I went back to the Piccadilly camp with my camera to begin photographing the large tents, using Ben Roberts as my main source of inspiration. After asking people from ten different tents if they would allow me to photograph their tent as part as my project, I finally got a yes from one person.
In this tent lives a couple (man and a woman) and their dog. Only the man (Pete) was present when I photographed the tent because he said his girlfriend was out washing in a nearby cafe. He told me that one person always has to stay in the tent at all times because you get other homeless people trying to rob you all the time. He said they have even stole his girlfriends insulin and the dogs food before.
Pete then went onto telling me how they could get a hostel but it would only be for a short amount of time and they would have to get rid of their dog which they have had since it was a puppy four years ago. I feel like this is such a relatable story for the public to appreciate and connect with, which is what I want my work to achieve
I also think that this sort of story is one that may change peoples negative opinions about the camp, when they know a little more about the people who are trying to make a life there. I touched on these negative opinions on my last post while looking into the MacDonald Hotel guest reviews. The man was incredibly pleasant and welcoming, telling me that people had asked to photograph him before but never inside his tent, which highlights to me that this angle is one that is original and should open the publics eyes more. He was also very pleased when I told him that this was the best tent that I had been into so far, which he couldn't wait to tell his girlfriend when she got back.
For this shoot I used the same techniques that I have used for all the other tent interiors so far such as using a wide angle lens on a tripod, while using f/22 and ISO 100 settings to maximise focus and image quality. One development I made for this shoot through looking at the work of Ben Roberts was to capture images of the objects they had inside their tent as well as just trying to capture the whole tent in one photograph, this gives the viewer more depth about how the couple live day to day. I then also captured his portrait outside the tent which he was more than willing to do.
Their tent was split into two sections, one sleeping and one general living space. As you can see the couple sleep on camp beds which must be more comfy than sleeping on the floor. You can see extra storage boxes underneath their beds which are full of clothes ect. Because the tent was much larger than I had photographed before, I had to take multiple pictures to show the interior. When you look closer you begin to see very normal everyday items such as a paperwork folder on the bed and a rubbish bin at the end.
I prefer this image to the one above because it shows the viewer more of their tent, including part of their living area and their food supplies. Also you can see they have a table and chair, as well as other objects that you would find in a normal home. At the bottom of the image you can see the woman's slippers and the dog food, which should further connect the viewer with the image through reconciliation.
This image shows the entrance to the tent which has been broken and fixed multiple times meaning you only have a very small gap to get into the tent. I really like the unusual light and shadows that the tent casts on the outside of tent, it makes it look bright and appealing. This image better shows the small food supplies they have and also other objects dotted around their personal space. This is one of my favourite images which best shows how they live day to day life.
This image captures the same scene as the photograph two above but I have moved further back than I did before, which means that I've captured more in the composition before and also I think the image is more central. The longer you look at the image the more you see, including the mans drying t-shirt in the top right hand corner, its little things like this which connects the viewer to the image and their situation. This image and the one above capture exactly what I wanted to show the viewer, to make them realise the people behind the statistics are no different to themselves. I think these two images would work really well printed large as an exhibition piece.
After capturing the tent interior photos which show the viewer everything inside the tent, I then began to photograph the objects on a smaller scale which gives the viewer a more detailed insight into what they had in their tent. In this image, you can see the dog lead and other objects which many people would find inside their homes.
I think this image is interesting to look at because one can spend their time looking at all the different things the couple has which helps them survive. These objects include hand sanitiser and a touch among many other things which help them survive on a day to day bases.
This image suggests the pair smoke while they are in bed due to the positioning of the ash tray and fag ends.
What I love about this image is that all the objects would easily fit into anyone else's house, and I'm sure that many people have the same identical items like the Ikea glass and the teapot. What further impacted me was the fact they have a Natwest internet banking calculator, something I never imagined any homeless people to own. This really shows the viewer the similarities between themselves and the homeless people.
This was the dogs bed and toy, although the image itself is not visually interesting, I believe it was important to include so the viewer could further connect and sympathies with the inhabitants of the tent.
I think this is one of my favourite pictures from this shoot because the scene just really impacted me on a very deep level. I couldn't believe that these people who live in a tent in the centre of Manchester still do their recycling, something that many other people don't feel the need to do. And most of the homeless people I had met usually just piled their rubbish by the side of the road which clearly annoys the general public. Images like this tell a completely different story of modern homelessness, one of awareness and care for their surroundings, which is something that the media never shows the public which is precisely why I wanted to do this project in the first instance.
Even though my project is more about how the homeless people actually live day to day through capturing the inside of their tents, I thought it would be a shame not to capture Pete's portrait. I think portrait is really good because you can see where he lives and how he's had to fix his tent through constant use, also it shows that he's camping in a built up area and not in the countryside which gives the image a more impacting reality.
Even though I think the portrait above is really good, I think I prefer this one because you can see the whole tent which gives the viewer a sense of its scale. Also you can see their home made path and clothing line which is tied around the tree. I think he look very content as well which shows that he is making a life for himself and his girlfriend, but just doing the best with what he has got.
I also liked this image although the composition isn't as central as the image above. The reason I like this image, is how it looks like he's looking into the future in an optimistic way, something I can imagine to be very difficult if you found yourself in their position. Even though the tent from the outside looks really scruffy and tattered, on the inside it represents a completely different story of hope and making the best out of a bad situation.
This shoot was exactly what I wanted to capture and show in my project, I feel like my whole project was leading up to this moment which I managed to capture in the way that I have been developing throughout this unit. I think the two tent interiors work really well to show the viewer exactly whats in the tent, and then the photographs of the different objects around the tent give the viewer a more in depth look at what their life might be like. There was also lots of objects in the tent which you would find in a normal house, which means that viewers will be able to relate more deeply with their situation than what they might have thought. Hopefully through being able to relate to the different belongings they have, will make the viewer think about what it must be like to live like that everyday while understanding that they are exactly the same as everyone else but in a different situation. Furthermore it should make the public think about how we are all the same and all could be only a few steps from potentially becoming homeless and finding oneself in the same boat as the people I have photographed are in.
The exact reason I began this project was to show the general public the people behind the statistics, and then to give them an insight into this hidden world which I believe I have succeeded in doing through this shoot.