x-ray
Mentor
Like many of you I love street photography but street photography is more than making an image of a person then moving on and making another. Sort of what I call hit and run. Half of the fun of street photography is talking to people I photograph and finding out something about their lives. I tell people I don’t think I’ve ever met a person that wasn’t interesting in one way or another.
Let’s see images of people on the street you’ve met and taken the time to talk with and learn a little about their lives.
The first image is Lawt Gudger I photographed around 1969 on Monteagle Mtn in middle Tn. He’s sitting along the road waiting to deliver a gallon of moonshine to one of his customers.
Second and third are Benny who lived in Petros Tn. Petros was the site of the Tn maximum security prison. Benny learned how to do his own tattoos from locals that were guards in the prison. They’re known as jailhouse tattoos and done with a needle and ballpoint pin cartridge. I shot these in 1973.
The forth is a man I met and don’t know the name but claimed his dummy sat up from his bed one day on its own power and God spoke to him through the dummy telling him to spread the word. I shot this in the mid 90’s.
The street preacher, and his name fails me at the moment, travels around East Tn spreading the word. He’s been arrested several times and just prior to this photo was arrested for hitting a police officer in the face with his Bible. Bible Belt? He told me that he cares for his wife who’s disabled and unable to get out of bed. He has a tiny block church on his property and hold Sunday services for a small group each Sunday. He’s a very kind gentleman ready to share a prayer for a stranger.
The man on the street was in San Francisco and lives where ever he finds a place to crash. I talked with him the next day and decided he had some serious mental and alcohol issues like so many people on the street. He was very scattered and very difficult to talk with but had quite a sense of humor. Shot around 2004.
The woman with the group of men were very interesting. Betty was 44 years old, lived on the street anywhere she could. She made her living by standing on a street corner flashing her breasts to people she thought might buy her liquor, food or clothing and shack up with her in a cheap motel for a few days. Betty had been raped, beaten and thrown off a bridge twice breaking her back. When I made this image she was living on a mattress with 7 guys under a bridge. Shot in the early 90’s.
Eben is the whiskery old guy sitting on the curb. Eben had a great smile with his one tooth and had a great sense of humor. He’d been with the railroad and lived on the street. Shot in 1969.
The two men were a sad couple. J C King, the prominent figure, was a newspaper writer that couldn’t handle life. He just gave up but didn’t say why. He and his friend were starving and I fed them hoping to help. Unfortunate a couple of weeks later Mr King passed away. shot in 1973.
The little girl was one sassy kid. I can’t remember the name but she lived in a shack on a rural road in middle Tn. She was playing with several pigs and an old rubber hose. Shot in 1969.
The man in high bibs leaning on the truck is Abe Nickel. He was a grave digger and dug them by hand. He said he lived alone in a shack that had cracks in the walls that the wind blew through and slept on the floor in his clothes. Very nice old guy. Shot around 2004.
The next gentleman is Billy Lemming a serpent handling preacher near Rome Ga. He talked of handling deadly serpents and getting bitten many times and how he lost a finger to a copperhead bite. And he didn’t hesitate to talk in depth about drinking strychnine and red devil lye drain cleaner to confirm his faith. Billy was a wealth of information and knowledge and a kind soul. Shot around 2006.
The lady with her back turned lived in a shack under a water tower in a depressed forgotten town. She wasn’t that old but looked very weathered and worn out. She turned her back so not to show how she looked. You can see the legs of the water tank and her clothes line strung across them. At the time I made the photo I though it was a bit ironic, a wishing well in her yard. I thought if that well actually worked what would she wish for.
last photo, I always thought his name was Oral but it turns out
Oral is the community where his shop was. Mr X sold car parts, elegant junk and built a few dirt track racers. Interesting and resourceful man.
Let’s have your people images from the journey.
Let’s see images of people on the street you’ve met and taken the time to talk with and learn a little about their lives.
The first image is Lawt Gudger I photographed around 1969 on Monteagle Mtn in middle Tn. He’s sitting along the road waiting to deliver a gallon of moonshine to one of his customers.
Second and third are Benny who lived in Petros Tn. Petros was the site of the Tn maximum security prison. Benny learned how to do his own tattoos from locals that were guards in the prison. They’re known as jailhouse tattoos and done with a needle and ballpoint pin cartridge. I shot these in 1973.
