So I Guess I’m An Asshole Or Something

February 15, 2011

1–2 minutes

So I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but I take a lot of photos of people, places, and things around Philadelphia for this blog. It’s, like, kind of my thing. So far, I haven’t had much trouble doing this. Why would I? But today, while taking a photo of a man (possibly homeless) laying over a stream grate at the corner of Broad and Walnut streets with a suitcase over his face to shelter him from the wind, a woman jumped between my camera and the guy and started making a big scene. She started yelling, and I mean yelling, that I “couldn’t do that”–take his photo–and that I “needed his permission.” Meanwhile, my friend Alex was on the phone with the homeless shelter right next to me. When we told the woman we were calling for help, she started shouting something about how she WAS help, about how she WAS homeless outreach. At that point we started to walk away.

I’ve never really thought taking a photo of a homeless person was nessisarily expoitative before. At least not in the sense that the photo is being used for any other purpose than to point out that this is how some people in Philadelphia have to live and to ask why.

I don’t know. I felt pretty shitty about it. What do you think?

5 responses to “So I Guess I’m An Asshole Or Something”

@jujukus

February 15, 2011 at 10:03 pm

it is no more exploitive to take a photo of a homeless person in the street than it is to take photos of any person out in public. further more, your intentions were to document and encourage dialogue about a sad but true fact of life – which is something countless media creators have done before, sometimes with positive results. plus you guys were calling for help! pay that b**** no mind. keep shooting!

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Joe in Philly

February 15, 2011 at 10:28 pm

I agree. And who knows if that woman was even “homeless outreach” as she said she was. You should have asked her for her name and the organization she represents and asked her for an interview.

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1. jarmel.
  
  February 15, 2011 at 11:35 pm
  
  i feel this way:
  you don’t take pictures of homeless people unless you offer them a tip, beer, something cheap to eat, or something (possibly a moment of your time / cheap conversation) that will last for them longer than it took you to snap that shot.
  straight up, they aint got much. taking a picture of them aint a wrong thing to do but sometimes it’s maybe the only thing they accomplished in a day and in a way i think that should be acknowledged.
  also, this is code in other countries and it’s a respect thing i think we should have here as well.
  even tho i wouldn’t of reacted like that woman – she was speaking from her heart. it don’t matter if i agree with her or not…… it is nice when people open they mouths other than to suck dick.
  jus sayin.
  
  Reply
Catherine McGovern

February 22, 2011 at 12:23 am

This was not exploitative, though I can understand why some might view it this way. You acted with great respect when you chose not to further engage this woman, who may or may not have been working with an outreach program. It is through other photos of yours that I have seen of homeless people, that told me you had a wonderfully compassionate heart. You are a chronicler of what is…Walker Evans did the same thing in his photos and was similarly criticized. Without such works,though, the bad stuff of the human condition might not be known. We, in our comfortable lives, need to be reminded of those less fortunate. Don’t let people get away with denying these things exist, Conrad. And don’t beat yourself up about this.
With much love,
“Aunt” Catherine

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darrien

March 8, 2011 at 7:17 pm

You were in the right…it is legal for you to take photos of anything and anyone on public property unless there is a sign prohibiting photography. Technically, I think you can photograph someone in public even if they ask you not to–not illegal, just rude. Essentially it’s “if you don’t want to be recorded, stay out of public.” There might be different laws in Philadelphia regarding this, but generally if you’re on public property, you’re fair game. I suppose it would be polite to give the guy a some change or a sandwich in exchange for his photo, but that’s it. Don’t feel bad.

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