Photographing Tramps in the Los Angeles Freight Yards
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- John Free is a social documentary photographer. John has taught at USC, UCLA, PCC, LACMA and has worked professionally at this craft for more than 45 years. For his personal work he does social documentary/street photography. Follow the founder of the John Free photography RUclips channel @deeno_andfree
John Free @john_free_photography on Instagram.
His just published book is available now!
Based upon his photos of the tramps in the Los Angeles freight yards "End of the Line: Railroad Tramps of the Los Angeles Freight Yards" is a collection of John’s black and white, candid, full frame, available light photographs. These rare historical photographs document a place and culture that no longer exists. The book also includes the unique and moving stories told to John by the tramps as well as John’s approach to getting to know these unique people and his photographic techniques.
The Foreword by his son describes what it was like growing up as a street photographer’s son.
Here is a link to more information johnfreephotog...
#photoessay
#streetphotography
#documentary photography
#losangeleshistory
#Railroadhistory
When a photographer can sit down and tell a story about every photo with such attachment, you know he's a real photographer. In fact, more than a photographer.
Yessir. A legend
Wow- this is photography at its best
Brilliant
Hello mr. Free, my name is Alexey and I'm from Russia. Sorry for my poor English, I just want to say thank you for this and other your videos. For this 50 minutes I learned about photography more than a lot of books that I read and more from other so called photographers with I chat. But much more I hear this incredible stories about people, people from other side of the world, and my heart was beat and I almost cry, like they was my friends. You did very important work, you show for all over the world that misery is very scary thing, but also you show that even in this hard situations people still people, they have honest, they kind, and probably much better then people who drives expensive cars... I check it myself than have chat and spend times with Russian tramps, they become my friends too and I take a pictures of them too, but my pictures ain't so good as yours, because you is a great photographer and documentary journalist, I'm just learn. I very upset that I can't go to your workshop, but even this video is very informative, and I'm glad that I found it and internet gift us this opportunity to interact. Thank a lot and my truly respect for your great work!
Alexey, Thank you for your good words. You write very well. We are friends. We both share photography and together with each other we will grow to be better at what we enjoy. I am happy to have a friend in Russia.
John, I was sitting in my recliner and looking at train sites and someone was referring people to your video. So I found it and started viewing it, my wife was playing a video game at the time. I noticed nothing was happening on the video on the TV. I looked over at her thinking she was sleeping, but in fact she was listening to you telling about the different tramps. I said I would turn it off and listen to it some other time. She said, No! No! It's so interesting to listen to. So we watched it together. What a wonderful thing you have created, the beautiful photos with the beautiful people in them. You have such a way with the camera! I have recently picked up a camera again and am taking photos of trains once more. At 61 years of age and with two different cancers going on I'd better get busy. You have truly inspired me. We thank you so very much.
Hey Gary, Thank you. Nice to know you will be out there with the trains. The tramps always figured I was photographing the trains, but it was always the tramps who were my main subject. I make the videos because I must. I wish to help all people discover the magic into which I enter when I have a camera around my neck, which pulls me to special places in my heart. How can I not photograph with the hope and intent of explaining man to man and each man to himself. I am with you as a brother in your cause to photograph what you enjoy. At 75 I am still very excited about what I might be able to make with an old Nikon and some Ilford film. Now I will go into another magic area of my life, which is my very messy darkroom in the garage. to sit and make prints. Today I will finish making some prints for my son Scott of some of his best work. What could be finer than that. I hope you will thank your dear wife for me, for almost forcing you to watch my video of those fine but troubled men down by the freght yards.
What an amazing piece of LA history that not many people ever got to see. Truly a treasure!
out of all the videos that I have ever seen over a decade or more of RUclips....This one will be the one video that will always stand out above the rest. These are the most important stories to share with the generation of tomorrow. The stories of where we have been, and what life was like for some. thanks to you this small section of your life in a Million stories will now never be lost and can be shared for many generations to come. Thank You so much John Free.
-Ken from Australia.
