Down & Out - a photo on Flickriver

Down & Out

            The homeless people of Toronto hold a special place in my heart. When I moved from the country to the big city, my eyes were opened to the desperate situation in Toronto caused in part to the lack of low-income housing. Although we don't see all of them on the streets, there are 70,000 people in the city with no place to call home. 

Two years ago, I started searching out folks on the streets and outside shelters to get to know them: to hear their stories, to remind them that they are valuable, and to reassure them that there is hope. Developing these friendships has been a life-changing experience for me.

With the help of my friend Lynsie Roberts, I took this self-portrait to fit the stereotypical view of a homeless man asking for change on the street. It was used for a series of design projects on the issue of homelessness. I am well aware that most guys on the streets don't actually look like this, but sometimes you have to meet your audience where their semiotics are and use an image that communicates immediately.

I desaturated the subject of this photo to convey the despair that comes with living on the street. I hope that you and I will do what we can to restore the colour to faces like this one.

**Featured in York University's Excalibur newspaper.**

Taken in: Canada / Ontario / Toronto (show map)

Taken on: September 20, 2007

Tags:

homeless

person

street

poverty

toronto

homelessness

beggar

hope

black and white « less

Sets appears in: • Cityscapes • Homosapiens.

Camera: Olympus u720SW,S720SW, f/3.5, 1/4 sec, 6.7mm, ISO 64 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Olympus u720SW,S720SW
Aperture:	f/3.5
Exposure Time:	0.25 sec (1/4)
Focal Length:	6.7mm
ISO:	64
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Creative (Slow speed)
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Scene Capture Type:	Portrait
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh
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