Everyone has a story, and this is always first and foremost in my mind. Having come from a back ground with not much money( born in Africa) and having grown up in a home where my parents often reached out to the homeless with the little that we did have, it birthed something of a compassion towards people less fortunate than ourselves. Growing up I realised sadly a lot of these people are in these positions due to poor decision making, however when you actually take the time to hear their stories one can’ t but help be moved by the humanity aspect that we are in the end all human, we the same.
Be it Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney- whenever I go on a business trip I always make sure I have my camera with me. Usually after a day’ s work and evening dinner with work colleagues I head out into the streets to capture whatever I may find in the city night life. For many years my canon 550D and 50mm 1.8 was my faithful companion on these adventures. Recently I have moved to Fujifilm Xpro2 with the 23mm 1.4 lens. The build of the Fujifilm set up certainly comes across less intrusive as a camera set up.
Earlier this year I started I personal photography series called“ The homeless and the homeless”. The inspiration behind this was driven by a compassion for people on the streets and to give ear to their stories and then with their permissions grab some photographs of their raw reality environments. Homeless and homeless to me meant that most often it is not only their physical bodies that were homeless and living on the streets, but their dignity and identity as human beings and sense of belonging was also homeless. We all have a story and we all know the sense of warmth it brings to feel accepted and heard. My humble efforts were to be something of this to these men and woman on the streets.
Like most often in life, you can start out with good intentions and learn that their are dangers along the way. Someone who is coming off a high or having had a hit of ice can pose genuine safety issues. It would be advisable to pursue such photography with a friend by your side. I have been cursed, had things thrown at me and even chased on my adventures in night street photography with the homeless. One gentleman sleeping on the floor inside a Westpac ATM foyer was delighted when a small group of us gave him a hamper of food and clothes in a kit bag. I asked If I could take a few photos to which he nodded with a smile in what I interpreted as approval( as did those around me). I was taking a few shots and decided to get really low and lie down on the ground and get a lower more creative angle looking up. I would have been about 4 meters away from this gentleman so I was not in his private space by any means. The next thing like a African Nile crocodile launching out of the water to grab a zebra, this gentleman shot up with screaming fits of rage and headed straight towards me. Fortunately my reflexes were sharp( like the lucky zebra that got away) and managed to escape a swinging leg intended to kick me. Once I was on my feet this gentleman proceeded to chase me. At this point his obvious intoxication gave me the clear advantage to get away as I sprinted down the side street. Moral of the story- always be alert and aware.
But then there are the awesome connections one has that are more moving than watching Slumdog Millionaire with a hot box of popcorn. One gentleman had lost his entire business, factory, and family and was now on the streets with nothing. Yes there were a series of unhelpful decisions that led to this point, but in that moment, being in the pres-
147