Hi Ken, Thanks for your kind comment. I am happy to have told the story and shared my photos. I made a silent promise to myself and to the tramps I met to share their story and mine. For years I was unable to keep my promise, for an unknown reason. Maybe it was fear or not being sure of the importance of my story or maybe I thought the photos were not strong enough, or maybe people would be put off by the nature of the dirt and tears of the people I photographed and cried with. Now the pictures and story are out there for you and me to look at and maybe know a little more about the power of the photograph to explain man to man and each man to himself. Now I am happy about the long struggle of mine and my wife's fear for my safety and her great understanding, which allowed me to continue the effort down at the bottom of life in the gray and painful area of Taylor Yards at the end of the line. Thank you mate.
You talk of “all those great photographers” in a lot of your videos. Well John, YOU are now one of those great photographers. You and your work are now immortal.
You honor me Rutger. Thank you very much.
John Free
No, thank you John. You’re helping me in a lot of ways. My instagram is sandboxvet, and I use photography to get me out of my war stuff, and keep me doing things.
I am a veteran who will offer FREE workshops in street photography for veterans who have depression. I have P.T.S.D.S. and I know first hand how making photographs with a noble intent can be a wonderful medication for those of us who have the blues.
Hi Rutger. I am a veteran who knows about the blues. I am planning a FREE street photography workshop for vets with p.t.s.d.s. No time for feeling down when I am with my camera and looking for subjects or life situations which might result in a meaningful photograph. For many years I have seen first hand how photography can be a great treatment or medicine for the blues.
John Free , thank you. Yes, I was medically retired with PTSD after serving 11 years with United States Army 18th Airborne Corps, deployed for Panama, and Desert Storm. From what I’ve read, there is a lot of veterans and other people with PTSD that have used creativity as a therapy. JRR Tolkien, was one of them, when he wrote The Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings. He was a medic and an ambulance driver during World War I working for the Red Cross, and saw a whole lot of screwed up stuff.
Amazing... I am just a musician with a passion for photography, but this video is so inspiring and so touching. The first thing I thought is that you are a poet of the forgotten people, you're the Bob Dylan or the Woody Guthrie of photography :-) But your teaching and art, for me, goes far beyond photography. I wish I had the courage to fully commit to people like you do and to put all my naked emotions, with no fear, in what I do. Your photographs are incredible and I could sit here listening to all these amazing stories behind them for hours and hours. Clearly, beside being a great photographer, you're a great human being. I think today I understood what real photography is... and now I wanna go out and photograph the world! Thank you...
What amazes me is that compared to today where we have blogs, facebook other media platforms where we can write and share stories of our photos, this man remembers every story of every photo he has taken. All in his head.
John this is royal class in photography and social documentary !Thanks for sharing /greetings from sweden
The best thing about photography is the feeling of nostalgia and memories,it's like a rush.
Greetings from Latvia.
Great photos.
This was both moving and profound. I have long searched for a purpose for photography and I think you just showed me what it is. I have had a few similar experiences with similar people but nothing like this. The dedication is unreal. I too was a bodyman. I restored cars. But you sir, took wrecked humans and told their stories. You did something here that needs to be seen and known. Keep doing it, John. You are an inspiration. I'll have to watch this several more times before it really sinks in.
"Friends for five seconds"
This s to be the most captivating video I have seen in a very long while. loved the photographs and the stories behind each one, and how you remembered after such a long time shows not just your dedication to the project but your emotional connections with each one. Thankyou for doing this John.
Liam Bluck
Thank you Liam. Your note means a great deal to me today, as I head out to my little darkroom in the garage to print photos of the Tramps I made 40 years ago. The book about my project is on its way. For all these many years, I found it difficult to write about those damaged human beings I photographed so long ago. I guess some things in our lives are meant to be. People like you, with you wonderful comments have helped me to put it all together in book form, which is a good way to preserve story and photographs for others to share. Your kind words make me happy. I would enjoy knowing more about you as a friend.
so would I John, I think you knew when the time would be right to publish these photographs and I am glad that they are finally going to be published , so ill keep my ear to the ground for when it eventually does as id love to see the finished work and stay in contact with you.
