When I recently passed this man on Roxboro Street, I felt unsure of what to do. First, I tried to wake him to see if he was OK. Although he didn’t respond, he was breathing and sleeping deeply. And then I took his picture.
After I posted this photo on the INDY’s For What It’s Worth blog and social media, someone questioned whether the man is actually homeless. Since I could not ask him, I don’t know for sure. But I do know that in general, most people who have homes don’t fall asleep sitting on an uncomfortable wall in the middle of downtown Durham.
I feel conflicted about how to deal with the problem of homelessness. They are no less human for not having a roof over their heads, or for having a drug or alcohol addiction that prevents them from finding stability. I feel the panhandling ordinance has been too harsh; I’ve given money, and in one instance, when I had no cash, a plate of brownies, to the homeless soliciting on the medians. On the other hand, I got into a screaming match earlier this fall with two young, and apparently able-bodied, young menscammers, in my estimationwho followed me downtown and aggressively asked me for money.
I asked myself some ethical questions before I took this man’s photograph.I questioned my motivation: Was I being voyeuristic or disrespectful? Since his face is largely in shadow, he is not recognizable.
I wrestled with the issue, secretly hoping he would awaken so as a courtesy, I could ask permission to take his photo. (Legally, if you are in public, you have no presumption of privacy, and you can be photographed without your consent.)
Ultimately I decided that I should take his picture. From a social justice standpoint, People need to be reminded that the homeless are among society’s most vulnerable people. The way this man was sitting, his arms tucked inside his sweatshirt, his knees together and legs splayedand the fact that he was sleepingshows that vulnerability.
I also found him beautiful. I did not want to exoticize or romanticize him, just to show him honestly. Most people are beautiful when they’re sleeping, and he is no different.
Then I confronted another issue: Should I leave him any money? It’s journalistically unethical to pay someone to take his or her photoand even in documentary photography, which plays by slightly different rules (you can pose and direct people for street photos, even outside the bounds of portraiture), it’s frowned upon.
I left a dollar. Not because I took his photo, but because had he been able to ask me, I would have given it to him.
For What It’s Worth is the editor’s blog that documents life in the Triangle through stories and photographs.
