Homeless. Post your photographs.

[lynnb]

The title of this picture is Invisible. This man slept for years on the footpath outside the QVB in central Sydney, an elegant Victorian building of exclusive shops. Outside there is a bus terminus area and there's a connection underground to the subway, one of the busiest stations in Australia. It's always very busy with pedestrians, shoppers and commuters. Everyone, and I mean everyone, ignored him as they walked past. That avoidance was the subject of this picture. Yes, the homeless man is in the picture and is identifiable - there was no other way to take it at the time. Without him in the picture, this study of people being indifferent would be meaningless.

Edit: I originally wrote "choosing to be indifferent" but that is not true of all passers-by - some are too preoccupied with their own inner world to notice. Which is another story - and perhaps a more useful one; that it's better to make a conscious effort to open one's eyes to what is around one, every day.. and see some unpleasant truths.

And FWIW, I worked helping unemployed, homeless, disabled, youth at risk and ex-offenders in the inner city for nearly two decades. My work colleagues thought documenting the reality of the hard lives some people are forced to live in our city a worthwhile project. Too many people simply avert their eyes. Shelters and counselling services do not have sufficient funds to meet demand. Photographs are the most powerful instrument to shift the indifference to hardship in our society.

 

[BernardL]

So you say when a bunch of hobby snappist post photos of homeless on a website this might ease the situation of homeless people?
Your statement get's a place on the list of the most ridiculous statements taken from this forum.

+1
and likewise for all similar comments, trying to equate hobbyists without any conscience to the likes of Jacob Riis, Dorothea Lange, and Walker Evans.

 

[KM-25]

Of course, it is easier just to ignore homelessness, but a first step to help out is to show reality as it is.

Ok, but that is different than showing a bunch of faceless downtrodden humanscapes on a forum of photo enthusiasts telling each other "Nice Contrast".

And darn, I missed my chance at a selfie when I was living under
the overpass on Madera Road in Simi Valley that crosses the Arroyo...at age 15. Maybe a Leica would have helped me get a great selfie in the dark attic space above the garage of my friend's mom's house a month later at 2434 Marie St in the same town, my FM's shutter would have been too loud, I would have gotten caught by his mom.

You want to affect the homeless issue with photographs??????

Start by not shaving or getting any kind of haircut for a month. Then find some some ratty clothes, get drunk a couple days in a row in a city that has a homeless problem, don't bathe for at least a week and then take photographs with some crappy camera while laying on the ground to show how the world looks to a homeless person. The shoes walking by, the people on their cell phones, the gum on the sidewalk.

Show something that actually does something. Otherwise it is the same old "Ooooh, there is a good human target, hope he does not see me, I need money for a latte."

 

[Keith]

Why actually not appropriate? You don't give any reasons, Keith.

Sorry Bushwick ... I probably meant to say acceptable or palatable to this forum and it's members ... appropriate was the wrong term. I'm not bothered by shots of homeless people but I do remember years ago photographing a very down and out and quite drunk man in Brisbane's West End and assumed he was homeless as he was hanging out with a bunch I knew to be homeless that I had befriended. Turned out he lived in a unit on the other side of town ... that he owned! 🙄 😀

And mate ... I have to say even when people are jumping all over you, you never loose your cool ... I respect that.

 

[lynnb]

It's much safer for homeless people to sleep in public places (like Hyde Park, in central Sydney where this was taken) during the day, when risk of assault is lower. I'm certain there was a homeless person sleeping under this blanket, but apart from the shape there was no-one to be seen. In Sydney, there's been a noticeable increase in the number of young people seeking shelter in homeless shelters at night. Sydney is one of the most expensive cities in the world to buy or rent.

 

[lynnb]

Is this person homeless? I don't know! She might be. Or she might not. That's an important thing to realise about homelessness - it can be anyone you see or meet. Homelessness is a much, much bigger problem than people living on the street.

Any picture you take on the street at all might include a homeless person. Many homeless people live by couch surfing, or living out of their car, or living on the street. If we associate pictures of people sleeping rough with homelessness, we are massively understating the problem.

Sometimes sleeping on the street can be safer for a homeless person than staying with relatives or couch surfing. Young people can be very vulnerable to sexual assault in those circumstances. Some homeless people can look relatively well presented. But that does not mean they aren't living in hell.

I don't think this woman was homeless. But there's no way to tell.

All this might be obvious to some people reading this thread. In my experience, it not at all obvious to many.

 

[fireblade]

Lynn..all your posts...well said. Thoughtful and respectful.

 

[bushwick1234]

The title of this picture is Invisible. This man slept for years on the footpath outside the QVB in central Sydney, an elegant Victorian building of exclusive shops. Outside there is a bus terminus area and there's a connection underground to the subway, one of the busiest stations in Australia. It's always very busy with pedestrians, shoppers and commuters. Everyone, and I mean everyone, ignored him as they walked past. That avoidance was the subject of this picture. Yes, the homeless man is in the picture and is identifiable - there was no other way to take it at the time. Without him in the picture, this study of people being indifferent would be meaningless.

Edit: I originally wrote "choosing to be indifferent" but that is not true of all passers-by - some are too preoccupied with their own inner world to notice. Which is another story - and perhaps a more useful one; that it's better to make a conscious effort to open one's eyes to what is around one, every day.. and see some unpleasant truths.

And FWIW, I worked helping unemployed, homeless, disabled, youth at risk and ex-offenders in the inner city for nearly two decades. My work colleagues thought documenting the reality of the hard lives some people are forced to live in our city a worthwhile project. Too many people simply avert their eyes. Shelters and counselling services do not have sufficient funds to meet demand. Photographs are the most powerful instrument to shift the indifference to hardship in our society.