Hi John, I am in true awe of your values, approach and execution. Your story telling shines out of the images alone, but it's also enhancing and humbling to hear your commentary on top. I often wondered when the time would come you would share, so I am so happy you are doing a book on this. I hope the printer can do your deep prints justice and you find a way to tell these stories behind them. Could a contribution from the books go to help today's homeless and lost, so much the better. Best wishes, T
Thank you. I worked in the train yards for ten years to make my images of lost men and women. My contribution to the tramps are the photographs I made of them.I paid for the film and the hundreds of hours it took for me to try and do the project justice. My wife and children also paid at a time when we had very little to give to this project My family never complained or questioned the value of what I was doing in the train yards. My family believed in me, as I believed in the tramps and how maybe my images of them and their struggle might someday provide a more compassionate understanding of these lost and searching souls. Photography has provided me with the the most valuable photographic project of my life. I still carry the pain in my heart and soul. The great pain and sorrow of what I endured up close and personal photographing through my tears. Still, after 40 years a tear might come to my eyes when I look at my photographs of them. They thought I was photographing the trains, but it was always them.
A poet in action! Truly a masterpiece, with your emotion & passion through your voice & photos. Thank you John Green.
Ted Forbes helped me land here and there is no way I can't get inspired by this work. I am an amateur photographer and most of the time I get scared approaching people on the streets selling stuffs for photos for my blog but after watching this,I think am more inspired and motivated to peel in more and get what i want to inspire and help feed the world with better understanding on life beyond my camera lens.
Beautiful video, beautiful pictures, beautiful story 😍😍😍
Thank you so much for sharing this with us John. I haven't been moved so much in a long time. We all capture moments in time with our photographs, but your video really brings home to me how a photograph is evidence of a person's existence. For me it was also a masterclass in photography. Apart from the extraordinary way that you made contact with these people to give you the possibility of photographing them, it was a lesson in how to see and build compositions. These are wonderful photographs. I also would be excited to see them up close in a book - with your stories too - if you ever felt that this was possible.
Amazing insight. Learned so much from this video. I love how all that time you kept the camera on your neck just like when you are in the streets even though you were relaxed and sitting and could have taken it off and placed it down.
This video makes me want to go outside and shoot meaningful photographs, thank you John Free, you're my biggest inspiration
John I want to thank you for your inspiring me to "Get Close" Your words are very powerfull and its the reason you are my Favorite street photographer....so many others look fake in comparison.
amazing! I can't put any other word... Ted Forbes brought me here... thank you for sharing your amazing experiences and art, it is just like I am also at the moment seeing those photos... thank you and I hope the next vlog would be how you print your images... more power to your channel sir John Free
Amazing images. Equally amazing storytelling. You were there to see and hear them and now to speak for people who could not do it themselves or would not be heard by society. This should be a book of words and pictures, just as you told it here. Thanks so much for sharing. So moving.
Such an inspiration, Sir. Thanks, from Singapore.
That was a really fantastic 50 mins.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences.
To have a table filled with images of that quality was a life well spent.
Some of the saddest, real life stories I ever heard. Thanks for sharing your experiences and your photos. Your excellent photos complemented your stories and it moved me. Thank you John Free.
Thank you, John, so very much for digging deep into your soul to bring us this rich and most remarkable experience in your photographic journey. Stellar social documentary work full of stories. Beautifully shot. You have such incredible instinct, in the moment, with exceptional timing for framing the scene in the way that you do, in that split second, close, intimate, capturing the subject, place and time, exactly how you saw it, felt it, smelled it. We can feel it and smell it, as if we were there too. All done with technical mastery and an eye for design, light and composition. That's photojournalism at its best. Then there is your bedside manner, your obvious compassion, and natural ability to connect with people to do this important work, in the way that you do it, is inspiring. To say the least. Your passion for this craft and this specific genre of photography in particular is palpable. It has touched me in the most profound and personal way because I get it. I have been a Toronto area street photographer in Canada for a number of years -- working on long term humanist photography projects in the city -- along with my day-to-day street photography (I'm never without a camera). I just want to thank you and Deeno and your son for this wonderful docu-film. I'm off now.... to hit the streets.
