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Veteran
Like many of you I love street photography but street photography is more than making an image of a person then moving on and making another. Sort of what I call hit and run. Half of the fun of street photography is talking to people I photograph and finding out something about their lives. I tell people I don’t think I’ve ever met a person that wasn’t interesting in one way or another.
Let’s see images of people on the street you’ve met and taken the time to talk with and learn a little about their lives.
The first image is Lawt Gudger I photographed around 1969 on Monteagle Mtn in middle Tn. He’s sitting along the road waiting to deliver a gallon of moonshine to one of his customers.
Second and third are Benny who lived in Petros Tn. Petros was the site of the Tn maximum security prison. Benny learned how to do his own tattoos from locals that were guards in the prison. They’re known as jailhouse tattoos and done with a needle and ballpoint pin cartridge. I shot these in 1973.
The forth is a man I met and don’t know the name but claimed his dummy sat up from his bed one day on its own power and God spoke to him through the dummy telling him to spread the word. I shot this in the mid 90’s.
The street preacher, and his name fails me at the moment, travels around East Tn spreading the word. He’s been arrested several times and just prior to this photo was arrested for hitting a police officer in the face with his Bible. Bible Belt? He told me that he cares for his wife who’s disabled and unable to get out of bed. He has a tiny block church on his property and hold Sunday services for a small group each Sunday. He’s a very kind gentleman ready to share a prayer for a stranger.
The man on the street was in San Francisco and lives where ever he finds a place to crash. I talked with him the next day and decided he had some serious mental and alcohol issues like so many people on the street. He was very scattered and very difficult to talk with but had quite a sense of humor. Shot around 2004.
The woman with the group of men were very interesting. Betty was 44 years old, lived on the street anywhere she could. She made her living by standing on a street corner flashing her breasts to people she thought might buy her liquor, food or clothing and shack up with her in a cheap motel for a few days. Betty had been raped, beaten and thrown off a bridge twice breaking her back. When I made this image she was living on a mattress with 7 guys under a bridge. Shot in the early 90’s.
Eben is the whiskery old guy sitting on the curb. Eben had a great smile with his one tooth and had a great sense of humor. He’d been with the railroad and lived on the street. Shot in 1969.
The two men were a sad couple. J C King, the prominent figure, was a newspaper writer that couldn’t handle life. He just gave up but didn’t say why. He and his friend were starving and I fed them hoping to help. Unfortunate a couple of weeks later Mr King passed away. shot in 1973.
The little girl was one sassy kid. I can’t remember the name but she lived in a shack on a rural road in middle Tn. She was playing with several pigs and an old rubber hose. Shot in 1969.
The man in high bibs leaning on the truck is Abe Nickel. He was a grave digger and dug them by hand. He said he lived alone in a shack that had cracks in the walls that the wind blew through and slept on the floor in his clothes. Very nice old guy. Shot around 2004.
The next gentleman is Billy Lemming a serpent handling preacher near Rome Ga. He talked of handling deadly serpents and getting bitten many times and how he lost a finger to a copperhead bite. And he didn’t hesitate to talk in depth about drinking strychnine and red devil lye drain cleaner to confirm his faith. Billy was a wealth of information and knowledge and a kind soul. Shot around 2006.
The lady with her back turned lived in a shack under a water tower in a depressed forgotten town. She wasn’t that old but looked very weathered and worn out. She turned her back so not to show how she looked. You can see the legs of the water tank and her clothes line strung across them. At the time I made the photo I though it was a bit ironic, a wishing well in her yard. I thought if that well actually worked what would she wish for.
last photo, I always thought his name was Oral but it turns out
Oral is the community where his shop was. Mr X sold car parts, elegant junk and built a few dirt track racers. Interesting and resourceful man.
Let’s have your people images from the journey.
Let’s see images of people on the street you’ve met and taken the time to talk with and learn a little about their lives.
The first image is Lawt Gudger I photographed around 1969 on Monteagle Mtn in middle Tn. He’s sitting along the road waiting to deliver a gallon of moonshine to one of his customers.
Second and third are Benny who lived in Petros Tn. Petros was the site of the Tn maximum security prison. Benny learned how to do his own tattoos from locals that were guards in the prison. They’re known as jailhouse tattoos and done with a needle and ballpoint pin cartridge. I shot these in 1973.
The forth is a man I met and don’t know the name but claimed his dummy sat up from his bed one day on its own power and God spoke to him through the dummy telling him to spread the word. I shot this in the mid 90’s.
The street preacher, and his name fails me at the moment, travels around East Tn spreading the word. He’s been arrested several times and just prior to this photo was arrested for hitting a police officer in the face with his Bible. Bible Belt? He told me that he cares for his wife who’s disabled and unable to get out of bed. He has a tiny block church on his property and hold Sunday services for a small group each Sunday. He’s a very kind gentleman ready to share a prayer for a stranger.
The man on the street was in San Francisco and lives where ever he finds a place to crash. I talked with him the next day and decided he had some serious mental and alcohol issues like so many people on the street. He was very scattered and very difficult to talk with but had quite a sense of humor. Shot around 2004.
The woman with the group of men were very interesting. Betty was 44 years old, lived on the street anywhere she could. She made her living by standing on a street corner flashing her breasts to people she thought might buy her liquor, food or clothing and shack up with her in a cheap motel for a few days. Betty had been raped, beaten and thrown off a bridge twice breaking her back. When I made this image she was living on a mattress with 7 guys under a bridge. Shot in the early 90’s.
Eben is the whiskery old guy sitting on the curb. Eben had a great smile with his one tooth and had a great sense of humor. He’d been with the railroad and lived on the street. Shot in 1969.
The two men were a sad couple. J C King, the prominent figure, was a newspaper writer that couldn’t handle life. He just gave up but didn’t say why. He and his friend were starving and I fed them hoping to help. Unfortunate a couple of weeks later Mr King passed away. shot in 1973.
The little girl was one sassy kid. I can’t remember the name but she lived in a shack on a rural road in middle Tn. She was playing with several pigs and an old rubber hose. Shot in 1969.
The man in high bibs leaning on the truck is Abe Nickel. He was a grave digger and dug them by hand. He said he lived alone in a shack that had cracks in the walls that the wind blew through and slept on the floor in his clothes. Very nice old guy. Shot around 2004.
The next gentleman is Billy Lemming a serpent handling preacher near Rome Ga. He talked of handling deadly serpents and getting bitten many times and how he lost a finger to a copperhead bite. And he didn’t hesitate to talk in depth about drinking strychnine and red devil lye drain cleaner to confirm his faith. Billy was a wealth of information and knowledge and a kind soul. Shot around 2006.
The lady with her back turned lived in a shack under a water tower in a depressed forgotten town. She wasn’t that old but looked very weathered and worn out. She turned her back so not to show how she looked. You can see the legs of the water tank and her clothes line strung across them. At the time I made the photo I though it was a bit ironic, a wishing well in her yard. I thought if that well actually worked what would she wish for.
last photo, I always thought his name was Oral but it turns out
Oral is the community where his shop was. Mr X sold car parts, elegant junk and built a few dirt track racers. Interesting and resourceful man.
Let’s have your people images from the journey.
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