This week Seattle based photographer David Julian talks about the experience of photographing Burning Man.
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©Valérie Jardin
Hit The Streets 52: Do Something For Nothing in NYC with Joshua Coombes
Thanks to Fujifilm North America I just had the great pleasure to spend a few days documenting the work of Joshua Coombes, the founder of #DoSomethingForNothing, on the streets of New York City. It was an incredible experience and definitely the most important photographs I've ever taken.
Josh at Coney Island ©Valérie Jardin
Who is Joshua Coombes?
Josh is a young hairstylist from London who started giving free haircuts to homeless people during his time off, in an attempt to brighten up their day. The project, known as #DoSomethingForNothing, soon became his mission and he has been traveling to major cities around the world to touch lives, one person at a time.
Don’t forget to follow Josh on Instagram to see his before and after pics! Contact him here.
Josh and I have known each other online ever since he started his project 2 years ago. We’ve been following each other’s work, determined that one day our paths would cross, and I would have the opportunity to tell his story through my lens. Thanks to the support of Fujifilm North America, who brought us together on the streets of New York City for 4 days last week, we finally made it happen!
We hit the ground running as soon as I landed on Tuesday afternoon. Josh had arrived from the U.K. a couple of days earlier. I couldn’t wait to meet Josh and start documenting his work. My X100F was loaded and ready to capture compassion and hope.
Over the following four days on the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn, we met people from all different backgrounds. Homelessness can happen to anyone at any time. White or black, young or old, misfortune and adversity don’t discriminate.
Working with my Fujifilm X100F was the perfect choice for this project. The 23mm focal length allowed me to be physically close, while its small size and silent shutter made it unobtrusive and non intimidating.
Every subject agreed to be photographed, but I didn’t start shooting right away, and Josh didn’t start cutting hair immediately either. Our first role was to listen, wipe tears and give hugs. We were always rewarded by the brightest smiles in the end!
What’s next for Josh? He obviously found his calling. As he recently wrote on Instagram: “This isn’t charity, it’s connection. It’s keeping all doors open to listen to others and learn.” I want to do all I can to support him in his mission to bring smiles in our challenging world, one haircut at a time. By doing so and sharing his experience, he is influencing others to also Do Something For Nothing, whatever that may be.
As for me, this project was life changing. I’ve been wanting to work on a humanitarian project for quite a while, and this is the perfect fit. Josh and I work well as a team, and the images I collected were definitely the most important photographs I’ve ever shot.
We wish to keep working together whenever possible to document other stories in other cities, to raise awareness and share the love. We are planning to write an ebook #DoSomethingForNothing in NYC in the next few months to raise funds to help Josh keep doing what he does with so much passion. We also want to show the recent photo documentary in galleries.
eBook
Below are a few of the beautiful souls we met on the street of NYC last week. This is a sneak peek! More photographs with their stories will be included in the ebook. To be notified of its release, please sign up to my mailing list.
Your help is important!
If you are the curator of a gallery or can put us in contact with a gallery interested in showing the work, please get in touch! If you can help with typesetting the eBook or in any other way, please use this contact form as well.
Take a moment to write a comment below.
Here are some of the photographs I captured of #DoSomethingForNothing in NTC with my X100F:
Below are some of the before & after iPhone shot that Josh shares daily on Instagram:
Please, share this important conversation. Thank you!
Valérie & Josh.
©Ralph Velasco
Hit The Streets 51: My Shot List with Ralph Velasco
My guest this week is Ralph Velasco, founder of PhotoEnrichment Adventures, as well as a travel photography instructor, author and international guide.
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Sha’ Quila Ellis
Hit The Streets 46: Through Our Eyes Project
The Through Our Eyes project puts cameras in the hands of the homeless and asks them to photograph their lives.
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Hit The Streets 44: Turning A Negative Into A Positive With Jimmy Lee
My guest today is Jimmy Lee from the UK. After losing his job, Jimmy decided to start making a difference in his community by using his camera as an effort to ‘do something for nothing’. Things led to another and a couple of exhibits and a few clients later, he is determined to make this photography gig his full time job!
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©Maurice Vliegen
Hit The Streets 43: Urban Photo Race with Maurice Vliegen
Please enjoy my conversation with Dutch photographer and friend Maurice Vliegen as he tells us all about the Urban Photo Race events he recently participated in.
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Hit The Streets 40: The Productivity Project with Chris Bailey
Chris Bailey, author of The productivity Project is my guest this week. Listen to the tips Chris shares on the show to become more productive and find more time to pursue your passion for photography.
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Hit The Streets 39: Transitions, a Daughter's Journey with Terry Gydesen
My guest today is Terry Gydesen, a documentary photographer whose images tell stories of some of Minnesota's political figures and celebrities. But today we are not going to talk about celebrities, we are going to talk about a project that hit much closer to home for Terry.
The project is titled "Transitions, a Daughter’s Journey” and it is a collection of 30 large color photographs that represent four years of documenting her father’s decline from Alzheimer’s. The series was on exhibit in Minneapolis recently and left no one untouched.
Please enjoy this touching and important conversation with Terry and leave a message in the comments below if you have a minute or two!
Bio
Terry Gydeson by AnnMarsden
Terry Gydesen is a freelance photographer based in Minneapolis. Her passion for documenting political campaigns started in 1988 when she was hired by Jesse Jackson to document his Presidential campaign. With the support of various grants and fellowships, Terry has documented political campaigns both locally and nationally for the last 20 years.
Terry has been commissioned for several projects which include documenting Prince’s 1993 New Power Generation Tour in Europe which resulted in the book, Prince presents the sacrifice of Victor. She was one of twelve photographers commissioned by the Minnesota History Center to document life in Minnesota at the turn of the 21st century. Her “Snowbirds” project followed Minnesota’s retired seniors during their winter life in Florida and Arizona.
Target commissioned Terry for their “Story Telling” campaign, showing how Target’s philanthropic contributions make a difference in communities across the country. Most recently she has been retained by the Girl Scouts making portraits of leaders in the Community in their “Where Girl Scouts Can Take You” campaign.
Published Work
Her work has also been published in various publications including the New York Times, Newsweek, and the Washington Post.
Grants and Fellowships
Terry is a three time recipient of the McKnight Photography fellowship. She has also received grants from the Minnesota State Arts board, the Jerome Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. the 2017 McKnight Visual Artist Fellowship.
Links
Terry's website
Video interview during the exhibit
Hit The Streets 38: Chasing Dreams with Iwona Pinkowicz
My guest today is Iwona Pinkowicz. She tells us about her street portrait project 'chasing Dreams' as well as her own dreams in her pursuit of being a full time photographer.
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Hit The Streets 37: Content Rules with C.C. Chapman
The week on Hit The Streets I sit down with award winning marketer, author, content creator and photographer C.C. Chapman. We discuss key media strategies for photographers, how to grow an audience, how to prepare for what comes next and much more!
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