Many moons ago when I was a much different person and a very different photographer. I did a lot of photographs depicting human suffering. These days I really try to stay more on the side of joy.
However I do not ignore the human condition and try to take images that will invoke a sense of compassion within us. If I see something that has a sadness to it, I will take a shot of it. However if I see someone suffering I will not in most cases. I do not want to make a profit off of someone's suffering. I think that is were I draw the line. I do not mind pointing out the suffering of humanity in general in order to invoke a sense of compassion for our fellow humans. I do not however want to single out an individuals suffering and exploit it for my own gain.
So although while I am walking about I see all kinds of things. Many of them very profound and heart wrenching. It is only the shots that are more general in nature that end up being shown. This shopping cart is a perfect example of what I"m talking about. I only took it because whoever collected all these things was not in the shot. So the picture becomes more about us as sentient beings and less about the suffering of a single sentient being. After all, there plight is also mine and yours and everyone's.l
I want someone to walk away from my photos thinking about there own life in a way that helps them to identify with the poor soul on the street. If I was to simply take a picture of a homeless man sleeping, then it would be easy to ask questions about him and never about ourselves. I don't think any of us our free until we all are free. So I'm hoping my images reflect that Idea. I'm your cheering section humanity. Go team go!
Caleb Storms
The Photo-Monk
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