Thanks for sharing, Lynn.

 

[radi(c)al_cam]

Dear Helen,

thank you. I'm glad to see that «street photography» in the good sense, let's say a galvanising or up-shaking form of «candid» photography, still exists!

 

[airfrogusmc]

Plenty here in Chicago to.

 

[Lucadomi]

Homelessness is not just a NYC problem...
For living in one of the richest Cities and Countries in the World
it is mind boggling how we choose to 'look' and 'deal' with this epidemic
Most People avert their Eyes and Choose NOT to see it... protest putting a shelter in their neighborhood

When I can I try an offer assistance, medical help-call 911 , a hot meal- hot drinks, a slip of some $, a Conversation
but sadly I know for them it just gives a momentary glimmer of relief

Some of the photos above were used for a Poster for an Organization fighting for Homeless Rights... they contacted me thru seeing my Photos on Flickr

So true Helen. I live in the city an feel the same. Your pics are great. It is not easy to wtness/document this reality with the correct sensible approach.
The few times I tried to take pictures of homeless people around the city I found myself shying away instead of trying.

 

[airfrogusmc]

And that could be said and actually at the times some did say it about the work of Evans, Dorotea Lange and other FSA photographers and the work of Margaret Bourke White and Robert Frank.

There is also the thought by taking a street portrait or photographing people that are usually, the unseen, as a friend of mime calls them, you can add validity to them. They matter and someone thought they were interesting enough to make a photograph of. Also some people, as in the past only, want to see the middle or upper class and don't want a real mirror to our society.

Without those photographic records that were made by the FSA and many other photographers before (Sanders) and after (White, Frank, etc) maybe our views now of those times might not be as balanced. There's a lot of room to move around in the visual arts. If you don't like one street wander down another.

 

[airfrogusmc]

Those portraits I did I spent some time with each. How else could I have gotten the expressions but the couple doing the selfie and the trump image were clearly in the moment.

Im not sure it really matters either way. I do have a code but thats the way I work and don't put that on others. I do think that if done right it brings a focus on otherwise invisible people.

 

[bushwick1234]

What makes the difference is that you took the time to get to know them as humans and not photograph them in the same way one might photograph an interesting lamppost. I'm willing to bet about 95% of the photos in this thread were snapped and then the photographer left. You got closer - it's a step towards potentially making an important work. If you were to take these portraits, pair them with their stories perhaps, and publish it somehow - that might actually be interesting/enlightening and useful.


(I use mights and maybes because execution also matters).

I have never experienced a photography exhibition where the photographs go together with a text explaining the image, the story of the subjects, their names and fates.. It is great for the photographer to get involved with his/her subject, but it is not mandatory.
Where you guys get all those rules from???
Either the photograph tells a story or not. Period.

 

[bushwick1234]

Shadow and Light ...God and The Homeless by Helen Hill, on Flickr





A Home for the Homeless by Helen Hill, on Flickr

Thanks Helen for sharing your photographs with us.

 

[rbsinto]

This shot was taken about ten years ago while I spent about a year of my weekends meeting and photographing a group of homeless people who lived on a street corner in downtown Toronto.
The young woman's name is Karen, and she was in effect the Spokesperson for the group, and the one I had to negotiate with before I could photograph them. She always asked me for incredibly large amounts of money which invariably ended up being about five dollars.
One day when she and I were talking, in the midst of the conversation she turned and pointed to another person in the group and told me very casually that he had raped her. I was shocked, but she acted as if that was simply a normal occurance and didn't even express anger that it had happened.
On this particular day she was sitting together with a friend, who as I recall had been a boxer in his previous life.
And they let me take this informal portrait.

 

[bushwick1234]

Exactly.

Street shots of the homeless (posted on a forum, no less) is only exploitation.There are tasteful and useful ways of photographing the homeless - but none of the shots in this thread come within a hundred miles of hitting that mark. They do nothing to expand the average viewer's consciousness on what it's like (literally the experience of) being homeless. That's why we have war photography, and photography of suffering in general - to bring others to some understanding of another's pain. So we can motivate outsiders, people with more means, to rally and fix the problem.

Dig deeper and you won't face criticism. How do you do that? Well, if I have to tell you, then you aren't actually that interested or engaged.

You know better? Please, show your images. We are really eager to see what you mean.

 

[Keith]

Over all humanity deals with the homeless very poorly in my opinion. They are society's losers in the eyes of so many people ... and from the time we are born in the first world the emphasis is on 'winning' and losers are shunned.

 

[bushwick1234]

Sorry Bushwick ... I probably meant to say acceptable or palatable to this forum and it's members ... appropriate was the wrong term. I'm not bothered by shots of homeless people but I do remember years ago photographing a very down and out and quite drunk man in Brisbane's West End and assumed he was homeless as he was hanging out with a bunch I knew to be homeless that I had befriended. Turned out he lived in a unit on the other side of town ... that he owned! 🙄 😀

And mate ... I have to say even when people are jumping all over you, you never loose your cool ... I respect that.

Thanks Keith.

 

[bushwick1234]

So you say when a bunch of hobby snappist post photos of homeless on a website this might ease the situation of homeless people?

Your statement get's a place on the list of the most ridiculous statements taken from this forum.

What is most amazing from you and your associates is that you don't believe in the power of photographs. You invest in cameras, you take photographs, develop films, enlarge and print photographs, post process digital photographs and actually still don't believe photographs are worthwhile.