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For Some the Gates are Closed
Published: 2002-09-22 17:52:55 +0000 UTC; Views: 6776; Favourites: 91; Downloads: 867
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Description
While returning home today I went to get a train and could not help but be moved as this guy was shifted from the station concourse. We all know that there is a story here, I left the Stella can in though it ruined the framing.For some the gates are truly never open.
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Comments: 145
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A very emotional shot..I look at this and feel more than see. This has made a big impact on me, wonderful shot.
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Such a sad thing...
Seeing this makes me regret some things I have done, or haven't done.
Such a moving photograph. I don't even know what to say, truly.
I hope it opens some doors for people, show them the reality of life.
If only there were never photos like this to take, if everything was fair.
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I wish I could favorite this twice. It truely is a touching scene.
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I think the Stella can makes it even more emotional; it's as if it is all he owns. Sobering pic.
~mob
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Wow, this made my draw drop when I saw it with the title. Amazing work, it makes me feel. Good job.
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there are trears in my eyes from this it really moved me ....
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this is such a sad picture, I really feel for that poor guy unlike (seemingly) most of the people that commented with "nice capture" and " really good photo." among other generic, feelingless comments.
this is a 
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powerful shot and comment on this one. he must have been through alot, yet still living. sometimes life deals us shitty hands and we have to go through it. nice shot though. gives a new light on a touchy subject. like i commented in one of the previous one's. people like that go through ruff times. some that not many others will go through. but somehow in photos they can tell stories. very well taken. thanks for sharing 
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real life -what a capture - so well done in every way
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Truth. And maybe, somewhere, the beauty in that.
Thank you for this.
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Boy am I late.
Ok. . .get ready for this comment.
My thoughts on this piece? My thoughts are racing. I just got finished typing up a journal entry that took guts to post online, and now I am regretting it. All because of this piece. But don't worry about it, really. This is a good thing. A piece that evokes an emotion, whether good or bad, definitely gets its point across. . .and it seems to me that I'm a bit of a latecomer to convince you of that.
I see many people commenting that they don't know how to act towards "beggars" struck a chord in me as well. I saw a comment above about how someone thought to himself that he didn't feel sorry for the beggars because he felt he worked hard and earned his money, and the beggar never did work.
I can understand that viewpoint, but only to a certain extent, and I would love to share my opinion with you now.
This man in this picture, immediately, everyone feels sympathy. I feel anger. Anger that this world has treated a hard worker this way. Most men on the streets led normal lives - full time job, maybe a wife and family. Then they decided it wasn't for them. Some love the life on the streets. Others were just kicked out there for the world to step on them. They held jobs. I'm sure many had college degrees. And of course, a lot of them are probably drunkards.
For some reason, though, I don't think this man is a drunkard, even though there is a beer sitting right in front of the man.
I hope you went up and talked to him, gave him a smile. Sometimes a little companionship or a conversation with a nice young man is what they want.
The reason I say this is because my father's best friend ended up like this. Incredibly smart man. His father was in the ministry. He got a masters' degree in history. Ended up doing stuff for the IRA. But the last time my family has heard of him, he was wandering the streets - and had the biggest smile on his face. My brother went up to talk to him. He has no place to live. And he enjoys not owning anything, he is free from the world. But he loves to hold conversations, especially on history or politics. He can out argue anyone he meets.
I hope you talked to this man here.
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i had to come back to visit one of my favorite photos on all of DA. still as inspiring as the day you posted it.
I just submited a photo of a homeless man in Chicago- hes got the "im making it day to day" look to him, and thats what i love about photos of this type of person. They struggle and struggle to keep their position, and never gain enough.
cheers
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sooooo many comments on your work. Yet I feel special because I bought homeless man a sandwich today.
Maybe I'll see him tomorrow. Why? Cuz he can think.
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I am amazed that a few people actually have a problem with this shot. I deal with the homeless on almost a daily basis...we cook food, gather clothes, and what not for the people of the streets. the people that whine about you not talking to them and bragging that they give a few bucks are nothing less than hypocrites to those of us that really stand in the trenches with these people. Funny, in a dark way. they call you hypocrite, yetr to those of use who have almost lived on the streets ourselve think that this is an AWESOME capture and that THEY are the hypocrites.
Don't let these dolts get you down. The phot you have here speaks volumes of truth...spanning across politics, organized religions, and the 'Thanksgiving givers' of the public. What you have here is truth and that will prick a few people.
~peripateticus, I have read your statement, and to some extent, yay you...but in other cases...who are you to judge something like this. You have spent 'time' with them...'shooting them'. Not sure why you are so quik to toss a rock. I have seen your 'work' and you are talented. This however, tells a story of truth. It speaks for itself. Just somethihng to think about.
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I did not realize I had been away this long.
very touching. really makes you think.
you got a DD? where did it go? I do not see it?
This capture really says alot.
Glad you wrote in your journal about this...
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great shot, for all the reasons you probably already heard. additionally, i'd like to say two things that have become obvious to me reading through some people's comments:
a) they have never heard of journalistic photography. do they bitch and moan at, say, war photographers for showing death and destruction ? "those people are suffering, and you don't have anything better to do than to photograph them"...a naive attitude, to say the least. just saw a documentary about james nachtwey...opened my eyes.
b)~isa50 is a puerile little individual with no manners, and should be ignored until he/she shows an ounce of maturity...
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Great work, this is an excellent capture with a very suiting title, keep up the good work and see you around .
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I think ~peripateticus has put into words all the things that make this kind of imagery complex and loaded with issues. For me, your image and peripateticus' comment combined make this work whole and very powerful. It has now become a very incisive examination of human differences as well as a commentary on both the power of the camera and the process of making a photographic image.
