Drea...these are all beautiful honey!!! and "harmless tourists" you were NOT! lol you look like a group of deperados is you ask me! especially that guy named Gerhard! lol ok, ok...so maybe that's a bit of an exageration. hehe Moni...the shots are gorgeous Shorty!!! as i said in the email...up to your standards of course and no surprise! i love them each and every one honey! Christian...love the collages...couldn't agree more with Cindy. so i have to say you're missing your calling without even knowing how you earn your living! beautiful work my friend! Everyone...this is super you guys. i just wish i could have been there! if you had a picture of me now, you'd see how green with envy i am! hehe hugest hugs to everyone!!! a couple of special ones too. ;-)

Brian! Do you want a time out!?! I've told you about slapping and pinching the other children in the class. Now let's apologize and play nicely! Oh...you meant that figuratively? Sorry. ;-) And of course to Cindy and Doug...a beautiful job once again!!! I'm so glad you do this because I'd have missed so many awesome images! (Yeah...it's like a compulsive disorder thing. I have to look at every single one of your choices. lol But I ain't complainin'!)

i kinda had a feelin' you meant you agreed. :-) hey watch it girl! i'm a cranky old man with fragile bones! no shovin'! lol Raz is a perfect example of what i was talking about too. he's not in it for one or two visits. he lives there, he wants to do something about the situation and he has the trust of a lot of people. he's not a "do nothing talking head" as in a network reporter or trash like that. he's in it for the long haul. we need a LOT more like him.

oh, so you've stopped speaking to me now huh? ;-) and yes, Raz has done some great work. work that needs to be acknowledged and applauded for that matter. his continuing series of the break dancers is an extension of the homeless work he did in my opinion. can ya guess i think VERY highly of my bro? :-) he da man and there's no doubt in my mind as to that!!

the trust of anyone has to be earned. the assurance that the photographer isn't there to exploit them or use their misfortune in any way has to be extremely obvious from the very start. that isn't done in one or two or 20 "visits" though. beleive me, it's difficult and time consuming. but well worth the effort none-the-less. but a one day trip really isn't going to be productive. and "visits" are the last thing they want. they want and NEED commitments. nothing less. i've been working on this "project" of mine for over two years now. i've spent nights in a homeless shelter here in town. i've haunted the same places my homeless friends go to: street corners, empty lots, abandoned buildings. and i still have to prove to them that i'm not out to take advantage of them. people in these circumstances and people living at poverty level are rightfully distrustful of "authority" figures. quite honestly, if all we're talking is a "day trip" then i'm going to have to pass on it hon. i know from experience that all a day trip is going to accomplish is to upset and piss off those we'd be taking shots of. it cheapens their circumstances and gives the impression of condescending attitudes on the part of the photographer. two years into my own project and i still show the images to the people in them. get their permission for future use. get their suggestions on how to better show the situation. it's definitely a two-sided affair. we have to give MORE than we're taking. they won't (and shouldn't) accept platitudes and "poor you, let me help" attitudes. we are the ones asking them a favor. so what do we give in return? they sure as hell aren't willing to accept some nice sounding, "educated and wealthy" words from someone who shows up for one day and then goes back to their comffy crib to sit back and think deep thoughts. and believe me when i say that's how we'd be preceived by the vast majority of people in that situation. despite being poor (or homeless), these are intelligent, feeling individuals. they aren't just the "unwashed masses" of the liberal establishment. they're human beings with needs, wants, worries and cares who MUST be respected. they also aren't the "lazy welfare society" the right wing would have us believe either. they're people who just want an honest break and are damned well willing to earn their own way if given the opportunity. ok...sorry this turned into a lecture. but i feel very strongly about this in case you didn't guess. no put-downs intended on anyone participating in this discussion and certainly not finding fault with your suggestion. Roy Stryker proved in the 30's during the Great Depression just how effective this type of thing can be. The FSA project brought together the most talented photographers the world has ever known and they showed this country and the world what a concentrated, directed effort could do in easing the plight of a huge segment of people. but it's not about a "political series". it's entirely about a "people series". otherwise, they are once again dehumanized and made into nothing more than numbers. bottom line - they could give a damn about the asshole politicians and what they're doing. or the do-gooder photographers and what they're doing. they just want a job to feed their families. ok...i'll end this since i have a feeling some of you might not be speaking to me in the future. i'm nothing though, if not honest about this very specific issue. it means a great deal to me and i just hope that if anything is done, that it will in no way cheapen these people. Gene

