End of Project and the Noctilux Rules

[pcsmythe]

I just wrapped up my "Down and Out" series - homeless portraits on the streets of Fort Worth, Texas. All the photographs were taken with available light and no props or reflectors.

Besides one Nikon shot (a color shot) and one Mamiya 7ii (wheelchair), all the pictures were taken with Leica cameras (R, MP, M6 TTL and M7) and lenses (35 cron, 50 lux, 75 cron, and Noct). Overall, the Noctilux pictures turned out to be the best of show (and the most talked about on the street).

 

[naos]

Impressive Work

Impressive Work

You have some excellent photo's there Peter. I can't say I can relate to the people portrayed in your series, but I can definitely feel the emotion coming from their eyes. How were you able to take their photographs so intimately without having your subjects feel threatened by an 'outsider' presence?

Will you be donating some of the money you make off the prints you are selling to some of the Missions in Fort Worth?

 

[ferider]

Phenomenal portraiture.

 

[pfoto]

Well, the first photo looks excellent. But navigation doesn't work on the page for the slide show, or for just paging back and forth through the prints. I can't make anything work. I use Win2K SP4, Firefox 1.5 browser, screen res. 1024x768 which is too small for your screen layout which is a design issue I think.

 

[Ray Nalley]

Very fine photos. I don't care personally for all the bulbous out of focus noses from using the 50 that close; but, I love the project.

 

[mastaliu]

thanks, these photos are excellent. I believe you need respect and noble motives to take pictures of people and this comes through strongly in your "Down and Out" series.

 

[martin-f5]

after a training hour with my mountainbike I made a cup of coffe and startet to read the threads on rff,
iTunes played Bruce Springsteen, chimes of freedom,
beside this I clicked on your link to "Down and out".

What a combination....

Great photos!

Absolut good

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Superb portraits, seriously. How do you approach your subjects? How do you explain what you're doing? Are most people interested/sympathetic/willing?

 

[raid]

These are excellent photos.

Why don't you also take vertical images of peoples' faces?

I appreciate the close focus details, but having cropped heads may be avoided.

Overall, the project is a risky one and and great one of course.
Homeless people and street people are not easily convinced to have photos of them taken.

The focus is on the eyes, so other face details may become OOF. Maybe using a slightly smaller aperture, say 2.8, may keep the entire face in focus.

It is easy to critique [and not complain],and it is harder to take such photos.

 

[jmarcus]

My Favs: Kim, Ron.

Well done!

James

 

[jmarcus]

Well, the first photo looks excellent. But navigation doesn't work on the page for the slide show, or for just paging back and forth through the prints. I can't make anything work. I use Win2K SP4, Firefox 1.5 browser, screen res. 1024x768 which is too small for your screen layout which is a design issue I think.

You should be running Firefox 2 by now. Just like 800x600 8 years ago, who uses 1024x768, and is most likely running image editing programs?

No offense but 1024 is seriously outdated and so is Win2k (not that I didn't run it for as long as I could)

James

 

[pesphoto]

wonderful project Peter. The expressions on some of those faces really hit home.
What stories they must have to tell.

 

[HSI]

Question:
Where is the money of these prints going to?

 

[maddoc]

These two galleries are outstanding work, very well photographed and presented. This kind of work needs lots of sure instinct and a very sensitive approach, I think you mastered it admirable.

 

[ferider]

Hi Peter,

I have now browsed your galleries for the third time and wanted to thank you for showing us your outstanding work. Generally I am suspicious when seeing photos of homeless people, but your dedication, love for and link to the subjects is obvious.

The pictures are technically very well executed, many stand out of the background and have a 3D punch to them, and I particularly like the close crops (suspecting you used the 75 for them) and your reflection in some of the eyes.

I'm personally not a Noctilux fan, but in your hands, I would think which equipment you use is secondary.

Please share more of your work with us in the future.

Best,

Roland.

 

[raid]

I hope that my comment was not taken as a negative one.
I wish that I could do such work.

The images are very impressive and expressive at the same time.

 

[Matt(1pt4)]

Nice work. Yolanda, William and Lancaster Street are particularly excellent.

 

[crawdiddy]

There is certainly nothing wrong with documenting the plight of the homeless, and these photos are very good. Like other commenters, I also tend to be suspicious of motivation.

For example, is anyone familiar with a recent book "Finding Grace: The Face of America's Homeless"? It seems exploitative to launch a photographic career based upon this type of work, with a nod to charity, when the photographer is actually promoting himself.

I'm not questioning Mr. Smythe's intentions. Only saying that I'm suspicious in general.

 

[hlockwood]

Overall, these are outstanding photographs. But the enabling factor is your rapport with the subjects. How on earth did you accomplish that?

Harry

 

[naos]

Overall, these are outstanding photographs. But the enabling factor is your rapport with the subjects. How on earth did you accomplish that?

Harry

Check his bio on his site. I get the feeling he volunteers at one of the Missions. That would make him a regular with his subjets, making it easier for him to approach them.

(Peter please correct me if I'm wrong.)