Attitude toward photographers in deep south

[Hatchetman]

Just be friendly and don't stick out like a sore thumb. Jeans, backpack, old baseball hat. Be the first to nod hello. Likely nobody will even notice you.

 

[gdi]

Some people could start a fight in a group of kindergarten children.

X-ray is right about drugs though. The movie "Winter's Bone" about captures where I spent all my summers.

I watched the small town where our family farm was, turn into a meth distribution hub, bigger business than the worst neighborhoods in Chicago or NYC, complete with meth zombies sitting in the benches around the city hall.

But still -- just use some common sense, wherever you go in the world. SC is not Syria.



However, mostly we shoot our friends and relatives, not strangers with funny looking cameras.

Really, if the OP wants to go seeking out Meth labs and patrons to phitograph, he should be well aware of the dangers. Acting like the south is filled with nothing but meth-addled criminals shows a high level of ignorance on the part of those painting that picture. Go to Albany, Hartford, or Bridgeport and seek out the heroin or meth hangouts and you'll be in the same boat as anywhere else.

 

[gdi]

Then you're fine. The truth is that people like to talk about their lives. Just tell them you are interested in them, and they'll be willing to help you find good subject, show you around, or pose. Same as in Harlem. Hanging around a strip club at midnight or trying to photograph crack houses is dangerous. Getting shots of normal people and places, and not being alone is not. The millions of people that hike alone on the Appalachian trail can't be wrong. An occasional crime, just like at a National Park or in a Mall. If you care about your subjects, most people will like you. Southerners don't like critical, loud, uncompromising people, just like no one does.

And don't go around complaining, "in NYC I can get a martini on Sunday morning, why not here?" Satisfy yourself with a Bud on tap from the drive through package store on Saturday night and sleep in Sunday morning.

 

[gdi]

I lived in the Appalachians while in college, and my relatives populated the area in the 1700s. Nothing to worry about in the region, but like anywhere, it's the particular areas to avoid. Climbing fences, opening "no tresspassing" gates, and wandering around a poor, drug prone area in Seattle, Philly, DC, Orlando, Ferguson/St. Louis, etc is not advised. It has nothing to do with the South, it has to do with dejected people.

Read the old Firefox books, or visit the Blue Ridge Parkway to see what the real Appalachians are about. Ignore junk like "Deliverance." Journalists and Photographers have gotten wonderful photographs of the Appalachian people for generations, since the 1920s for sure. If people had listened to the crazy advice offered here, the Carters would have never been discovered (Bristol TN first recordings), nor a lot of other great cultural things. Watch a little Diners, Drivins and Dives TV show too. I'd go anywhere in the south other than private property. You'll find lots of youth happily hiking, climbing, photographing, camping, and other "dangerous" things you wouldn't do in a major US city (because you'd be mugged).

OT:
Garrett, where did you go to school. App State here - grew up in Transylvania Co.

 

[x-ray]

And before the above person wrote this I suggested you ignore anyone who mentions that stupid Hollywood movie. Unless you believe Hollywood's portrayal of anyone from the South as dangerous, stupid, and out to get you. I'm not sure how someone that lives there can have that impression, he must not get out much.

You WILL have trouble in Ferguson, MO, Detroit, or Compton/LA. Big cities are the problem, not the country people. You'll be fine in the South, or the Appalachian mountains. I guarantee it. Give us a full report when you get back.

Garrett you might have gone to college here but you must not have visited Cocke, Morgan, Scott and Polk counties. I'm a local and I won't go into areas of these counties without a respected member of the community. I was traveling along the river in Cocke co last year with the serpent handling preacher that helps me. Jimmy pointed to a rocky place in the river and commented that's where the bodies wash up. You mess around the wrong place and you wind up on the rocks in the river. It happens more than you think.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Used to live in NYC. Used to walk home from work through Central Park by myself at night (not recommended). Had my experiences with muggings and drug dealers. But never had anything feel as unsafe as a trip I took deep into Mississippi taking photographs and doing research on the history of the Mississippi Summer Project back in 2005. Tracing the steps of the civil rights workers who were murdered. There were times when I didn't think I'd make it out of there alive. Not a lot of love lost for "meddling Northerners" in them parts.

 

[jojoman2]

I'm not interested in photographing addicts or attics. There are homeless folks struggling with addiction on every corner in New York City. There's simply more to see than the most downtrodden folk in society; Likewise, I'm not interested in solely documenting poverty. Matt Black just finished up a project documenting areas around the country where the poverty rate is above 20ish%. He photographed those areas with great success. I will probably photograph areas where a significant portion of people live around the poverty line, but I'm not planning my route around areas like that. I'm also not the kind of guy that sticks to touristy areas--they have this homogenous feeling that wipes away the details that make a place special to begin with. Generally if I'm photographing in urban areas I don't know very well I stick to where I know there are cops.

 

[jojoman2]

Used to live in NYC. Used to walk home from work through Central Park by myself at night (not recommended). Had my experiences with muggings and drug dealers. But never had anything feel as unsafe as a trip I took deep into Mississippi taking photographs and doing research on the history of the Mississippi Summer Project back in 2005. Tracing the steps of the civil rights workers who were murdered. There were times when I didn't think I'd make it out of there alive. Not a lot of love lost for "meddling Northerners" in them parts.

My dad used to tell me a story about jogging in Central Park at night when I was a kid, funny you mention that. Is there anywhere I can check out your project online? It sounds tremendously fascinating. I can also see how it would ruffle some feathers. Thanks for sharing.

