My name is Caitlin Jack and as a part of my University paper on photography I wanted to focus on where a displaced group of people find home, choosing to interpret the brief Turangawaewae with the idea of absence of home instead of how you take home with you. I have a passion for social documentary photography and capturing snapshots and expressions that communicate something about someones way of life. This assignment lead me down many research paths and really opened my eyes to a group of people I knew very little about. I am still undecided how I feel about both the compassionate side and the argument that these people put themselves in there situation. Either way however I have seen a very honest points from both sides, those homeless, begging on the street, the social workers at the homeless shelter and the charity organisations making their best efforts to help.
As a young female photographer I did find myself feeling very uncomfortable taking photos initially, and maybe even more so after i had talked to social workers about the various reasons people find themselves in situations of homelessness. However I still had the feeling that if I got over the strerio-types, cliches and got past my anxiety about going and talking to them, that i would gain a far more interesting perspective. So after I sucked it up and had a slight bravery attack, I went and had a conversation with a homeless man named Anthony who gave me a great insight into his situation and also made me realise that no matter how much you can judge someone and have your perspective, until you are in there exact situation you have no idea really what they are going through. I initially found the idea of taking photos uncomfortable simply because I felt like i was taking photos from a privileged perspective, almost exploiting someones unfortunate circumstance. I had to really tell myself that i wasn't taking photos in a negative way but simply to communicate an issue. Although i don't think i'm particularly cut out for documenting issues like this as a career, I did really learn a lot about the ethics of photography/ photo journalism and my personal stance on it.
As a young female photographer I did find myself feeling very uncomfortable taking photos initially, and maybe even more so after i had talked to social workers about the various reasons people find themselves in situations of homelessness. However I still had the feeling that if I got over the strerio-types, cliches and got past my anxiety about going and talking to them, that i would gain a far more interesting perspective. So after I sucked it up and had a slight bravery attack, I went and had a conversation with a homeless man named Anthony who gave me a great insight into his situation and also made me realise that no matter how much you can judge someone and have your perspective, until you are in there exact situation you have no idea really what they are going through. I initially found the idea of taking photos uncomfortable simply because I felt like i was taking photos from a privileged perspective, almost exploiting someones unfortunate circumstance. I had to really tell myself that i wasn't taking photos in a negative way but simply to communicate an issue. Although i don't think i'm particularly cut out for documenting issues like this as a career, I did really learn a lot about the ethics of photography/ photo journalism and my personal stance on it.