BROKEN

‎"BROKEN"

This is a homeless man in town, his name is Jon. What makes Jon so different from other homeless I've shot and interviewed is that unlike those that have made choices (good or bad) that have led them to where they are today...Jon is different. Jon is completely Schizophrenic and delusional, with almost no connection to reality. It's one of the reasons whenever I see him on the street, I can't help but to stop and give him whatever few bucks I can. It breaks my heart every time I see this Broken Man.

This week has been VERY crazy in my house. My wife got a call on Wednesday morning letting her know that after 12 years with Starbucks corporate, her job was being eliminated. Yikes! Threw us into a bit of a spin. It made me think of a series I did on homes a few years back...and I remember thinking at the time..."There, but for the grace of God, go I". Meaning...we often don't realize how close we could be...with a few bad turn of events..to be one of them.

With the turn of events...I decided to go downtown and do some homeless shots. The point of taking these images is Not to just get some pictures of homeless...but to humanize them. To learn their story, who they are, and why they are there. Each person I spoke with gets $10 for lunch, a chance to tell their story to someone who really cares (and they know it) and a hug. Here are their stories.....

RON, 49

I met Ron sitting outside a Del Taco, on an early Monday morning. He was sorting through a bag of recycling when I walked up to ask if he has a little time to chat. He looked at me wearily, but give a quick, sharp nod. Ron grew up in a small Central California town, whose main area jobs consisted of farm work, and packaging. He went to work at a young age picking strawberries in the field..eventually working his way up to working in the packing plant. He married and eventually had one child. They struggled, as many families do, but they made do. Then one day, his 14 year old son was killed by a drunk driver. It it him hard, but his wife harder. He looked at his feet as he told me his wife just couldn't handle it. She just couldn't take it. Just couldn't live like that, without him. He was quiet as he stared at his feet. I wanted to ask what happened to his wife...but felt his silence told me so much. I didn't want to abuse this moment he has let me into his life, so I sat there quietly with him while he kicked a small rock with the toe of his boot. Finally he looked up at me and said..things just never were the same after that. He had a hard time working, lost his house and has been living on the street since. But, he tells me how lucky he is. He has a bike and a small bike trailer, which is loaded down with bedding and tarps. He has more then most, he says. I stood up to say goodbye to Ron, and give him a hug. He gripped the back of my jacket tight, for a long time...not letting go. When he pulled away he turned his head away...and said thank you.

MAMA SMILES, 56

I came across a older lady sitting on the curb, with a dog at her feet and two other homeless sitting near here. I was drawn to her as I walked down the street, because I could hear here laughing from a block away. As I walked up, she smiled a HUGE smile at me and said good morning! "Mama". That was what everyone on the street calls her. Mama. Because she takes care of all the younger homeless on the street, making sure they know where to go to be warm or get a meal. She tries to keep them away from the spots the police patrol and share her blankets freely. Oh...but the smile these lady had. She smiled the whole time we sat and talked. Mama has lived on the street since 1984, a lifer on the street. In talking to her, I had a hard time piecing together exactly WHY she ended up here. She told me a story about her brother, and the things he did...but even in telling it, she didn't seem to put a lot of stock in the story herself. I've found there are those on the street that live there as a way of life, and they almost can't see any other way. She even found the "Love of Her Life" on the street 19 years back, and married him. TAS is what she called him. I asked where he was, and for the first time she stopped smiling. Two weeks back they were both arrested for trespassing (trying to find a warm spot in an alley out of a VERY bad storm) They released her after a couple of days, but they were still holding him. She said the worse part was that they take all your stuff; shopping cart, blankets, things like that. She said she had to start all over again gathering things up. But I quickly learned why she was called Mama, because somehow she turned the questions on me...and learned MY story. I found myself telling her about my wife losing her job, and not really knowing WHAT was going to happen. I paused and looked up at her. She had tears in her eyes and was stoking my arm with her hand, as she said...oh it honey, it's ok. Don't worry...Mama loves you and will be here for you. I was so touched at this women, who forgot everything in her life and was so focused on MINE.

SARAH, 24

I met Sarah sitting with Mama. She laughed constantly, though seldom talked, and never looked me in the eye. I learned growing up in South Carolina, her father at lost his job when she was 12. Her parents couldn't afford there children anymore, so they took there 3 kids for a drive down the road and when they stopped for gas let them out of the car. She said her father gave her older sister some money and gave them kisses and hugs goodbye and then just drove off. She didn't understand at first. And who would, right? How does a 12 year old girl understand her parents dropping her off at a gas station and saying goodbye forever? She said she lost "track" of her sisters shortly after that, though she wouldn't really explain what that meant. She wondered around the country, through Texas and into California. Along the way, she said, she has had 3 kids. They all live with their dads, from what she said, but didn't really know where any of them were. It struck me how we are such a product of how we are raised and what we are taught. I'm watching her while she talks, and wonder if she knows how like her father she was. But she tells me all is ok now, because she is now with her "MAMA", who loves her and looks out for her.