 

[emraphoto]

I was a little kid in Ferguson... not so sure about WILL, but St. Louis is a nervous place, gas stations in the city center with 1 inch thick plastic pay windows.

i've been in Ferguson on a couple of occasions the past year and i don't think it's so definite. as was mentioned, manners can melt a lot of ice. be it the southern US or Syria (also mentioned).

 

[paulfish4570]

looks like you go through montgomery. the riverwalk is very nice. and go to the rail yard brew pub for good food and local micro brews. you'll be only 30 miles from me. we live in crenshaw county, due south of montgomery ...

 

[paulfish4570]

long-haired white dudes are common here.

 

[Timmyjoe]

My dad used to tell me a story about jogging in Central Park at night when I was a kid, funny you mention that. Is there anywhere I can check out your project online? It sounds tremendously fascinating. I can also see how it would ruffle some feathers. Thanks for sharing.

It was research for a screenplay, which never got produced. There's nothing online about it.

I was in the rural area, between Carthage and Philadelphia, south of Mississippi 16.

Wouldn't recommend that area. Photographically really interesting, but not welcoming to outsiders.

 

[raid]

I am talking about all counties in the USA and not just the cities. The SE is a regional high crime cluster. Florida is the Nr. 1 rape cluster in the contiguous USA. I have published this finding recently.

Raid

Not even close. Top 10 murder cities in the USA in 2015:
1 East St. Louis, IL
2 Camden, NJ
3 Gary, IN
4 Chester, PA
5 Saginaw, MI
6 Flint, MI
7 Detroit, MI
8 Trenton, NJ
9 New Orleans, LA
10 Newark, NJ

Rates are the number of reported forcible rapes per 100,000 people.

1. Alaska - 79.7
2. South Dakota - 70.2
3. Michigan - 46.4
4. New Mexico - 45.9
5. Arkansas - 42.3
6. Oklahoma - 41.6
7. Colorado - 40.7
8. North Dakota 38.9
9. Nebraska - 38.3
10. Montana - 37.7

 

[narsuitus]

As a "snowbird," I have a home in the north and in the south. Before 911, I noticed no significant difference in attitudes. Since 911, I have noticed a difference.

In the south, I have been approached, stopped, and questioned more by police, gang members, and parents of children. In the north, I receive more resistance from other photographers.

This change in attitude may have nothing to do with 911, but this is when I noticed it.


Photographer by Narsuitus, on Flickr

 

[jojoman2]

As a "snowbird," I have a home in the north and in the south. Before 911, I noticed no significant difference in attitudes. Since 911, I have noticed a difference.

In the south, I have been approached, stopped, and questioned more by police, gang members, and parents of children. In the north, I receive more resistance from other photographers.

This change in attitude may have nothing to do with 911, but this is when I noticed it.

I've been questioned by police once in New Jersey while photographing a town that's seen better days. I photographed a man and his family, and the man must have thought I was a pedophile or something because he flipped out, took my picture, and called the police. I was just trying to calmly explain, "I'm only a photography student, sir." Society has certainly grown more paranoid in the age of the internet, but I can't fault anybody for it. They don't know what my intentions are. Getting stopped by gang members is a whole different thing that happens fairly frequently for me. I definitely understand their motives behind figuring out what I'm up to with my camera...

 

[Glenn2]

I've just started reading Paul Theroux's latest travel book Deep South.

Quite an eye opener and highly recommended. The book also has a series of Steve McCurry photos from the south.

Glenn

 

[jojoman2]

I've just started reading Paul Theroux's latest travel book Deep South.

Quite an eye opener and highly recommended. The book also has a series of Steve McCurry photos from the south.

Glenn

Thanks for the tip, Glenn, I'll look into it.

 

[DominikDUK]

Admittedly I don't live in the US but some of the posts in this thread make me wonder. If we are talking about the South aren't we talking about a huge area and I am sure huge differences between the states or even counties. I am also not so sure if Miami is the south as a lot of people who life there are from the north. 🙂

I also admit that if I were to live in the south and someone from the northern states or just someone who feels superior to me because he has a higher social standing wanted to photograph me and was a prejudiced as some of the posts in this thread I wouldn't really be too happy about getting photographed by them.

A lot of problems photographers have is the result of the photographers attitude and not the person or location.
Treat people with respect and in most cases they will treat you with respect.

 

[paulfish4570]

incisive, dominic. attitude and courtesy are everything ...

 

[jojoman2]

Admittedly I don't live in the US but some of the posts in this thread make me wonder. If we are talking about the South aren't we talking about a huge area and I am sure huge differences between the states or even counties. I am also not so sure if Miami is the south as a lot of people who life there are from the north. 🙂

I also admit that if I were to live in the south and someone from the northern states or just someone who feels superior to me because he has a higher social standing wanted to photograph me and was a prejudiced as some of the posts in this thread I wouldn't really be too happy about getting photographed by them.

A lot of problems photographers have is the result of the photographers attitude and not the person or location.
Treat people with respect and in most cases they will treat you with respect.

Approaching any project like this with an open mind is certainly very important, good points here. I wouldn't say anything we've discussed on this thread has hinted at any sort of northern superiority complex. I certainly don't feel I have that attitude. I want to engage in an honest exploration of whatever small part of America I happen to see. I'll figure out what my project was/is after I've taken all the pictures and I'm in the darkroom haha. I've spent quite a bit of time in the south before and have met plenty of extraordinarily welcoming people there, but I've never been south of Phillidelphia with a camera. The south is indeed an enormously diverse and geographically vast area we're talking about, yeah. I also won't be spending very much time in each place, so my study of each location won't be very in depth. Quite frankly I don't know what kind of results I'll get on this trip. I'm looking forward to being out of my comfort zone... that's about all I can say in advance.