Images taken years ago with B&W film. Recently scanned and processed.
(Probably) a homeless man.
From a bridge over the Seine River, I watched the man for about 15 minutes, and that was the definite impression I got, judging from his grimy hair and clothing, and his behavior generally.
It is a problem in almost every big city in the world- and there are no easy answers to it.
Interestingly, in seven trips to China (not recently) I never saw anyone looking and behaving like a homeless person. Nor did I on a seven-week tour through several parts of the USSR.
Charlie
Thanks Dylan, Andre, Steady and Douglas.
I posted both because much of my photography generally includes surrounding context.
Of course, the fact that the walkways down at the river's edge are often photogenic doesn't hurt.
Sometimes you see young lovers; sometimes you see the homeless.
Charlie
I sincerely hope you helped him out with a snack or something.
greg
Thanks, Dave.
Greg- I'm not sure how much you've traveled abroad and observed the apparent lives of the locals, but the truth is that I would have had to find a market, buy a snack for the man, then walk several hundred feet to the stairs leading down to the riverside path, then walk several hundred feet to the man, try to speak to him (I spoke no French, and he almost certainly spoke no English), try to explain that I felt such guilt about his apparent plight that- here's a snack. All without knowing if he would be humiliated by my gesture (probably), or embarrassed by it (almost certainly). Or if indeed he was homeless and hungry.
Lest you think I'm heartless about the less fortunate, I was once at an American fast foods restaurant on Christmas Eve and saw a homeless-looking man reach into the trash bin, pick out a coffee cup and walk to the counter for a "refill." He was not drunk- he just had that "dumpster diver" look. I sat next to him and asked if I could buy him a meal. He looked up (homeless people don't make a lot of eye contact) and said yes, I could. I asked what he wanted, and went to the counter and bought it for him. Handing the food to the man, I asked if I gave him some money, would he use it to buy booze? He gave me a sincere look and said that he would not. I handed him a ten dollar bill, wished him a merry Christmas, and left him to his meal (neither of us was particularly comfortable trying to make small talk).
That doesn't make me a hero or anything, and not giving the man in Paris a snack doesn't make me an unfeeling person.
All circumstances are different, and you have to be there at the time to understand.
Charlie
Charlie, I'm impressed by your memories of these shots. I find it hard to remember what I did yesterday, let alone ten years or more ago. Did you keep notes as to place and time when you shot?
