photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Tami | all galleries >> Galleries >> Favorites > Take My Picture
previous | next

Take My Picture

While taking a walk in downtown Chicago with my camera around my neck, this gentleman asked me to
take his picture. I sort of looked at him in shock and asked "You would let me take your picture?" He retorted
"Why not, I ain't no convict!"
So I took the picture.
© Tamara Barnes


other sizes: small medium original auto
comment | share
Jeffrey Lewis Knapp23-Dec-2005 15:03
Very good photo. You might have taken a picture of God! The cup would represent pureness in the ultimate maximum form!!! The crack represents the fact that we are not, yet, perfect? The smile is love and understanding and represents the fact that we have a long way to go. Where does this say homeless?? I see happiness, love, understanding and yes, a twinkle in his eye. JLK
Tami01-Dec-2004 03:54
The line is a crack in the marble foundation. The shot is film. The cup is blown out, I made a mistake. But I like his smile and the whole incident.
ctfchallenge30-Nov-2004 20:54
The "line" in the upper right looks like thread or something on the negative in the enlarger. Is this a film photo? OTOH, the blanked-out cup makes it look like a digital shot. Which? And why the contrasting cup? I think it distracts from his not-quite-smiling face.
- MisterMax
Yiannis Pavlis09-Nov-2004 01:15
excellent capture.
Diane 03-Oct-2004 15:59
I had my students (College students in a developmental writing course) write paragraphs describing this and other pictures in this gallery. Here are some of the comments:

Rikkita: It looks like he enjoy (sic) this type of living. Look at his smile.

Tamika: I think he just wants the money.

Marlene: Maybe he just got so use (sic) to this that he's ok with it. I'm not saying that he likes being homeless. Hes (sic) just use (sic) to it.

Thanks for letting me use your work.
Mommie
type25-Sep-2004 09:10
I agree with Phil. And I think they way he caught you off-guard like that brings an interesting personal involvement, too.
Phil Douglis12-Sep-2004 23:42
Thanks, Tami, for sharing your brother's comments with me. It validates my contention that the meaning of any photograph is dependent on the context in which it is viewed. My comment apparently changed the picture's context for your brother, and he then saw the picture in a different light.

That is what gives an expressive photo its power to say many different things, depending entirely upon the context a viewer brings to the picture. I have taught my students that a photograph is not an end in itself. It is a catalyst to thought. What happens in the viewers mind is the most important thing. And it is context that informs the viewer's response.
Tami28-Aug-2004 13:23
Thanks Phil for this comment. My brother and I were discussing this photo yesterday. When he originally saw the image he thought it would have been better if the man was not smiling. I disagreed. After reading your comment, he looked at the picture in a different light.
Phil Douglis22-Jul-2004 16:44
A fascinating image -- we often associate such subjects as this with pity, hostility, or neglect. Yet this man faces us with a twinkle in his eye and a somewhat whimsical view of himself. You confound our stereotypes with this image, Tami, and make us think. And that's the bottom line in photographic communication.