Thank you Alex. Thank you for taking the time to write such a fine note that soothes my very soul. We are now bothers and together we will search for a more complete understanding of this fantastic process and our own abilities to spread understanding through our photographs. Our intent is much the same. Our respect for the image is the same. Our desire and dedication to reach out with photographs or words is the same. A love for what we both do and a fine respect for what others of a similar nature do for the world and for the world of photography. Yes, I will tell my son and Deeno of your kind words.
I’m so glad I clicked on this video! Finding John Free’s work is just amazing. The stories, the photos, the art in the documentary; everything’s just perfect
You treat everyone kindly and with genuine respect which of course they deserve, your photographs mirror this. I shall always remember this video when out shooting on the streets, thank you.
Thanks JF for this brilliant documentary, i loved it.
My pleasure B.Y.
So much good advice to disarm subject from Free. Love hearing his storys.
I did't want the video to end.
Wow, what an amazing guy and story. And the images are simply poetic. Nice job John. Thank you for the inspiration. I am so glad this video popped up in my feed. Dusting off my 24 right now and heading downtown.
Thanks Jake. Happy days for us both.
Fantastic story/stories and collection of images, it may be 5 yrs ago but thank you for sharing
Interesting yet sad stories so very well documented on B&W and so pationately told in words. Chapeau!
thank you for sharing this with everyone, this story is so profound and the work is so good. they inspire me not only to become a better photographer but also a better person. again, thank you for this and i hope someday to be able attend one of your workshops
amazing video.. thanks so much for sharing this John
This is absolutely amazing!
John! so wonderful to see you again. And again you know how to reach someones soul, godspeed.
What a truly inspiring video... thank you so much for showing everyone what photography can be!
Today, people do not need stories when they take a photo since they can just fake one later in photoshop... at the same time they fix their exposure. But only if they have the most recent camera with the best performance scores and biggest RAW files.
Agreed and the biggest problem is that most of the photographs taken today on digital format will be lost completely. Imagine a young person taking a photo today on their phone or digital camera and showing us all 40 years in the future?
I have a bad feeling that in 40 years photography will just be A.I. robots running around taking all of the photos.... not sure what the people will be doing then, other than feeding A.I. information about what pictures are found appealing.
Another reason why I can't figure out why so many photographers are so happy to embrace a "close enough is good enough" photography experience where everything (exposure, white balance, composition, focus) is half-assed and left up either to the camera "to decide" or a software program "to fix". A.I. will be very good at that in 40 years.
I gave a camera to my 5yo son. He is now 7. He loves it. Its a compact camera with 5mp. I gave it to him instead or throwing it away. Sometimes he takes the camera, sometimes he does not... but when he takes the photographs he then asked me to print them on out inkjet printer. I find it funny that he at such a young age values the artifact more than the digital representation of it. And its not by my influence. I don't print most of my work. I do have a Canon consumer printer that does decent color prints. But because of him I'm now considering making an investment on a Epson P600 or P900. These days there are just to many photographs being produced to be all printed. But its important to create the printed document that lasts and can be shown and passed on to other people that can take it with them and appreciate it. That's an important message. And I believe that there is a real interest in that. That alone may explain why Fujifilm has such a success with the Instax camera series.
Wilson Newman strawman bullshit to make yourself feel better about not shooting. there are plenty of people out there shooting fantastic stuff. Yours is the lament of the "good old days". That's crap.
I shoot every day. I shoot in Deliberate Mode, where I make as many deliberate choices as I possibly can (exposure, white balance, composition, lighting) before I release the shutter. That's my way of slowing down and settling into things.
For people who would rather have as many things as possible automated for them then the future looks really bright as I am quite sure that A.I. will quickly become the best photoshop retouchers on the planet.
I don't have a lament at all, and the day I stop shooting will probably coincide pretty closely with the day I die.
Amazing stories and photos
Thanks for giving us this video John and sharing the stories behind the photographs. You are a great inspiration and teacher. Thank You.
