Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/01/19
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]It's a strict violation of the 10 Commandments of Plug Photography to photograph the homeless, because it's such a cheap shot at making a shortcut to meaning. It allows us to appear socially conscious while keeping 50 milimieters of distance between a wrecked human life and our own. Maybe I should change that rule to "Don't photograph the homeless with anything wide than a 15mm". If you're going to do it, you should have your face up in it. Omar's a real conundrum. He's live in my neighborhood for years, in the summer sleeping on the steps of the coffee house and in the winter sometimes on the porches or garages of neighbors. He's friendly and even charming during the day but he's a heavy drinker and a mean drunk and one by one, people's patience wears out and businesses start adopting a "no omar" policy. He's banned from the coffee shop and most of the places he used to hang out, most of the bars won't let him in, but there's still something fascinating about him. Like many successful panhandlers he's endearing in short doses. I've been photographing him in passing for maybe five years. I saw him last week and said "Omar, you look like a freaking GQ model." "I don't have much," he said. "You know, I don't have anything, but it's important to look nice." http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/pix/paw/2007/3/1.jpg