My friend James Roh is an amazing photographer who is about to graduate from Ohio University. He does profile pieces on social issues taking place throughout Ohio and predominately uses photos to tell stories of the people affected by the issue he's discussing. These particular photos are from a piece he did on homelessness in Ohio. He followed a couple, Del and Bev (pictured at the bottom), that recently became homeless in August of 2008 after battling substance abuse and a tough economy. He documented their struggle to rebuild their lives completely sober. I thought the photography was beautiful and revealing. He even captured them dumpster diving for food. He more recently did a piece on strippers, which also surprisingly captured really beautiful moments. You can check out more of his stuff (including the stripper photos - which I didn't know if I could include on this blog) at Jame's blog.
The last picture is so heartbreaking. Their expressions, the black and white, the woodsy background--it's all so haunting. I love that the two subjects are being framed by the tent (I think that's a tent?) in the picture. It puts the focus even more directly on their tragedy. Pictures like this are important to take and to be seen.
ReplyDeleteWow. I can't say enough how much I like these pictures. I think it was such a brilliant idea for your friend to capture. It takes something that could be quite heart-breaking but his pictures are more heart-warming than to be expected. I really like the first one because the first thing I saw was the smirk on the man's face and the wrinkle's in his eye. To me that shows how despite being cold and in the snow he still has a positive outlook and I love the wrinkle lines on his eyes because it shows his wisdom and age. This man has been through a lot and those lines represent the fact that he has a story... and you're friend captured it on still-life photog sweet! And I really love the second one because it reminds me of this picture I have of Michael Jackson called "man in the mirror."
ReplyDeleteThese images are very moving. This to me is what real photojournalism is. Its beautiful and very well composed but tells a very real story at the same time. I'm really impressed by his composition and lighting. It looks very professional. I am now following your friend's blog because I think he is very talented.
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