HOMELESS IN SAN FRANCISCO (1988-1990)

For two years (1988-90) I photographed the homeless in San Francisco. The project was called 'Spirits of Civic Center: The Homeless Community of San Francisco.'  

It wasn't as if I woke up one morning and decided that it was time to go out and take pictures of homeless people. Shortly after meeting a group of people camped out at the Civic Center my preconceptions about who they were radically changed. Once people began telling me their stories I felt compelled to continue listening and communicate what I witnessed.  

Hundreds of times I was asked, "Why do you want to take my photograph?" For me the camera has always been a kind of passport, a way of interacting with people while at the same time learning about them. The black box leads to communication between people who would normally never cross paths.