So I was walking down Haight street in SF with my friends when a hand holding a cup popped out of a trashcan. We all jumped back and then immediately peeked inside to see this girl around our age (maybe younger, but most of the homeless on Haight are around 20) perfectly situated within it. I took a few snapshots of her while I chatted and asked her what it was like to be in a trash can scaring people, etc. Btw, it seems counterintuitive to scare people for their money, but it is actually very profitable, especially if you do it to large groups who like seeing their friends scream :) Anyway, she was very upbeat and friendly and I gave her all the change I had in payment for taking the pics. I wasn't really sure why I was so drawn to her until I reviewed the photos later. It was because even though she was begging for change inside of a garbage can with freshly bleeding cuts, dirt all over her and countless scars...she was still wearing makeup. And not just any makeup, RED lipstick and jet black mascara which looked to be smudged from crying or sweat. I just found her very interesting overall and hopefully I can go back to take more pics of her one day.
As for the title, I think it's a bit of a stretch considering that it doesn't show any actual depiction of addiction but I think it shows the aftermath well. Also, I don't assume to know anything about her, I don't know if she is indeed addicted to something, if she is a runaway, or if she is there voluntarily. Yes, I said voluntarily. It's very surprising, but I personally know people who went to just "live on Haight." I guess they do it for the experience, but personally I hope I never experience anything like that.
The exposure was pretty trick for this since it was a bright sunny day and she was in a very dark trash can. I bracketed somewhere in the middle and messed with the tones in lightroom. I did have to do a weird crop though because of the blown out highlights. I hope people undertand that she's in a trashcan considering the unusual perspective. This wasn't the best shot (I only took 5 though) but it was the one that goes best with the challenge.
For editing, it was done in Lightroom and most of it had to do with messing around with saturation, hue, and luminance. Like bringing down the saturation in the blues and greens but up in the reds. I also gave it an overall greener tint to make it look "dirtier" i guess. Then I just brought down the luminance a bit and brought up the clarity a touch. Then I added the border in photoshop, resized and uploaded. I think it came out nicely but I have no idea how it will fare considering my low scores as of late :( Oh well, here's to wishin'
Statistics
Place: 57 out of 100 Avg (all users): 5.2831 Avg (commenters): 9.0000 Avg (participants): 4.8889 Avg (non-participants): 5.4298 Views since voting: 1006 Views during voting: 349 Votes: 166 Comments: 5 Favorites: 1 (view)
I failed to check back on this after the challenge, but came back to it now after the second shot in the freestudy. I think the first time around I did not realize she was in a trashcan. What a story. Thanks for the detailed notes explaining this.
That's such an interesting story. I think the photo is excellent, and certainly does show the result of addiction. A trash can is a very symbolic place for an addict. This really makes a statement.
I can't really tell where she is from looking at the image, though. During voting, I thought she was coming out of a manhole. I don't understand what is covering the top of her head either. That doesn't diminish the impact of the image, but I think it did effect your score.
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