Photography Project
October 14, 2006
"Every memory of looking out the back door I have the photo album spread out on the bedroom floor, its hard to say it time to say it, goodbye. Every memory of walking out the front door, I found the photo of the friend that I've been looking for, its hard to say it, time to say it, goodbye." -Photograph, Nickelback
So I've been thinking a lot about my project for photojournalism...and I keep coming back to the homeless people I see around the city. I saw another lady today, begging for money outside Carrefour. I know giving money to them is a bad idea because you never know what they will use it for. But I could not just go and ignore another person. I had picked up two loaves of bread because they were only 43Euro cents a piece. As I stood in the checkout I could see the lady outside begging, as people passed her by as if she were invisible. I couldn't treat her that way, its not in me. I figured why did I really need both these loaves of bread? So I gave one to her when I left.
As I started walking back to the apartment instead of feeling good about what I'd done I felt like crying because I knew it wasn't enough. All that coast me was less than a euro, when I spend almost 24Euro in that one trip. I want to document these people for my project...capture their image, capture their feelings,k their hurt...but I wonder how intrusive or heartless that might swwm. Me, capturing their misery/misfortune/mistakes. I know our professor says "Be bold," but is it possible to cross that line and be a little too bold? How woudl I go about getting their pictures? Do I get them to look at the camera? Do I take candids? Do they have knowledge of what I'm doing? Would they feel like i was dehumanizing them? I know there are other options for my project, but the more I think, the more the faces of these people make sense.
Poverty is an issue so close to my heart...you can't make a photograph mean something to others if it doesn't mean anything to you.
...in other news, between me, Jen, Bridget, and Chad we downed that whole other loaf of bread I bought, complete with tzatziki and olive oil...we felt oh-so-very-Greek doing so. :-)
So I've been thinking a lot about my project for photojournalism...and I keep coming back to the homeless people I see around the city. I saw another lady today, begging for money outside Carrefour. I know giving money to them is a bad idea because you never know what they will use it for. But I could not just go and ignore another person. I had picked up two loaves of bread because they were only 43Euro cents a piece. As I stood in the checkout I could see the lady outside begging, as people passed her by as if she were invisible. I couldn't treat her that way, its not in me. I figured why did I really need both these loaves of bread? So I gave one to her when I left.
As I started walking back to the apartment instead of feeling good about what I'd done I felt like crying because I knew it wasn't enough. All that coast me was less than a euro, when I spend almost 24Euro in that one trip. I want to document these people for my project...capture their image, capture their feelings,k their hurt...but I wonder how intrusive or heartless that might swwm. Me, capturing their misery/misfortune/mistakes. I know our professor says "Be bold," but is it possible to cross that line and be a little too bold? How woudl I go about getting their pictures? Do I get them to look at the camera? Do I take candids? Do they have knowledge of what I'm doing? Would they feel like i was dehumanizing them? I know there are other options for my project, but the more I think, the more the faces of these people make sense.
Poverty is an issue so close to my heart...you can't make a photograph mean something to others if it doesn't mean anything to you.
...in other news, between me, Jen, Bridget, and Chad we downed that whole other loaf of bread I bought, complete with tzatziki and olive oil...we felt oh-so-very-Greek doing so. :-)
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