The forth is a man I met and don’t know the name but claimed his dummy sat up from his bed one day on its own power and God spoke to him through the dummy telling him to spread the word. I shot this in the mid 90’s.
The street preacher, and his name fails me at the moment, travels around East Tn spreading the word. He’s been arrested several times and just prior to this photo was arrested for hitting a police officer in the face with his Bible. Bible Belt? He told me that he cares for his wife who’s disabled and unable to get out of bed. He has a tiny block church on his property and hold Sunday services for a small group each Sunday. He’s a very kind gentleman ready to share a prayer for a stranger.
The man on the street was in San Francisco and lives where ever he finds a place to crash. I talked with him the next day and decided he had some serious mental and alcohol issues like so many people on the street. He was very scattered and very difficult to talk with but had quite a sense of humor. Shot around 2004.
The woman with the group of men were very interesting. Betty was 44 years old, lived on the street anywhere she could. She made her living by standing on a street corner flashing her breasts to people she thought might buy her liquor, food or clothing and shack up with her in a cheap motel for a few days. Betty had been raped, beaten and thrown off a bridge twice breaking her back. When I made this image she was living on a mattress with 7 guys under a bridge. Shot in the early 90’s.
Eben is the whiskery old guy sitting on the curb. Eben had a great smile with his one tooth and had a great sense of humor. He’d been with the railroad and lived on the street. Shot in 1969.
The two men were a sad couple. J C King, the prominent figure, was a newspaper writer that couldn’t handle life. He just gave up but didn’t say why. He and his friend were starving and I fed them hoping to help. Unfortunate a couple of weeks later Mr King passed away. shot in 1973.
The little girl was one sassy kid. I can’t remember the name but she lived in a shack on a rural road in middle Tn. She was playing with several pigs and an old rubber hose. Shot in 1969.
The man in high bibs leaning on the truck is Abe Nickel. He was a grave digger and dug them by hand. He said he lived alone in a shack that had cracks in the walls that the wind blew through and slept on the floor in his clothes. Very nice old guy. Shot around 2004.
The next gentleman is Billy Lemming a serpent handling preacher near Rome Ga. He talked of handling deadly serpents and getting bitten many times and how he lost a finger to a copperhead bite. And he didn’t hesitate to talk in depth about drinking strychnine and red devil lye drain cleaner to confirm his faith. Billy was a wealth of information and knowledge and a kind soul. Shot around 2006.
The lady with her back turned lived in a shack under a water tower in a depressed forgotten town. She wasn’t that old but looked very weathered and worn out. She turned her back so not to show how she looked. You can see the legs of the water tank and her clothes line strung across them. At the time I made the photo I though it was a bit ironic, a wishing well in her yard. I thought if that well actually worked what would she wish for.
last photo, I always thought his name was Oral but it turns out
Oral is the community where his shop was. Mr X sold car parts, elegant junk and built a few dirt track racers. Interesting and resourceful man.
Let’s have your people images from the journey.
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Ray Vonn 2023
Established
This car mechanic in Uganda having just received counselling on the poor state of his marriage was taking a positive outlook after, having returned to his work. I'm always in awe of people like this who despite everything always remain so positively upbeat about life whatever their circumstances.
Been Working by Otim, on Flickr
Been Working by Otim, on Flickr
neal3k
Well-known
These are great; I'm looking forward to more. I'm too shy to talk to people in most cases and have never been able to remember names. But these characters came up to me and asked to have their picture made. How could I resist?
This lady liked to talk to people on the streets of Americus, Georgia in 2017.
Take My Picture! by Neal Wellons, on Flickr
This cool dancing man seems to be a fixture in Barnesville, Georgia.
Street Theater by Neal Wellons, on Flickr
This lady liked to talk to people on the streets of Americus, Georgia in 2017.
Take My Picture! by Neal Wellons, on FlickrThis cool dancing man seems to be a fixture in Barnesville, Georgia.
Street Theater by Neal Wellons, on Flickr
GMOG
Established
This is Manuel, a fellow I met while traveling with a friend in SW New Mexico, near Winston. He is one of those folks who has lived their entire lives in one place. He's a cattle rancher.
My travel buddy had just discovered a leaky tire when Manuel came along with a plug kit which he used to patch the tire. Here he is lighting up a Marlboro after the job was done.
My travel buddy had just discovered a leaky tire when Manuel came along with a plug kit which he used to patch the tire. Here he is lighting up a Marlboro after the job was done.
