouldn't be taking his photos, there'd be an outcry of "Photographers Rights!!!" instead?
 
I am mostly surprised at the reactions and self righteousness regarding prostitutes. This is the oldest job in the world, and no matter what the girls (or guys) try to make "clients" believe to draw their sympathy (and more of their money) most of them have chosen this job because they like it and truly enjoy it. I know many guys who naively tried to "save" a girl by marrying her, but as they say around here, you can take a girl out of patpong (Bangkok red district) but you can't take patpong out of the girl. For me photographing prostitutes is no different than photographing 7/11 clerks, or bankers, it's just a freelance job in a free economy ;)
 
I agree with above comment ^ some of the comments in this thread are laughable. Prostitution is the oldest occupation in the world. You cannot protect people, people must do things for themselves. None of these photos are exploitive in any way. These girls have sex with people for money - talking to one and taking their picture, and paying them for their time is almost the opposite of exploitive, it actually seems like a kind thing to do to me. Everyone wants to talk about themselves, and/or have a stranger take an interest in them. It's a good feeling.
 
newsgrunt said:
have a look at these works please. there are those who do and those who don't/can't. we decide which side of the fence we stand on and being judgemental is all too easy.

http://tonyfoto.com/#/LIVE THROUGH THIS/LTT1/2

http://www.darcypadilla.com/thejulieproject/intro.html
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Wow! real heavy duty work. Certainly not for the squeamish.

For those who have not looked, the Darcy Padilla "Julie project" is an 18 year long story about one person's journey. I caution, if your photo taste runs to cats and landscapes, this is definitely not for you.
 
I disagree with a previous poster- it's very important that photographers critique each others' works for moral and political honesty. I think this is more important than aesthetic criticism.

Especially in this case when a photographer believes his work is political, because it highlights those on the margins to the public. Ironically, we don't think much about his photographs because what seems to be highlighted in the article is the photographer himself. Good for him. Bad for society.
 
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