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The Money Shot

The "Money Shot". It's not the type of shot where you look to get paid. It's the one that tells the largest story with the least amount of words. Today as I drove through Pen Lucy park, I saw this homeless lady at the stop light. I've driven through here daily for years and today was the first time I'd ever seen this lady. She was as worn as the soles of her shoes. She appeared to have the conscious mind of a 6 year old child. I only had about 20 seconds to capture the moment. It tends to be that way driving through the district where most of the show " The Wire" was filmed. Needless to say I was able to salvage what I referred to above as, " The Money Shot".

After countless hours of studying the late great visual artist, Gordon Parks life stills, I've come to the conclusion that life stills are and should be timeless. They hold the frailties of life tight enough to crush them and soft enough to doctor them back to maximum health. In my free time I've chosen to use the homeless as my platform to express those two characteristics of life. Often times the homeless population is the most obvious and yet they've found a way to become the most invisible group on earth. I've had the privilege to have numerous conversations with some of them, some by choice and some not, but I can't ever recall one that I regret.

The Money Shot.



Photo by: J.J. McQueen 2K10

Comments

Anonymous said…
Seeing the actual picture of the woman after your description made the picture that much more powerful. This is a "Shot of Struggle," ironically named "The Money Shot." It forces me to think, "What else can I do to reach out to our communities?" Thank you for sharing!
November 7, 2010 at 4:48 PM
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