Jess
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when i take shots of homeless people or people who arent as fortunate as others, i try to capture that shred of beauty that the typical eye constantly misses. everyday collar people forget about these hidden life forms that fall between the cracks of society and spend their lives being "missing".in my eyes, they are beautiful. they arent everyday man.. they arent materialistic, shallow or discriminative. rather then being tainted by money, they are victims of it. this man is so beautiful and under all the sadness and depression that surrounds him, he is some how humble. that is what makes him one of the greatest forms of human art. -fav-
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i'm not going to read everyones comments because that would take forever.. so forgive me if i repeat things that have already been said.
mostly, i just want to instill some personal experience with this sort of shooting. first of all, it IS a very moving picture. it's always humbling to see people of lesser 'means' in such a position in life.
over the course of the last few months, i've spent a LOT of time in downtown Tampa where there is quite a heavy population of homeless people. the ONE thing that you mentioned, i think you should have moved on... you said, "We all know that there is a story here..." though.. you mentioned nothing of the story, which leads me to believe, that you never actually found out what it was. that is the ONE thing that bothers me.
i've shot quite a few homeless people (have thought of doing a text in image documentary of sorts) though... at the same time, i've become friends with them. i've learned their stories. i've sat for hours, smoking cigarettes and watching grown men (65years old) cry when they talk about their experiences in the Korean war. indeed, i've also run into the younger generation of homeless, who use the "i'll be honest..." line to get some food, a beer or a cigarette.
i guess all i'm saying is.. i look at this picture, and i still see you... 'hiding' in a way. maybe even KNOWING inside yourself, that standing at that distance from your subject, you are 'safe.' get closer. talk to them. sit with them. come back a day later and share part of YOUR life with them. the image to me seems very impersonal i think.
not only does the cage in the shot represent the position that the subject is in life, but it also represents the way you perceive the subject... it is a separation between you and him, as though you were looking in on a wild beast. get closer.
can i ask if you even talked to the man?
(photos like this are ALWAYS a touchy subject for people.) i'll be honest, when i started shooting this kind of thing, i was very much drawn 'away' from my subjects, hoping that they wouldn't see me... hoping that my 'guilty conscience wouldn't get the best of me. it IS sort of 'exploitative' in a way, and i didn't quite see that until it was pointed out to me in a class that i am taking.
i will say, that i don't truly believe that this deserves a Daily Dev position, but mostly because i don't know enough about the circumstances surrounding the shot. then again, i think that maybe BECAUSE it is a DD, it has also opened up a good forum for people to understand and think about more about the way that they shoot things.
so, in closing, i would say... i hope to GOD you either a) gave the man some money BEFORE or after you took the photo. b) asked him if you COULD take the photo. c) talked with him a bit, to find out what his story IS. d) went back and gave him a copy (though, i'm not sure he'd really want one.. i know that i wouldn't want to see myself in that light.. as an 'unfortunate.')
these are all merely opinions.. hopefully constructive. hopefully they open up some new or different thoughts on the subject. if you could... let me know if my comments were worthwhile in any sense. this is the MOST that i've EVER commented on anyones Deviation.
either way. interesting shot
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Shit... my bad that's the window behind him.
Doesn't change my opinion.
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I'm sure you didn't give this guy shit for takign his photo.
Asked his permission? Bullshit! What, nobody else sees that you took it from behind a window? The glare is right there.
You did nothing special. I feel emotion from this picture, yes, but I feel that every time I walk through New York City. It's the bums that don't come up and hassle you that are truly the ones in need, and to them I have given what I could. What did you give?
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and to think we (as a society) complain when there isn't anything we want to eat in a stocked fridge...
talk about a reality check. what is his name?
for your subject's sake, you'd better have slipped some denero his way. I'm sure he'd appreciate it more than you, or anyone else who can view this photograph.
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look, it's Jesus. +fav
I think for the folks saying you took some dignity from the guy nothing more, they're wrong. Look at all the superficial people here at DA^ that were moved to think about someone other than themselves for a while. That's a lovely thing. Quit complaining and give a bum some of your time/money/clothes/square footage.
Well done.
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I have to disagree with empirion's comment.
After seeing things like this, I get launched full-force into reality. I stop whimpering in my little shell and realize there's worse things outside that need to be heeded and taken care of besides my minuscule teenage complaints.
There's a whole other world out there that most people tend to block out. Thanks for opening up our eyes and making us see it. It's a very emotional and moving piece, and thinking about it makes my eyes tear and my heart ache. It also helps me realize how important humbleness of the spirit really is.
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I can understand why this might upset people, but these things do exist. Photojournalists take pictures like this and worse every day. I think if anything good can come from it, then that elevates this man's life rather than diminishing it. If this picture had not been taken, he would just be invisible and unknown to everyone who's seen it today, now he's not.
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just thinkin that this guy probably lost his legs in vietnam. look what he had to give up. the rest of his life is a shithole while his own country doesn't do shit for him, don't even spare a damn thing for him.
wait nevermind you live in the UK...hmm, i wonder if he still lost his legs in combat though.
thanks for sharing this man.
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So beautiful, so sad
..
Wonderful, it moved me. I have like, tears in my eyes..
But I do hope ya got his permission..
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You captured an emotion, and that is the root of photography. Logically, you are a photographer at root.
The lighting and color composition is wonderful, but that isn't what caught my eye first. This image carries a load of emotions, questions, and an internal debate for everyone.
Truly, you're amazing.
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I can't believe people are complaining about this photo. Thee news shows images that are just as "bad" every day.
This is a very humbling and powerful photo.
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sorry, I meant "...so that people can realise..." (typo)
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these kind of pictures are the ones that should be put in a newspaper, so that everyone people can realise a couple of things in life's reality...
good job man!
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This is just amazing. One of the most emotional pieces that I have ever had the pleasure of seeing.
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