‘I thought that I was in the belly of the beast’
Written by duckrabbitThis is a powerful photofilm by Eric Johnson. Some strong photographs and perfectly recorded audio, proving once more that a simple approach is often best.
‘The 30th Street Men´s Shelter, otherwise known as Bellevue, is New York City’s largest homeless shelter. A combination of mentally ill, parolees, substance abusers and people simply down on their luck are all housed together in this shelter.’
I was a bit bothered by the music being the same throughout, but listen right through to the end, because there is a magical moment when it all shifts.
There’s also a good lesson in how to record audio here. Listen how clear Carl Foye’s voice is. There is so much history in that voice, history that you just can’t pick up on unless the microphone is very close.
Thanks to @bobsacha for pointing the way on twitter.
UPDATE:
Eric has left the following comment:
‘I was first attracted to the project because of the building itself. The homeless shelter is located in what used to be a psychiatric hospital. Its very interesting visually but what became clear after checking myself in and staying there a few nights is that its all about the people and survival. I always shoot the same, dictated by light, but in this case the photographs were really my reaction to staying there a few nights… David commented “striving to the light” and he is totally right. I think most photographers shoot how they feel in the situation.
Anyway, thanks for looking at the piece.’
THANK YOU ERIC … duckrabbit will be watching out for your work.
Author — duckrabbit
duckrabbit is a production company formed by radio producer/journalist Benjamin Chesterton and photographer David White. We specialize in digital storytelling.
Discussion (20 Comments)
I like the term ‘photofilm’
So much better than ‘audio slideshow’ or anything else.
Yeah … it took me ages to come up with ‘photofilm’. Not sure why! I think its important that we think and approach these things as films, because technically that’s what they are.
I entirely agree: photofilm is a good term. I liked this one, it is simple, deep and the pictures are brilliant. The seconds of film on it are very well used and the story is grabbing. Once again duckrabbit is a good place where to find great examples of multimedia masterpieces.
Once again, great find. Awesome ‘photofilm’ – and the audio!!! Deep, throaty, ‘lived in’ – Atmosphere – puts you right there alongside him.
No bells, no whistles, simple.
More inspiration.
Nice one
Ian
Great piece, great find, and good to get away from the misleading idea of ‘audio slideshow’. The voice is the key, and the music fine (great at the end), but personally I wouldn’t have laid the music under the voice, just in the breaks between the resident’s narration.
I totally agree David. I think we can say that there is already music in the voice, but wow it took my breath away when the guy starts to sing!
The piece is powerful and beautiful. But it is just me…or does anyone else have some discomfort with the clash between the very real bleakness of the situation at Bellevue and the overwhelming beauty of the photographs? Put harshly it’s a kind of ‘ruin porn’.
Hi Toby,
thanks for your comment.
From a personal point of view we must judge the film as a whole and the photography is one of its stengths. I don’t really get the use of the word porn. I appreciate the photography but I can’t see anyone wanking over it.
Hi duckrabbit,
I think it’s the duality between beauty and horror, a powerful rhetorical strategy but something I have difficulty with. Maybe it’s that one derives aesthetic pleasure from others misfortune. Salgado’s work is perhaps a better example. I used the term ‘ruin porn’ because there has been a similar debate concerning journalists fascination with ruined buildings in Detroit. For instance, http://www.viceland.com/int/v16n8/htdocs/something-something-something-detroit-994.php?page=1.
T.
Toby, thanks for your response. You raise important points.
It seems to me perhaps you are talking about a form of sadomasochism, not porn, which I feel is a word poorly used in relation to imagery on social issues. If the photographs are drawing you into a story then they provide an important narrative function.
Do we have a problem with the audio because it is well recorded and thoughtfully edited?
Of course if the aesthetic of the photos distracts from the story, that’s another matter. For me that is over-production.
Its definitely worth debating.
That is a great piece. Beautiful, honest, simple. I think the images absolutely strengthen the work. They are very well done, beautiful, honest and simple.
Nothing clever. Very well observed. Surely it is the job of the photographer to draw you into the story through a strong aesthetic…there are very few well known crap photos that I can think of. In this piece I think the images present a sort of hope, a striving to the light somehow. That’s why it works so well, at least for me.
The logical extension to the above argument about ruin/disaster porn or whatever is that we should never see a beautiful image of an awful situation. I don’t agree.
Should we only ever be allowed to see awful pics of bad situations? Bad writing about awful situations? No.
Not if the content was created with true intentions. Surely integrity creates validity.
Beautiful audio also.
Thanks
Yeah David is spot on. I think we can both honestly say that we approach our work with integrity and I would be really gutted if at the end of the days work when I look through his pics they did not have beauty in them, even when we have been in some pretty dark places. I would feel that David would be letting both his talent and more importantly the people in the pictures down. That said I’m sure there are photographers who I would feel uncomfortable with the way they work, but then David has never suggested we dig up any bodies (yet). What’s important is the context in which the photos are presented.
One of the dangers in the way that photofilms are judged is by separating out the photos from the rest of the production. So you see bad photofilms winning awards because the photos are decent. We must judge the whole.
Thanks again to TOBY for the debate.
Beautiful. makes me want to make one for my projects. On comparing this photofilm to photographs you see in publication you really start to understand how this type of communication is more effective in getting its message across. Instead of just producing images and expecting them to do the work themselves in print, watching something as touching as this delivers so much more, an example of what media should become.
I had to watch it twice as I felt slightly overwhelmed by looking at the stunning images and also listening to the narration.. I think thats okay though, most of the time people don’t want to know, if you can get some one to go back for more then you’ve hit the jackpot
..i want more!
Hey all, Eric here… I made the Bellevue piece.
Thanks so much for the feedback and debate… that’s what I was hoping for…
Although sorry I don’t have much to add to the very old debate of “aesthetic pleasure from others misfortune”…
I was first attracted to the project because of the building itself. The homeless shelter is located in what used to be a psychiatric hospital. Its very interesting visually but what became clear after checking myself in and staying there a few nights is that its all about the people and survival. I always shoot the same, dictated by light, but in this case the photographs were really my reaction to staying there a few nights… David commented “striving to the light” and he is totally right. I think most photographers shoot how they feel in the situation.
Anyway, thanks for looking at the piece..
Thanks for posting Eric, and thanks for your work.
Best of luck, and please let us know when you’ve completed another 🙂
I had the good fortune to have Eric as a student in his first semester at the ICP and he is an intelligent, dedicated, calm and astute guy. I’m really pleased to see him come out of the course with such a fantastic piece that people are responding so positively to. Good stuff.
Not only great work Eric, but you found an incredible approach. It is good to see that New York City’s response to it’s unsheltered is being documented. It is a huge story that may not be popular, but it is important. I think it may take a few eyes and many frames to cover the current homeless situation and your contribution is essential, sensitive, compassionate, respectful and haunting. While capturing beautiful and stark frames you managed to preserve the atmosphere to a remarkable degree. I can feel the air contained in Bellevue’s halls and rooms.
Hey Eric, Not only great work but a brilliant way to get close to an illusive story. Your beautiful stark images are strong while subtle, respectful, and the moments of natural of light exist like the remains of hope that manages to exist despite the evidence of consequence. So glad I got to see your stuff.
OK I responded twice, but I made an error on the first. Nevertheless it deserves both responses
No worries Andrea, thanks for your comment. I am a big, big fan of your work.