Really enjoyed your stories and photos , your passion and desire shines through and I'm sure all the people you talked about in this video would appreciate the way you have recorded their lives and meetings with you. Excellent inspiring stuff congrats.
Thank you sir. A long time to get it up out of me. Now I am putting a book together with my photos and words about the project. So happy for people like yourself who have said nice things about my work. Support from friends like you have helped me.
This is an inspirational video John. A wonderful body of work, beautifully told. A real pleasure to watch.
Absolutely fascinating.
Your words are prose. This is life altering stuff
You were unknown to me up until I ran across this video. I am blown away by your photography. I did a quick search for a book of your photos. No luck, did not even see one on your website. If you have published a book or books I very much would like to have them in my collection, purchasing them of course. :)
such an amazing video thank you for sharing
Absolutely beautiful!… completely riveting…
Pulls at the heart strings I to love your work thank you for sharing.
thanks for posting a video, just starting it, you are a big inspiration to me through your videos, looking forward to this :)
The best....period
This is amazing.!
A fascinating video, so interesting; talented photographer too! Thank you.
A truly powerful story 20:00
I really enjoyed this video. Thank you for sharing your history an stories.
This is the most amazing video, John you are an amazing man and I wish there were more people like you in the world.
This is great and so valuable! Photos as images are so deep, full of sadness. Some of these people seem ashamed, some are happy. There is a huge variety of emotions. Your stories related with each frame, make a series so unique and rich! That's what we are missing nowadays, real values. It's a complete work. Is it published in form of an album? I'm very thankful for sharing your experience and knowledge in true photography. It means a lot.
Moving John.
Très... "profond"... J'ai adoré!
Man, that was amazing!
absolutely amazing!
you are the hero I didnt know I needed. HI!!!!!
this is beautiful
Brilliant man
God Bless You,
Please make a book!
I am. Thanks.
You produce few, but they are well worth the wait. Do you think all "street" photographers are now running to the pet shop to get a white dog? :)
I think those guys were there to see you too.
Wow, you are amazing. You are great at telling their life stories. Thank you for sharing your life documentary photos. I was wondering if their lives is what Trump is saying make America great again.
Man this makes me want to go and buy some HP5.
Fucking fantastic... Thank you, thank you... Thank you... xxx :-)
Best fucking comment I ever had.
Thank you Phil
I wish to thank everyone for their positive comments on a video which was very difficult for me to make with my friend Deeno, who I have had the great pleasure of working with for several years. I met Deeno at a high school photography class where I volunteered to spend the day with his class at Bell high school. Deeno and my son Scott and I have been friends and fellow workers since that time. The video Deeno made has brought something out of me and my sometimes very painful memories of those days down at Taylor yards that I had held inside for 37 years and until now was unable to write about to tell my story. Deeno's video brought all the memories to the surface, so that I could share my recollections with everyone. Photography has made my life much richer and for many years I have had a desire to reach out to all photographers to encourage them to place themselves in a position to do big things with their heart and camera. For me to help others with little bits of friendly advice, makes me happy. Photography holds a great and loving high potential for any photographer who chooses to help humanity and to help photography with a dedicated purpose to document the lives of humans anywhere and everywhere so that a more compassionate understanding of all men might be achieved with a simple camera and a large throbbing heart and loving intent with the knowledge of where to point their camera to achieve something far bigger than anyone of us could ever imagine. My son and my close friends have enabled me to pull this story from inside my soul, a story too difficult for me to expose by myself. Hooray for Deeno, hooray for my son Scott and hooray for me. A wonderful white dog named Casper made the whole effort possible.