GMOG
Established
This is Will, and he lives in northern New Mexico. He raises and cares for a variety of farm animals, and is a strong believer in animals' rights. He also makes period correct horse-drawn wagons and buggies that he sells to individuals and leases to the movie industry. I had stopped to take photos of his place from the road and he came out, introduced himself and gave me the tour.
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rhl-oregon
Cameras Guitars Wonders
Manager of a billiards parlor in Sanford, NC, who had seen me photographing a mural on that building, and then noticed my interest in the door. He came out and told me stories about life in Lee County for 20 minutes.
In this image his expression and distant look and glasses reminds me a great deal of my father later in his life. He’s still finishing his Chic-Fil-a lunch.
In this image his expression and distant look and glasses reminds me a great deal of my father later in his life. He’s still finishing his Chic-Fil-a lunch.
rhl-oregon
Cameras Guitars Wonders
Pianist/songwriter who strapped this old upright into his Nissan pickup truck, adorned it with a stuffed coyote, and parked here & there in Eugene, Oregon to perform.
He treated himself to a sheepskin pad over his wheelwell to sit.
He treated himself to a sheepskin pad over his wheelwell to sit.
x-ray
Mentor
Great images and excellent stories.
The first shot was made with my 4x5 Crown Graphic back in 1973. I was walking around the old L&N train station looking for a photo to happen and ran across future members of the A Team. We chatted for a while and they graciously showed me their muscles and allowed me to make their photo. They were very polite young men.
Funny to think but they’re around 60 years old now.
The next image was during a Vietnam Protest in 1969. I was working my way through college as a PJ and made this photo outside the student center at the University of Tennessee where I was a student. The gentleman’s name is Carol Bible and since I made the photo we’ve become friends. Carol is in his late 70’s and is a retired school teacher.
The first shot was made with my 4x5 Crown Graphic back in 1973. I was walking around the old L&N train station looking for a photo to happen and ran across future members of the A Team. We chatted for a while and they graciously showed me their muscles and allowed me to make their photo. They were very polite young men.
Funny to think but they’re around 60 years old now.
The next image was during a Vietnam Protest in 1969. I was working my way through college as a PJ and made this photo outside the student center at the University of Tennessee where I was a student. The gentleman’s name is Carol Bible and since I made the photo we’ve become friends. Carol is in his late 70’s and is a retired school teacher.
Attachments
rhl-oregon
Cameras Guitars Wonders
Reverend Joe Barnes of Greater Zion Holiness Temple in Sanford. I heard music from GZHT after attending a nearby indoor service at Fsir Promise AMEZ, so followed the sound to where Reverend Barnes was leading their service in the parking lot. Many churches during the pandemic offered outdoor worship when weather permitted.
In my visits to GZHT, we were always outdoors—it remained a form of street shooting over the course of a month—, and the pastor and First Lady Glenda Barnes were gracious in allowing me to make images and talk to parishioners during my documentary project on Juneteenth in the Carolina Sandhills.
Call and response of a very old gospel tune. Although Reverend Barnes looks to be ruminating, he led the call with the kind of power I associate with a blues man like Howling Wolf. The response team here are church deacons.
During the Mothers Day service, they called on children and teens to testify in honor of their mothers (and to demonstrate their own promise and potential).
In my visits to GZHT, we were always outdoors—it remained a form of street shooting over the course of a month—, and the pastor and First Lady Glenda Barnes were gracious in allowing me to make images and talk to parishioners during my documentary project on Juneteenth in the Carolina Sandhills.
Call and response of a very old gospel tune. Although Reverend Barnes looks to be ruminating, he led the call with the kind of power I associate with a blues man like Howling Wolf. The response team here are church deacons.
During the Mothers Day service, they called on children and teens to testify in honor of their mothers (and to demonstrate their own promise and potential).
rhl-oregon
Cameras Guitars Wonders
This gentleman hailed me while I shooting on the streets of Hamlet NC near the rail line. We talked for 30-40 minutes about living in the South—he had recently moved down from Philadelphia with his RN wife, and I had returned to NC after 30 years out West. He appreciated having a quiet rural homestead after life in a tough city. We also talked about Buddhism, serenity, and music. I pointed out that John Coltrane had been born just down this very street, though he left early and grew up in High Point.
The muralist Scott Nurkin rendered a well known image of Coltrane on the old Hamlet theater.
