Monday, May 31, 2010

Homeless in Arizona Bill

Met this gentleman in west Phoenix Walmart parking lot. Bill arrived in Phoenix by bus. He said he is from Kansas, "too cold there". Nikon D200 with nikkor 20mm f4 manual focus lens. Good luck Bill.
05-31-10 DSC_0060 "Bill homeless in Arizona"
The Associated Press
March 15, 2010 - 8:02AM
More than 2,700 people are living on the streets of Maricopa County according to a recent homeless count.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

a strange encounter

While in Tucson Arizona while finishing breakfast on 22nd street I was approached by "James". James wanted a dollar for food. I offered James money for a couple of pictures. I had my nikon FM with motor drive loaded with expired Fuji film and was ready to go.
I asked James to pose in front of a vivid colored building. I fired one shot, then other. Then suddenly James exclaimed, " no more pictures". "You paid for 2".
"OK" I replied. that was it. I was not going to press for more images. I walked back to my Venture van.
James then followed me and asked "give me $4 for the 4 taco meal".
"Sorry", I replied as I drove off.
I thought later, James has no teeth.
03-17-10 Nikon fm 9 "James"
"James" in Tucson Arizona.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

My Homeless Photography in Phoenix cont.

This is an interesting photo of "Bible Mike" in Phoenix. traded a bonus jack combo for this interesting shot. nikon f5 nikon 35-70 lens. Ilford HP400 film. you can see the photographer(me)and subject "bible mike" in the shadows.
b w 12 bible mike
Robert in Phoenix (Van Buren)
04-17-10 DSC_0039 homeless in Phoenix Van Buren
04-17-10 DSC_"Robert homeless in Phoenix"
I offered Robert some money and took his photo while he ran to my van. I asked Robert if I could take his photo. He pulled back his hair. Robert still has his dignity. I spoke to Robert. He replied. Robert was educated. He had perfect control of his language. What led him to the street?

Friday, May 28, 2010

My Homeless Photography in Arizona

Arizona homeless are all over. I have been documenting interesting homeless I have run into while doing my normal driving chores in Phoenix and the surrounding areas.
I am using both film and digital. I prefer film. Nikon is my camera of choice. I have a nice supply of expired fuji film purchased on craigslist and dept store closeouts. I process the film at a local cvs lab. I then scan with a vintage canoscan scanner.
If you use a local drugstore lab try out different locations because quality varies greatly. I have found a couple that work great for me. 35 mm and digital cameras allow me to capture and compose images fast without making a production of my activities. I do not like to stand out in the crowd while photographing.
In the past I photographed weddings and I liked to work fast without being noticed. I use this approach to record images on the street.
I currently use a 35-105mm nikkor lens for most shots. It allows me to compose and frame the subject fast. This is an older push pull nikkor F3.5-4.5. This is not an auto focus lens. I prefocus the lens before I frame the subject. My films are asa 200 and 400. My digital cameras are set at the same iso as the film cameras. I use nikon F with prism finder, nikon F5 and nikon F3HP. My digital cameras are a Nikon D1 which gives me beautiful images. I also use a nikon D200 and D70s.

03-17-10 Nikon fm 5 "Daniel"
Daniel in Tucson,Arizona