it wasn't the boots as much as the jeans. the boots were nice and clean from wading through streams and going thru standing water once i got into the little valley the falls are in. but i'm like a kid playing in puddles so it was fun. ;-) we really didn't get anything of what they were saying. no high winds, no real flooding, no damage. thank goodness. this stupid place shuts down when someone spits on the roadway...i'd hate to see it in a true emergency. lol

oh sure Jeroen...what do you know about insect shots?! lmao (and if i didn't consider you the Master...i wouldn't dream of saying that!) ;-)

the one where we'd meet like the one we're doing in IN/KY? if so, yes...i sure would! i'm doing the same sort of thing right now that you're suggesting for that matter. documenting the homeless here in Columbus. Kort...it takes some getting used to but after the initial few times...and accepting them as people just like you and me...it's like being with old friends actually. so yeah...to both of you...i'd be MORE than interested. it's a very intense subject to me because i saw the homeless downtown every day for over 4 years. begging, drunk, on drugs, hungry, confused, "ignored" and unloved...you fuckin' name it. and it hurts like holy hell to see MY people being treated like trash or garbage to be thrown out without a 2nd thought. so if there's ANYTHING i can do to help eliminate that situation...then i'm sure as hell on the band-wagon and playin' the freakin' tuba!

at last reading, the death toll in Biloxi was expected to be triple what the current "official" reports make it. as for New Orleans, a lot of the reason, beyond poverty, is also the fact that the oil companies are gouging the public on gas prices. they are claiming a shortage of gasoline for that area at the present time. what i fail to understand is how this shortage could have developed in less than 1 or 2 days. there were certainly no reports of it prior to the hurricane. i think a lot of that has to do with the fact that these thieves know they have a sympathetic ear in the "white house". (or should i be honest and say CRAWFORD?) it really bothers me that this idiot so sanctomoniously claimed to be ending his never-ending vacation to monitor the relief efforts when it's quite obvious that he just wanted to get away from the protesters. ok, i grant you...off topic. back to topic. Harry Truman once made a comment that we should clean up our own back yard before starting on anyone elses. how damned true is that! so yes...while i feel sympathy for the millions of people affected by any of the recent worldwide disasters, i also feel sympathy for those hit by this CAT 5 hurricane. it's assumed that because this is the "Land Of Plenty", we don't need help. well we do. we have a disasterous, illegal war in Iraq that is draining our economy and we need help in more ways than one. unfortunately those who are going to suffer the most are those who don't have a voice the idiots "in charge" will hear. the solution? i wish to Heaven i knew. Gene

sounds like a "thrilling" ride for him. lol i just got back from shooting at the falls here in town. millions of gallons pouring over the cliff. the light was too bright to get any kind of good shots so i did a bunch of macros. lol i was going stir crazy cooped up in this place. so it was worth getting soaked and muddy! cool on later today!!! definitely sick of this place/city/state so i wanna shoot somewhere new! lol oh, and i actually saw the sun very briefly on my time out!! amazing after the last few days! :-)

nope. but in light of everything that's happening in the world today i have a feeling the thought is "They can handle it themselves". unfortunate but true i think. and that's not intended as a negative comment by any means. just a statement of fact as i preceive it at least.

Pascale is just a stick in the mud...doesn' like purple branches?!?! who ever heard of such a thing? lol (now just cause i'm color blind...doesn't mean a thing to me. lol)

i'm glad i decided to wait. lol and i don't know if i mentioned it or not Sheila, but i was getting ready to call you when you tried "one last time". lol warped minds think alike i tell ya! ;-) i read up on the area when we were still planning on going and it looks and sounds gorgeous! and i'm quite sure WE can get MUCH better shots than the ones i found on the web! lol (man! where do they get those pictures? someone's trash? sorry but even the IN state site had terrible images on it.) we'll have to submit something to them as a gift even! lol ok...done being catty...for now at least. here Cindy...i'm sending a lot of rain your way too! (we've only had rain as such and no high winds as predicted. thank goodness.) and yeah it really was a shellshock! i feel so bad for the people in New Orleans and actually the whole state of LA.

fortunately we still haven't gotten socked like they were threatening. no really high winds at least. it's still raining like crazy and i'm climbing the walls 'cause i can't get out and shoot...lol...but other than that...we're fine here in the armpit of the world. ;-) i've been reading about the poor souls in LA...my prayers are with them. i'm up for it anytime you and Kemal are Sheila!! and looking forward to it, needless to say! :-)

couldn't agree more Tom. Nilla for one is in Florida as well. and as you say, there are many more. my prayers are definitely with them all! (OH is getting a ton of rain and some half-way high winds but thank God nothing more.)