The muralist Scott Nurkin rendered a well known image of Coltrane on the old Hamlet theater.
x-ray
Mentor
Great images, keep posting.
x-ray
Mentor
What an interesting character! You might have guessed his name is Six Pack and he’s a rough boy. On his right wrist was a plastic band from the hospital where he’d been discharged a short time ago. Six Pack told me he’d been in jail and for some reason I didn’t understand had been taken to the University hospital for treatment. Upon discharge SP apparently wasted no time finding a liquor store and was so intoxicated at the time I met him that he barely could stand up.
SP gave me a little background that he spent a lot of time fighting, in the hospital and in jail. Notice the scar and puncture wound. I gotta say he was a bit much and a little frightening. Photo from around 2018 with a $25 Nikon FE and lovely little Nikkor 50 f2.
The second shot is a person I met in what I’d call skid row. He lived in a lumber pile he’d hollowed out and could crawl up in for shelter. What he’s drinking is Smoke or Smoke on the Water. It’s called squeeze by some and is sterno, methanol, squeezed from the gell and strained through bread. The bread is thought to make it safe to drink and gives it a cloudy appearance, smoky look. The bread does nothing and drink this results in blindness and death.
Yes he did offer me a swig but I politely refused.
SP gave me a little background that he spent a lot of time fighting, in the hospital and in jail. Notice the scar and puncture wound. I gotta say he was a bit much and a little frightening. Photo from around 2018 with a $25 Nikon FE and lovely little Nikkor 50 f2.
The second shot is a person I met in what I’d call skid row. He lived in a lumber pile he’d hollowed out and could crawl up in for shelter. What he’s drinking is Smoke or Smoke on the Water. It’s called squeeze by some and is sterno, methanol, squeezed from the gell and strained through bread. The bread is thought to make it safe to drink and gives it a cloudy appearance, smoky look. The bread does nothing and drink this results in blindness and death.
Yes he did offer me a swig but I politely refused.
Attachments
x-ray
Mentor
This week I discovered an entire binder full of DVD’d of images I made twenty years ago. In this binder there were several discs of Raw files I’d made in Nashville when visiting my son.
Here are a few from those discs of two of the many folks that come to Nashville every year hoping to be discovered.
The drummer had traveled across the country and wound up living on the street. Unfortunately like most the chances of discovery very pretty slim. I’ll give him credit for persistence as he was still hopeful of landing a gig.
For those interested, I shot these with a 1Ds and 200mm f1.8, a phenomenal lens with razor thin DOF.
The second guitar player had also traveled across the country in hopes of fame. I don’t recall his name but he probably would have done better buying a lottery ticket rather than a bus ticket.
Here are a few from those discs of two of the many folks that come to Nashville every year hoping to be discovered.
The drummer had traveled across the country and wound up living on the street. Unfortunately like most the chances of discovery very pretty slim. I’ll give him credit for persistence as he was still hopeful of landing a gig.
For those interested, I shot these with a 1Ds and 200mm f1.8, a phenomenal lens with razor thin DOF.
The second guitar player had also traveled across the country in hopes of fame. I don’t recall his name but he probably would have done better buying a lottery ticket rather than a bus ticket.
Attachments
rhl-oregon
Cameras Guitars Wonders
X-Ray, based on this last set you *might* just be interested in the lyrics to a song I wrote long long ago when I was still performing at this or that café. The title is of course “Nashville” and a few of its characters are like these fellows. PM if so.
rhl-oregon
Cameras Guitars Wonders
Rose hydrating in downtown Fayetteville NC. The café that sponsored her lunch brought her sweet tea and water while she awaited the meal. The central landmark, Haymarket, is behind her. Once anything and everything was offered for sale there, including maybe her ancestors.
She walked over, I think, from a nearby area with a lot of homeless people. Notice all the layers of warmth for the nights, though this was a warm spring day. For a pinkie ring she sports a lug nut from a cartwheel. i didn’t ask if she’d broken any jaws with it.