John... I just wished you could share even more. I've saw all of your videos and I'm always moved by the way you talk about photography, talk about making it hard, making it matter. How to do some meaningful work. but more than just photography. There is an emotional side of photography in you that makes all the difference. I think that the way you talk about photography and the need you have to share, is your way to leave something for others to make the world a better place through photography. You are a very inspiring person. Your photography is an extension of that. You kind of remind me of my grandfather. I lived with him for a few years between my 4 and 10 years more or less, and I always remembered his stories, and the vivid way he recalled even the smallest details on some of his adventures. Later when I got older I would go and spend my Christmas with him and I was always looking forward to listen again and again to his life stories. Even if it was the same story. It seemed to me as having something new every time, because he had that passion and that vivid way to pass on. I see in you a lot of that. You are a story teller and we all need to thank you for sharing. The world needs more people like you. Cheers from Portugal
You honor me by comparing me to your grandfather. Lets all reach out to our fellows with words that might help us all to do what is good inside all men and women. Lets help others to bring that goodness to the surface of our photographs.
I conducted a workshop in Lisbon with my wife a few years ago. We went up to the castle on the hill and I looked for the spot where Henri Cartier-Bresson made a fine photograph of some men by a cannon. A wonderful trip for us.
Hi John. Thanks for that. I didn't know that HCB, one of my references btw, had a famous photo taken in Portugal. I need to check that out. Portugal is an amazing place to live and to photograph. I carry around my camera almost every day and specially on weekends me and my family travel across the country to many different places and we cant get enough of it :) Its a very small country as you noticed but one that has a huge range of regional differences in a very small package. So in the morning you can be photographing on a castle and in the afternoon at the beach, and later on a country landscape. I dont want to bother you with my so named "photographs" but if you have the time, here is a bit of Portugal by my me. : instagram.com/joaoscardoso
John Free
Fantastic video and story , beautiful and stunning photography a great insight. I really wish I could just have one day with you your an inspiration, thank you.
The many years I spent photographing in the train yards have always caused me some regret. How do I excuse myself from all the time I devoted to the tramps and not to more productive work. The many positive remarks about Deeno's video have made me very happy and now, I feel my time with the tramps was not wasted.
That's good,
I have watched so many rubbish video's about camera gear ect on RUclips. I'm so happy to have made to the real deal here.
This is what its all about.
I hope you continue to show us much more John.
I watched the video all the way to the end, and now I can't get my mind off it after watching. The stories you tell just takes me into the scene like I was there in person. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you. I wish to take all people into a special place. A walk to the store, can also be a walk to seek out and then notice a subject or event that has the potential to be a love story in a picture. The combination of elements, factors and details which can be adjusted to fit in the cameras frame and the center of our hearts. The intent to combine these wonderful events into The frame and to let your heart make the shot. Rise up to your potential and let your heart and smile lead the way.
This is better than 99% of the photography videos out there, real stuff and great stories.
Just an amazing body of work John. You sir, are one of my heroes and mentors in my world.
God Bless.
Thank you. Thank you.
To me these are the modern day parallel to the ancient greek cynics, like diogenes of sinope. Fascinating and sorely undocumented. Hope youre well John!
Thank you so much for sharing. My great uncle road the trains from Los Angeles all over the country over 40 -60 years ago. His name was Mitt.
Indeed a sad, but important story to tell. Social documentary photography, when it is best. Thanks for sharing this great and interesting video.
I worked 42 years as a Conductor/Brakeman for the Southern Pacific Railroad. I hired out in 1973. Many of the locations that you took pictures with the Tramps I worked at. I dealt with many Tramps, Hobos and Bums during my time with the Railroad, some were wonderful folks just down on their luck, others were just plain bad and to be avoided. This is such an amazing video, I had to share! John, if you ever publish a book with just these photos and stories, I want to be first in line to purchase it.
Hooray for the good guys that worked on the railroad and who treated the tramps with compassion and understanding. Thanks from me to the guys who would wave to me with a big smile.
Hi John-- like Steven P above, I also spent a few years working in and around the LA railyards, that stretch along the LA River. With a slightly different job, and not as long as Steven, I still encountered the Tramps and other denizens of these domains from time to time. It was an eyeopener for me; coming from a bland suburban upbringing. I'd never seen this side of life. By the way- my favorite image by far in your compilation-- is the Blond Girl by the Boxcar. I almost fell off my chair. Well- thanks again and carry on, sir.
Thank you Rail Roader. That very young girl at 15 years old was the most touching scene I had ever witnessed down by the Taylor yards. I hope she is happy and well somewhere. She will be in her late fifties by now. I still cant forget her or the brief time I was with her in her very distressed situation.