LAVELLE, 30

Charisma. That was what I thought when I first met Lavelle. This boy has charisma. He was dynamic, engaging and funny. He laughed easily, and joked freely. And he was smart. That was obviously from the way he spoke. I couldn't help but wonder how this kids life would have been different if he had more chances. Or how it could STILL be different, if he had the drive to take advantage of the chances he has. But I really feel he is a strong example of what happens with children in Bad foster homes. He never knew his parents, he said. Didn't know their names, where they were from, or anything. He grew up in foster care. He moved around the system a lot, from home to home. He smiles at one point, and I stop short. All his front teeth are gone, top and bottom. He suddenly stops laughing an get's tight lipped. He tells me at one of the foster homes the "dad" broke all his teeth in with a bat one day. He looks at me very seriously when he says it was probably his fault, anyway. That he was a bad kid back then, and asked for it. My chin almost hit the floor watching the change that came over him. All his confidence was gone. His laughter. His smiles. He said it's cool, cuz you get what you deserve in those places. I think he has been told so much growing up that he isn't worth anything, and he doesn't deserve anything good...that he actually believes it. He has internalized it. It has become him. When I leave I keep thinking how I still think this kid could do so much, if he JUST thought he was worth it.

WILLIE LOVE, 69

Love spoke with such a soft voice, I found myself leaning close to him to hear...thus he drew me in. He reached out while speaking to me...almost as if to shake my hand, but never let go of it while we talked. At first this made me feel slightingly uncomfortable, sitting here holding hands with this man. But his way was so soft and gentle, it almost made me feel like I was a child again, sitting and talking to my own grandfather. But what Willy Love spoke of was hard to follow. His story ran in circles, talking about money that was coming soon one minute, then how he was going to be a finance banker the next. I realized that Willy either suffered from Alzeimer's or Senility. We sat there for 45 minutes as I listened to him talk, wondering what stories were drawn from some reality and which ones weren't. I found myself wishing I had the chance to sit and speak with this gentle, kind man before his mind was gone. I wondered if he still had family out there somewhere, maybe even searching for him. I hugged him like he WAS my long gone grandfather, and I moved on......

Color Version

I have had requests from people to post the color version of this image.  Mind you...while it is color, this images has been a little Desaturated to mute the color a bit, making it more dramatic.

Which do you prefer?  The Black and White or the Color?

Umbrella of Society

I was wanting to continue my work on the homeless images I started doing.  For the final project in one of my color photography classes, I decided to incorporate some of this work with the class. 

I was trying to decide how I wanted to introduce color to these images...since I prefer them in black and white.  I feel that they are LIVING in a black and white world.  And that was when I was hit with this idea.  It IS a black and white world for them...

I decided to use the color of a red umbrella.  My thought was to be that the red umbrella would represent society....with all its protection, security and comfort.  But these individuals are living OUTSIDE that comfort of the umbrella.

The first image is of a man of comfort.  Retired, spending the morning at the golf course.  The umbrella of society safely over his head.

The next image is of a homeless man, sitting, looking away from the umbrella.  Does he even know it's THERE?  Is it simply a matter of him reaching out and picking it up...holding it over his head.  Can he rejoin society That easily?  Is it just a matter of choice for him?  But he doesn't even look that way.  Maybe he doesn't even realize it COULD be that easy.  Or maybe it isn't.

The third image is of a man, talking on his iPhone..standing in front of a Mercedes.  Hmmm....nothing seems to say wealth in our society like a brand new Mercedes.  

The fourth image is of a man I met in the park.  Talking to him, I learned that he hates the "establishment"  (who still uses this word?)..the government....the masses.  They are all out to get us...or him...or maybe me, he says.  But according to him..he chooses the live he lives.   Ironically, for all his talk about hate...he smiled easily and readily, and patted me on the back a lot.   He was quick with a smile and quick with a joke.  I decided in this image to have him standing on the umbrella...as a symbol that HE chooses to ignore the umbrella...not pick it up, but to step on it instead.

The last image I find kind of ironic.  Here is a lady, all wrapped up for the rain.  Her belongings are wrapped in plastic bags to keep them dry, and she is wrapped up in a cheap rain cover.  She is sitting there being rained on.  And right next to her...leaning against the wall with...Indifference?....is the umbrella.  How easily it could cover her.  But, ironically...it's not even being USED.  Just sitter their, while she get's rained on.

Oh...and I am including a bonus picture.  The second homeless man, Darnell, posed for several pictures for me.  I ended up with one that I felt really captured the whimsical nature of this man on the street, so I am posting that one, as well.

And don't worry...as always each of the homeless that posed for me was bought lunch and had the chance to sit with me and tell me their story.  I find that more than the meal, the appreciate two things from me.  Someone to listen to their story...to be interested, ask questions and really HEAR them.  The second being physical contact.  It's amazing the power of a hug...but I find that these people I shoot almost are happiest with the hug at the end...and afterward, the keep patting me on the back and shaking my hand.  

I'm thinking they don't get a lot of hugs living on the street.....

And a Hawk Takes Flight

I am blessed to live in a very amazing place.  