She walked over, I think, from a nearby area with a lot of homeless people. Notice all the layers of warmth for the nights, though this was a warm spring day. For a pinkie ring she sports a lug nut from a cartwheel. i didn’t ask if she’d broken any jaws with it.
rhl-oregon
Cameras Guitars Wonders
Raven on the left is a woodcarver in the old part of Eugene, Oregon, built close to the Northern Pacific rail lines and the Willamette River. Her friend and housemate holds her spotted doxie on their steps. I always enjoyed photographing in this neighborhood because it contained young artists, craftspeople, entrepreneurs, hobos riding the rails, street people (some rational, some not), working poor, and folks with good university or hospital careers who liked old houses and human diversity. Raven was detailing a bird carved from ebony. 
rhl-oregon
Cameras Guitars Wonders
The courtyard of a bistro/tavern off Front Street in Wilmington NC, my hometown. I was looking for something else with my Fuji GF670 and this started to happen in peripheral vision, and I was already in F8/Be There mode, so I snapped it up.
The funny thing is that they were romantic pals, and she was showing him how she’d disable a certain kind of attack or attacker. So when they saw me, old guy with old-school folding camera, they laughed and explained. And being smart enough not to miss this opportunity, I made the punchline photo too.
The funny thing is that they were romantic pals, and she was showing him how she’d disable a certain kind of attack or attacker. So when they saw me, old guy with old-school folding camera, they laughed and explained. And being smart enough not to miss this opportunity, I made the punchline photo too.
x-ray
Mentor
Love the expressions. Love both shots.
We really don’t have an art community around here and I can’t think of one short of Chattanooga. I lived in Knoxville most of my life and they were trying to get an art community going a few years ago but I don’t think it ever took off. Actually I’m not sure if Chattanooga ever got theirs off the ground.
Knoxville has always struggled with art. Actually country music started in Knoxville but the political powers at the time didn’t want it and ran it off. (Long story) Cher Adkins and others like Archie Campbell who was a good friend of mine tried to make it happen. Lowell Blanchard with WNOX and his show the Mid Day Marry Go Round provided the platform for it to but the politics was too strong.
Nashville became the center of country music and Knoxville is where you stop on the way to the mountains to fill up the tank and take a bathroom break.
Oh well.
We really don’t have an art community around here and I can’t think of one short of Chattanooga. I lived in Knoxville most of my life and they were trying to get an art community going a few years ago but I don’t think it ever took off. Actually I’m not sure if Chattanooga ever got theirs off the ground.
Knoxville has always struggled with art. Actually country music started in Knoxville but the political powers at the time didn’t want it and ran it off. (Long story) Cher Adkins and others like Archie Campbell who was a good friend of mine tried to make it happen. Lowell Blanchard with WNOX and his show the Mid Day Marry Go Round provided the platform for it to but the politics was too strong.
Nashville became the center of country music and Knoxville is where you stop on the way to the mountains to fill up the tank and take a bathroom break.
Oh well.
Bob Michaels
nobody special
Yep, meeting interesting people is what traveling is all about to me. Sometimes I photograph them.
Rosedale, Mississippi 2007 - Rosedale has a strong blues music heritage. It was the place where legendary but short lived bluesman Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil at the Crossroads sometime in the 1920's. In modern times, everyone from Eric Clapton, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Tracey Chapman, Elmore James, and others have recorded "going to Rosedale".
I met Betty on my first time in Rosedale. As soon as I stepped out of the car, Mamiya 7 in hand, she approached me and asked me what I there for . After I explained, she said she would take me around town if I bought her another "Steel Reserve" the 16 ounce strong malt liquor. She showed me the remnants of the many now closed juke joints. This was her brother's trailer. She was very proud as he actually owned it, not just rented it.
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
This is artist N.R. Clarke in his gallery. I visited his gallery and he was kind to show me around. Eventually he left me to it and went back to painting. I took a picture whilst he was working. A week later, i posted a 8X10 print of this picture through his letter box. Nikon F5 - Kodak Tmax400 in HC110
This lady approached me whilst i was sitting on a park bench in the Old Town centre in Poznan. She saw i was holding a camera and she asked me if i can take a picture of her with her phone infront of the Town Hall. I did and then i asked her if i can take a picture of her with my camera. After that she told me a bit about the Old Town architecture before the WWII and the rebuild of it during the early 50's. I emailed her a copy of this picture. Canon EOS-5, ilford HP5+ in HC110
This lady approached me whilst i was sitting on a park bench in the Old Town centre in Poznan. She saw i was holding a camera and she asked me if i can take a picture of her with her phone infront of the Town Hall. I did and then i asked her if i can take a picture of her with my camera. After that she told me a bit about the Old Town architecture before the WWII and the rebuild of it during the early 50's. I emailed her a copy of this picture. Canon EOS-5, ilford HP5+ in HC110