Tears still drop from my eyes each time I view these videos put together by my friend Deeno. He put many scraps of my talk and photos to make effective lessons for others to consider.
I joined you in tears at Isaac Kato's story, thank you for showing him such compassion in the hospital - RIP. I'm sure you have probably heard of them but you may enjoy the anthropologists Bourgois' and Schonberg's work on heroin addicts in San Francisco in the 1990s. It's called Righteous Dopefiend and it's a very revealing and compassionate investigation of their lives. Lot's of photography used in it too. Stay free John :)
@@miloholmans9665 Thanks Milo. Thanks for the tip. I will check.
My book End of the Line is available now! Here is the link for info johnfreephotography.com/book/
Thank you for this video John. A truly emotional and wonderful story of hard times. I have tried to take after my father and document my own family life through photography. Videos like this are what we need to keep going. Thank you.
You are a big inspiration for me with your photography, i follow you for quote a while. And After seeing this video where u talk with so much respect of these people, and talk with so much passion about each and evryone of these pictures, i just have to tell you, that you are my hero in photography. It makes me want to go out and photograph. Thanks for your inspirational talk, greeting from the Netherlands.
Ted Forbes send me here too . Great video man.
Those guys on the train are so right. Where are you going - I don't care.
Like in life, their life is the trip and for us life is only the destination, who's crazy here ??
Thanks for sharing
This is photography: the relationships, the stories, the images. ‘Jesus Saves’ photo is absolute perfection.
Thank you Matthew. I am working hard to get my book out in the spring.
I have no words to describe the feelings I got when listening to this story. Thank you so much for sharing this !
Me too. Thanks Eric.
fascinating ..... The stories made me cry.... I can feel why you devoted your time to them.... There but for the grace of God I am.....
Thank you John from Italy !!! You are an example for me,
I was also sent here by Ted Forbes. Wow. Such powerful stories and images. Most of us will never know the pain of the life lived in the ways of these men. I think it helps us to understand ourselves better as well as those around us when we know a bit about their life. As they say "try walking a mile in someone else's shoes if you want to get to know them. Thanks John.
You've just cost me £70 for a Nikor 28mm Mr Free!! I woke this morning with £0.33p in my bank account!! Thank you........ I'm so looking forward to shooting with this lens :-) (Pay day's Thursday by the way...... so its beans in toast for me n my boys until then!!)
So just blame uncle Johnny. Did I twist your arm with my video?
Just a little! ;-)
Oh John! I just loved this video! Thank you for sharing and educating us. Just wonderful!
Thank you. The book is coming.
This was actually greatness.. Liked and will also share..
I lost a good photographer friend in Costa Rica back in March. You remind me of him so much.. He was private but always shared his work with me. Now that he's gone his work may never be seen. He was stabbed to death while photographing the sunrise in Costa Rica one morning. Died doing what he loved to do.
Thank you 32ndFoto. I am here and alive to carry on where your friend left off and away. A tear of sorrow and a smile of hope and love will be mine today. Photography can take us all to a wonderful place in ourselves and provide photographs that have the visual power to heal and entertain others who view our photos. Lets us both celebrate the life of your friend and feel good about what we try to do with our images.
Mr Free, your photographs and the stories behind them pulled me in and held me in wonder and admiration. Thank you for sharing this important history.
That's What Photography Is All About. Life's Good Times Bad Times Sad Times Happy Times Awesome Essay thanks Mr. Free
thi is by far one of the best docuS I've seen on here so so touching
poetry:
foggy day
got the bottle
goin' nowhere
runnin' away from life
what can i tell ya
it was the most grueling
it was the most satisfying
On the road and over the gravel. Have bum, will travel. This poem was written on the side of a boxcar.
Your a Kind and Compassionate Person. 👍 you gave those men. Your time. You made them feel like they were worth something. When the world gave up on them.
Such human stories. Amazing work. Ive ways wanted to jump on a freight train. Now I feel like I have. Thank you for sharing your stories.