Hi Frank ... People are people ... some have useful arms and legs, others don't and may need help to get around (wheel chair, crutches, what have you). Some may look pretty scruffy, or appear to be drunk, but they are just people, and you're not exploiting them any more or less than you may be some guy in a suit (who, just for the sake of argument, may have some other, perhaps less noticeable problem), who, it seems, you'd have little or no problem talking with or photographing.
People in wheel chairs, people who have disabilities, who don't fit some "norm" are just people. You ride a bike, they travel in a wheelchair. Treat 'em the same way. In most cases they'll appreciate your interest since they are often shunned. And, if you can get to talking with them, which is generally helpful BEFORE making a photo, you'll learn about them, and their life, and their problems, and maybe learn a few things about your self as well. But, since this is the PDML, maybe it should just be said that it'll improve the photos you do make. Y'know, I'll sometimes sit on the sidewalk alongside the street panhandlers, or sit alongside someone in a cafe or restaurant, and just strike up a conversation, and see where it goes. One of the most difficult photos I've taken was of a guy in a wheel chair ... he had no feet, and he was sitting in his chair, panhandling, right in front of a shop called the "Shoe Pavillion," in the window of which were dozens of pairs of shoes that he could never wear. I couldn't pass up that shot, but I couldn't just sneak a shot either, so I struck up a conversation with him, and he told me how his situation came to be. At that point I asked if I could make a few photos ... But don't hesitate to grab a shot without asking permission. You can always discuss their situation afterwards. http://home.earthlink.net/~scbelinkoff/images/eric-at-work.html This guy is homeless, but I discovered that he's a hard worker. Here he is with just a small portion of the plastic bottles he'd collected that day, busy removing the caps, emptying their contents. After talking with him for a while I learned where he sells the recyclables he collects, where the best free meals in Berkeley are, who some of his colleagues and competition is, about how much he earns each day. Thing is, Frank, unless you talk to the people you're uncomfortable talking with, you'll always remain uncomfortable around them. You'll never really know who they are. What I discovered about Eric is that he's a very hard worker, and seemingly a very responsible and caring person. He's not just some slacker who's on the dole ... he works every day. shel frank theriault wrote: > But, here's my point (again, there is one... <g>). I tend to take photos > of able-bodied people. I don't take photos of obese people, out of fear > that they'll be offended. Same thing with people in wheel chairs, or street > people who are in very rough shape, or clearly intoxicated, or who are in > some other way disabled or disadvantaged. But, since I take lots of photos > of normally-abled folks, am I not discriminating against "non-beautiful" > people? Not to take it to the extreme suggested by Marnie in an earlier > post, but I often wonder if by ~not~ taking photos of such people, I'm > actually discriminating against them in a certain way?
