Defining the criteria

 My desire is to show homeless people that build shelters to live in.  I can’t assume that people would be willing to let me in their houses or that they would be willing to be photographed at all.   But if I ask enough people the same question eventually someone will say yes.   Once I earn one person’s trust it gets easier to convince others. Eventually I did get inside the homes but there was not always a photo there to be created. Getting access is not enough. I need to be able to create a great image from whatever I find. 


Picture yourself being in a plywood box. The room is so small that it is hard to show it all with a wide angle lens.  If the subject is too close to the camera then a portrait will look like a headshot in front of plywood. What does that tell the viewer about this story? Not much. 


As soon as I started looking through my lens to compose photos it would become clear that it is hard to tell I was in a shantytown.  How best do I visually explain that these people are in a personal crisis and not just weekend adventurers or somebody hanging around a shed? 


It is clear I had to create portraits and not reportage. That was a given since I needed to exclude the people who did not want to be photographed.  I can show some action shots but the body of work must primarily be people in their personal space with their things.  What do they own that they are proud of? What do they own that makes them feel better when they see it. Each home had some sort of prized possession. 


On  the very first day I started this project I toured a home in Bicentennial Park with my boyfriend. When we left the home my boyfriend turned to the homeowner and said “ I noticed a personal photo on you wall. Is that your daughter?”


 “No” the man replied “I found her photo on the ground and I liked it so I kept it. I like to look at her and think of my own family.” The man spoke with a Spanish accent. I don’t know where he came from but it might be a good guess that he was an illegal immigrant that left his family behind to come here and make a better life. 


No doubt, the images I create had to include the person’s environment to support their story. Once in a while a portrait could be a tight crop but if done too frequently the information that can be gathered by the location would be lost.

If I crop too much out the viewer doesn’t understand what is going on.  The images had to alert the viewer that the photo had something to do with homelessness or I was unable to communicate about the topic. Given that the people in the photographs are clean and well dressed I still have to find ways for the audience to make the association that the subject matter is about homeless. 


My criteria is that the people could not just be homeless but had to have a shelter they created to enhance their safety and security. I had to be sure to watch what was unfolding for me and not look for a checklist to shoot. It is not my mission to project what I will discover but to wait for what opportunity and or person flows into my path.

Please check out my website for this project at http://www.marylou.us/chaos .  I also have a facebook presence at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Photographer-MaryLou-Uttermohlen/201723200603?ref=hl . This part of the project was made possible by an individual artist fellowhip of $5,000 from the State of Florida.

 

Defining who I AM

I started this project with a curiosity of wanting to see the inside of shanties and meet the residents of these villages. What are the lives of these people like? What leads them to this destination?  My purpose for creating this work was that I couldn’t drive by it everyday and not have my questions answered. I needed to know their story.

This first thing I learned from taking on this project was to detach emotionally from the people I was documenting. I figured this out by doing the opposite first. 

On my early camp visits I left  feeling sad. I wanted to help these people.  Perhaps I can find them jobs, bring food or collect clothing.   I was overwhelmed by a sense of “there by the grace of God go I.”  What if I were going through this experience? I was projected my feelings onto them.  

My gut reaction was to jump into action to do what ever I could to help. I was monitoring about five camps at the time and this included several hundred people.  The more food I handed out the more they wanted. The more I gave the more they needed. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that I was out of my league. On my own I am not going to be able to save the world.  I do not have the skills or the resources to make a significant difference to these people.  Quickly I discovered that I was being pulled away from my original mission to observe.

Trying to solve problems for others is NOT the best use of my gifts.  To be able to move forward and be productive I had no choice but to define who I am and accept who I am not.   I am not a social worker, an activist, a lawyer, a nonprofit, or a fundraiser and the list of who I am NOT goes on. Who I am is a visual storyteller and it is my job to simply record and tell this story about a time and place. Perhaps my photographs could affect people to take action but I need to stick to what I do best and not try to become someone who I am not.

My first lesson from STRUCTURE OUT OF CHAOS was detachment.  If I get too emotionally involved I become the story instead of a witness. If that happens my photographs are no longer honest and will become propaganda manipulating the viewer on how they should feel. The photographs would become a projection of my emotions. No one can learn without an open mind and it does not serve any good to react emotionally without knowing the facts.  From a detached state of being I dropped my emotions and concentrated solely on my mission to experience and not react to the story.