homeless guy

[Bender]

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.

It's not so much about being nice. I just have a problem with double standards.
Taking wide angle close ups of the homeless is fine so long as you also have the balls to do it to people that have a chance in hell of catching you and beating you senseless.

The homeless are part of life and are lens fodder just as much as anyone walking down the street.
Hating on someone for the subject matter alone is not something I choose to do. It feels a bit like censorship.
I've seen wonderful photos of the less fortunate among us. Why should I feel obligated to dislike them?

 

[The_Traveler]

Because nobody is 'fodder'.

If there was something else, something new, something informative to compensate for using this guy's misery then maybe.
But if you can't understand that, then there's no explaining it.

And neither of you has answered the first question.

If this was your father, how would you feel about someone taking his picture and exhibiting it?

 

[sscarmack]

It wouldn't be my father.

What if I crapped golden eggs?


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[DanOstergren]

If it were my father, I'd be like "Oh well there he is, getting **** faced and passing out on stoops like usual". But my dad isn't homeless, nor is he a junkie or a drunk. But if he was and someone were to photograph him in that state, I'd say "Learn from my dad and don't end up where he is".

 

[DanOstergren]

How about we start freaking out and passing judgement on others for real problems like child porn and human trafficking. But Goddess forbid if someone points their lens at a homeless junkie.

 

[runnah]

I would hope I would do everything in my power to prevent that happening to my father but sadly not everyone has that kind of support. Also there are those that do have that support but choose to ignore it.

Ever homeless person you see is an example of a failure on either their part, their family's or the system or a combination therein.

 

[The_Traveler]

Because we deal with the issues in front of us - and it doesn't hurt to feel compassion for someone and not exhibit him to the world - and for nothing.

I hope all of you change but I'm not part of this discussion any more.

 

[runnah]

How about we start freaking out and passing judgement on others for real problems like child porn and human trafficking. But Goddess forbid if someone points their lens at a homeless junkie.

Good point, but if we start ignoring one thing, then where does it end?

 

[robbins.photo]

This is a load of crap. He's not helpless. He's homeless. His legs look to be in one piece. Teach him the phrase "do you want fries with that?" And get your life together. I do not feel sorry for anyone that wants everything handed to them on a silver plater.

Well a lot of the folks who are homeless are homeless not because they don't work, but rather because they really can't work. A lot of them suffer from various mental illnesses and unfortunately there is really no funding available to do much of anything about it

As a result they tend to self medicate with alcohol or other drugs. Most of these folks can't hold jobs or really function in society, and while there are some exceptions for the most part the vast majority of the homeless are actually people who are suffering from one form of mental illness or another who don't have the means or the desire to receive help from traditional outlets.

Often even those who have families or who are eligible for some form of assistance will decline, they will choose to leave and be homeless because they dislike the drugs used to treat them so intensely. This applies most often to those suffering from some form of schizophrenia or more severe forms of bipolar disorder, they often say the prescription drugs they are given make them feel like zombies.

Sad, but true.

 

[DanOstergren]

Because we deal with the issues in front of us - and it doesn't hurt to feel compassion for someone and not exhibit him to the world - and for nothing.

I hope all of you change but I'm not part of this discussion any more.

Just because I don't have anything against a photograph being taken of a homeless guy doesn't mean I don't feel compassion for him. You make way too many assumptions and accusations for my liking, and I will use your own words and hope that you change as well. Oh wait, we all change every day, so what's the point of even saying it? To inflate your own ego while you continue to judge others?

 

[Bender]

When I see photos like this, I wonder if the photographer would approach a non homeless (relatively affluent) person in the same manner and take a shot. Or someone else's kids even.
If so, then fine - that's how you shoot. If not, then 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........

This is a load of crap. He's not helpless. He's homeless.

He's not helpless because he's homeless. He's helpless because he's passed out (or at least appears to be).

I think you completely missed my point. I'm defending the OP - to a point.
My problem is with the judgement of the photo based on the subject matter alone rather than the quality of the photo.

 

[DanOstergren]

This is a load of crap. He's not helpless. He's homeless. His legs look to be in one piece. Teach him the phrase "do you want fries with that?" And get your life together. I do not feel sorry for anyone that wants everything handed to them on a silver plater.

Well a lot of the folks who are homeless are homeless not because they don't work, but rather because they really can't work. A lot of them suffer from various mental illnesses and unfortunately there is really no funding available to do much of anything about it

As a result they tend to self medicate with alcohol or other drugs. Most of these folks can't hold jobs or really function in society, and while there are some exceptions for the most part the vast majority of the homeless are actually people who are suffering from one form of mental illness or another who don't have the means or the desire to receive help from traditional outlets.

Often even those who have families or who are eligible for some form of assistance will decline, they will choose to leave and be homeless because they dislike the drugs used to treat them so intensely. This applies most often to those suffering from some form of schizophrenia or more severe forms of bipolar disorder, they often say the prescription drugs they are given make them feel like zombies.

Sad, but true.

And these people can't be photographed, why?

 

[sscarmack]

Because we deal with the issues in front of us - and it doesn't hurt to feel compassion for someone and not exhibit him to the world - and for nothing.

I hope all of you change but I'm not part of this discussion any more.

People use to take pride in their country, pride in themselves and pride in their family.

Now, the American dream is scamming the system and living on welfare and getting everything handed to you.

I do no feel bad for anyone that won't help themselves.


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[DanOstergren]

How about we start freaking out and passing judgement on others for real problems like child porn and human trafficking. But Goddess forbid if someone points their lens at a homeless junkie.

Good point, but if we start ignoring one thing, then where does it end?

That would mean that photographing homeless people would actually have to be a real problem.

 

[runnah]

That would mean that photographing homeless people were actually a real problem.

Well it's more of the problem that there are homeless to begin with. True, it's not as big of an issue as the ones you listed but it's still a problem. Even more so that we are in the land of plenty.

I remain indecisive on the issue of photographing them.