Melvin's Room - Invitation To One Man's World

Brilliantly captivated....
He doesn't seem to phase about you taking the photo.... I've got to say, that's my worst nightmare though with the cleanliness, what a ****hole! :)
 
too bad i didn't have your x100s - should be picking one up in about a week. also the hd video button didn't depress all the way so i lost about 5 min of video - well we get what we get .. right dan?
 
yes a bit untidy dave - a few of us love this genre and some loathe it - my only complaint is the missed vid clip and the camera's performance in low light at a high iso - guess a revisit is in order.
 
This is a seriously sad image and he is a good man for allowing you to photograph what others might want to hide. Your image makes me appreciate whatever comforts I have. It's a fine image that will make us think and I can only wish him well. It cannot be easy for him. Can you tell us something of the circumstances in which you took the photograph; is he a friend of yours?
 
location is n side chicago in a quickly gentrifying neighborhood - lots of drugs, gangs and shootings -- er say bout 2 years ago and well into the 60s. melvin is a guy who for 2 bucks let me photograph his flop. being non-judgmental and having a sense of humor goes a long way and if you shoot the street you know first-hand. the only thing missing from the photo is the smell and gnats. for now i'm using a pana zs20 which as i mentioned does not perform well at a high iso... well not even at one fairly low. i used this camera for a 5 week, 7 country urbex run back in '12 -- too bad UK was not on the agenda. very interested now to upgrade the camera - i'm on FB if you care to check out other work - cheers
 
i can say melvin is a really nice guy who likes his weed and wine. photographer friendly .. if he digs your attitude - an image that comes to mind would be the parisian beggar class during the french revolution - madame defarge and the gang. check out children of paradise also if you are a cinema buff -
 
Thanks for this shot, William. You can almost smell the place from it. I've been close to people like this in my late teens. Don't want to go there again. Not even with a camera. But I'm glad you are recording these people and their lives. It's all part of our story.
 
Once you get over the initial perverse comedy factor (speaking for myself anyway), what is left is a very sad image that asks a lot of questions. I think it is a very provoking image that reminds us that whatever is going on in his life to make it so unconventional he is still a person and probably just wants the same for his life as any of us.
 
Gritty stuff - not sure I'd have the balls to shoot this

X100s should suit you very nicely I think - lots of low light capability, and a low profile for street shooting

Quick question - any mileage in un-fishing the image to see how it looks?
 
documenting through photography i suppose is what we all do with the purpose of telling a story. each genre has unique characteristics that attract certain sensibilities. to find a niche one loves makes the art much sweeter for the artist and perhaps later for the viewer. sweet is hardly an adjective to describe melvin's spot -- perhaps forbearance, poetic misery, but i sense melvin had a sense of pride showing me his room and in a sense inner being. whatever be the case the shot speaks for itself and each viewer can make sense (or lack of) in his/her own way. thanks all for sharing your insights!
 
Its a hard picture to look at William. And it needs very little imagination to conjure the scent that must have pervaded the atmosphere. Great shot.
 
Am I alone in not having pity for this chap?

I went on Safari once, we chared a truck with a young girl who as we passed a tribes man on the road said she felt sorry for him. Her motives weren't at question... She seemed to be worried initially about his diet. But then went on to question a life without tv and hair straighteners. I simply said "it's all about perspective" ... I think this went over her head.

How do we know this guy hasn't just moved into the place 2 months before after a lifetime on the streets? Maybe he hasn't had an abode for so long his sense of tidiness and cleanliness is a little away from what some of us might like... But that doesn't deserve him pitty!

Judging by our own standards an image of a chap with little background info is a dangerous thing in my mind!

If this guy is happy, then this is no less valid a way to live than any other way ...

Pardon my high horse! :D
 
Hamish Gill said:
Am I alone in not having pity for this chap?



How do we know this guy hasn't just moved into the place 2 months before after a lifetime on the streets? Maybe he hasn't had an abode for so long his sense of tidiness and cleanliness is a little away from what some of us might like... But that doesn't deserve him pitty!


Pardon my high horse! :D
Click to expand...
As you say Hamish; you don't know.
 
i just saw melvin - he is reasonably happy .. at least i like to think so - good observation hamish - and when the day is done i think most things are subjective and relative. one person's hell is another's paradise. when i was in melvin's room i felt really at a peak moment.. alive - no judgment - just pure in the moment kind of thing. i rarely get that feeling standing in line at the supermarket but i suppose it is possible .. to have that feeling. i was in vilnius a year or so back photographing in a derelict sight. a young lady i had met offered to show me this site. we entered and found wandering zombie-like creatures here and there. never have i been so overpowered by a poisonous stench and really had to leave. even though it was not productive in a photographic way - nor did i have pleasant memories of it -- i must say i'm glad to have had the experience - a real, unexpected moment in time with a young lovely creature who was brave beyond belief.

happy to see this photo has made some impact and generated some discussion - i make these photos because i enjoy the process - not all my work is dark.. but a lot is. i enjoy the company of poverty stricken folk because there is little pretense or game playing... survival is the prize. don mccullin best articulates (for me) the art of photographing dire circumstances. i imagine most of you know his work --
 
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