homeless guy

Do a Google search on, "Great documentary photographs" and this is the result. Great documentary photographs - Google Search

Then, apply the question, "How would you feel if the subject in this photo were your mother or father, and this picture was posted in some obscure thread, one of over 100,000 threads, in some small, small section of the vast internet, read only by photo-buffs who can read English?"
I never thought I would ever like a post of yours, but I love this.

Oh, well, thanks for the back-handed compliment Dan.
You only took it as such, but you're welcome Derrel.


As for the photograph, I enjoy it. I think the composition works, and the photo invokes a lot of feeling in me. As for the camera shake/soft focus, it adds the the feeling to me.
 
I thought the BW conversion was nice.

Dan, I know a back-handed compliment when I see one. You're still on my ignore list, BTW.

If it were shown in color, it might be even more saddening. But then again, at 3:30 AM, it might also have been lighted by weird street lamps, with unusual spectral makeup, and the color might have been whacked out and weird. I dunno...sodium vapor lights there? Not sure what that part of Coney Island has.

B&W or color, an interesting question/dilemma for the photographer; B&W sort of makes it abstracted, and also traditional social documentary style reportage. I put this issue in the same class as photos of famine, and war, which is to say very disturbing scenes, but nevertheless, ones we need to be able to see once in a while, to reinforce the notion that there ARE people who still need the help of charitable individuals and organizations. We have another street shooter here, you know the one, who has been doing this kind of social documentary reportage in HDR, but he started out in the 1970's shooting B&W film. B&W versus color is a big decision in this genre I think; the news media today insists on color: no color toning allowed, no weird processing for media. Independent shooters not affiliated with media outlets still often work in B&W.
 
I find the picture interesting. The dress jacket worn with shorts and sneakers tells a lot about this individuals existence. My area of MA. doesn't have homeless people living on the street so images like these shows parts of the world that I rarely see. Very similar to other pictures I seen on here of kids living and working in sud-standard conditions around the world.
 
I like the picture. I think BW worked better than color would have.

On the note of ethics.....Who gives a sh*t? Maybe people will quit ignoring the fact that people are going hungry etc. in our own country (Instead of helping those other ones). Pictures like these are the ones I really like. They're real life.
 
I sometimes miss threads when I'm scanning posts. I missed this one. Then I just happened to notice it had 48 replies, so I knew I needed to have a look!

I'm on the side of, I don't get the uproar about it?! Everyone that is so concerned about the passed-out drunk, why aren't you down there helping him out?! I'm sure in real life, he's an upstanding, fine man! The concern for his "esteem" seems a little bogus to me. But then, I grew up with drunks, alcoholics, idiots and just all-around scumbags. I never had the chance to simply just casually "observe" them from my ivory tower. So maybe I don't understand the feigned concern for him. It looks to me that the op saw him, snapped it, and that was that! It's an "okay" street shot. IMHO, of course.
 
Just wondering if the OP had chosen a different title, what direction the thread would have taken. 'Drunken Guy', 'Passed Out' or 'After the Party', anything without the word homeless. Could the steps he is on possibly lead to his home? Too drunk to make it to the front door. Is it possible?
 
Well, shoot! I don't do "diplomacy" very well, do I? And that's something I really DO try to work on! Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I respect that. I went off on a rant when I should have just critiqued the photo as stated by the mod. My apologies.
 
I didn't have the patience to read the whole thread, no apologies.

EVERYTHING ON EARTH and HEAVEN is and should be photographed. I've seen images I didn't like, crime scene images, fatalities, street, starving children in 4th world countries PRIZE WINNING battlefield images! EVERYTHING. How can you even begin to criticize a photographer bold enough to take an image of a man on the street?
 

Interesting shot, did you use a wide angle lens? It's not as sharp as I like, there is a gray blur in the lower left corner that I would get rid of, not enough space in the lower right corner, and overall the photo feels cramped. This scene had more potential, but I feel that this photo did not bring that out.
 
I'm not sure why there is such outrage over the subject matter here. It's street photography. Pictures of strangers in their daily life. This guy is not at his best, but I don't see why he should be exempt from having his photo taken in public.
 
why are you comfortable shooting a helpless person and not a non helpless one?

To me, that's the question one must ask oneself. It's not for me to judge the OP. The OP must look in the mirror.

I'm not as nice as you.
I am comfortable judging the photographer as he seems to be taking pictures of the helpless.

I think this is a bit hypocritical. Considering there are helpless/homeless people in some of your photographs. I must say that the photos are very striking, but some people do not know how to compose as well as you.
 
It's completely ridiculous that we have the same conversation whenever someone post "this kind" of photo.

I don't like the picture, I've already said that. That's my opinion and it's simple as that. I do question ethics here because I think the subject could be presented in a much better way. I don't see that the photographer was thinking about all the troubles of the society while taking this picture, he just simply approached the guy, and pressed the shutter.

Do I care that much to try to raise the moral question? No. OP is not the first and certainly not the last person who will snap a picture of a homeless person "right in the face" kind of way.

If the subject was perfectly happy man lying on the stairs and shot the same way, I would still say "I don't like it, because I don't like the way how he shot the subject"
 
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It's completely ridiculous that we have the same conversation whenever someone post "this kind" of photo.

I don't like the picture, I've already said that. That's my opinion and it's simple as that. I do question ethics here because I think the subject could be presented in a much better way. I don't see that the photographer was thinking about all the troubles of the society while taking this picture, he just simply approached the guy, and pressed the shutter.

Do I care that much to try to raise the moral question? No. OP is not the first and certainly not the last person who will snap a picture of a homeless person "right in the face" kind of way.

If the subject was perfectly happy man lying on the stairs and shot the same way, I would still say "I don't like it, because I don't like the way how he shot the subject"
Your opinion is perfectly OK, it is not a pleasant picture. Yet, you didn't ignore the thread, :thumbup:. Maybe "conversation" similar to others with pictures of the same kind, yet those are the best discussions where we talk not only about pixel count, but about function of photography in our society. We just can't leave it to others (politicians, philosophers or just men with guns) to make that decision. However they would like to and they try. :D
 
It's completely ridiculous that we have the same conversation whenever someone post "this kind" of photo.

I don't like the picture, I've already said that. That's my opinion and it's simple as that. I do question ethics here because I think the subject could be presented in a much better way. I don't see that the photographer was thinking about all the troubles of the society while taking this picture, he just simply approached the guy, and pressed the shutter.

Do I care that much to try to raise the moral question? No. OP is not the first and certainly not the last person who will snap a picture of a homeless person "right in the face" kind of way.

If the subject was perfectly happy man lying on the stairs and shot the same way, I would still say "I don't like it, because I don't like the way how he shot the subject"


Does this make you feel better? Nice safe distance.Would you walk around him if you needed to get on the train?


$IMG_9540.jpg
 

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