I have a house in Mather, CA.  We are surrounded by open fields that are environmentally protected land.  They are filled with vernal pools and ponds, their are hawks, eagles, egrets, kites (the bird, not the toy), coyotes, and all kinds of other fun stuff.  On top of this, my house backs up to one of these fields, complete with creek.  I can sit in my back yard, on my patio furniture...enjoying a glass of wine with my wife and watch the hawks fly over our heads.

For the last few years I've been hoping to get a good shot of a hawk or eagle...but as yet, the timing hasn't been great.  Well....this week it all came together...

I was driving out of the neighborhood, on my way to meet a client, when I saw this beautiful hawk sitting on a sign relaxing.  At first I was concerned he was injured, since he was holding his week out at a weird angle.  I realized after a minute of watching him that he was just cleaning and fluffing his feathers. 

I had my camera on the seat, with a Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens on the camera...but that just wasn't going to get me close enough.  I KNEW it and didn't want to waste the chance I finally had.

Luckily, sitting on the back seat was a big gun....my two foot long zoom up to 750mm that I use for sports.  I quickly changed lenses and stepped out of the car.

I took a moment to take stock of my situation...see how far I was from the hawk (not too close yet) and look through the lens to see how my shot looked so far.

...I sighed in frustration....  Even with this mega lens...he was still just a small spot in the frame.  This was NOT the photograph I was looking for.

I took a second and set camera up.    I took a spot meter reading of the light with my camera light meter... set my shot up in manual mode (details for you photographers out there..) with the exposure to be a little bright (using ETTR, Exposing To The Right)... I set my lens to manual focus.  As fast as cameras and lenses are these days...the time it's going to take to focus if the hawk takes off...well...just take to long.  Also, I make sure my lens is set to Image Stabilization.

Ok...so here is my dilemma.  I'm going to walk toward this hawk...very slowly, trying not to scare him.  I'm hand holding my camera...which any photographer out there is going to say..oh my...really?  Why?  Because it is VERY hard to hand hold a 750mm lens....besides being HEAVY...what you are looking at in the lens jumps around...you have to have a VERY steady hand.  Plus, you tend to get a lot of blurring of the image.  

Second problem...as I move forward, I'm losing my focus (since I'm on manual focus)

So I set the camera to my eye, and old the lens out...kinda like it were a rifle, fingers on the focus ring...shifting the focus as I move.  With my feet spread wide, I start moving forward VERY slowly!  VERY slowly!  I can't see my feet...so I have to kinda..slide them forward.  

Oh...was this a VERY painstaking and tiring process.  My arms are burning from holding the lens out there...but I can't rest my arms and risk him moving. 

 Plus, he is WATCHING me.  Oh yes.  The reflection on my lens probably caught his attention, and I'm afraid if I lowered my camera he would spook and fly.  As it was...he was tensed and ready to spring.  So I kept going...15, maybe 20 minutes..maybe less..it felt like forever.

And finally...He DID spring.  He launched himself in the air, moving at a speed that I just couldn't believe.  I was ready...and starting firing shots off as fast as I could.  And even shoting a burst of about 12 shots in TWO seconds...I managed to get about...oh...5 in the frame.

Yes... it took him about 2 seconds to travel about 10 feet.  It was amazing.

I was VERY pleased when I got home and found that I finally caught a shot I have been trying for for years.  And it only inspired me to get MORE!

Enjoy!!

Sean Thomas Bjers

Darian + Christine - A Wedding Preview

Last weekend I had the distinct honor to photograph the wedding of Darian and Christine. 

I can honestly say that these are two of the nicest people I've ever met, and it was a pleasure to photograph the two of them on their day of celebrating their love.  These two are such a joy to watch together, and their love for each other is evident to everyone who sees them together.

The wedding was held on Sunday, about 3 hours out of sacramento at a beautiful ski resort called Kirkwood.  It is an AMAZING location, about 8,000 ft elevation, nestled in the mountain and surrounded by trees and wildflowers.

Being adventurous as they are, they did the ceremony on the TOP of the mountain.  The bride and groom and all the guest (even the 73 year old grandma!) took the lift up the mountain to the site.  

We got some amazing pictures and I decided to post a handful of them here for people to get the chance to see.

Congratulation to you Darian and Christine!  May your love always continue to shine as bright as it does today!

Sean

The Degradation of Grandpa

Ok...another art school project!

This one was a lot of fun to do.  My project was to take one of three sayings..."This is the End", "Only down hill from here" and "Burning the candle at both ends"

I decided to do This is the end, though, I DO think it could have been Only down hill from here....

I came up with the idea yesterday, and sitting around the couch last night I ran it past Grandpa Sy, Emily, myself and a couple others...we all talked it over and everyone threw in some ideas and and took those to refine the image I saw in my head.  The idea was to show a guy pretty beat up, looking tired and worn, probably celebrating his birthday alone....ummm...is he thinking of offing himself?  Who knows....maybe after he finishes his last beer....   The picture was done in Black and White to make it more dramatic.  Nothing was done in photoshop to the picture...but it was sharpened in RAW a bit, and added a little contrast.

All I have to say is....Grandpa Sy is the best sport ever.  Not many people would be willing to pose for a picture that makes them look so bad...oh...and NO...he doesn't smoke.  lol.

Enjoy!