{"id":2429,"date":"2023-09-08T07:28:33","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T07:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/news\/camera-club\/shelter-faceless-name-of-homelessness\/"},"modified":"2023-09-08T07:28:33","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T07:28:33","slug":"shelter-faceless-name-of-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/news\/camera-club\/shelter-faceless-name-of-homelessness\/","title":{"rendered":"Shelter: Faceless Name of Homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Local photographer Karim Saafir discovered remarkable stories of resilience, pride, and dignity as he formed relationships with less fortunate people in Los Angeles.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/support-blackowned-los-angeles-standard-newspaper\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Support_Standard_web.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"296\" \/><\/a><figcaption>The L.A. Standard Newspaper needs your support so that we can continue to create positive stories about Black communities. $20, $50, $100, $500, $1,000. Any amount would be greatly appreciated. -Jason Douglas Lewis, Owner\/Publisher. Donations can be made through Cash App <a href=\"https:\/\/cash.app\/$LAStandard\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/cash.app\/$LAStandard<\/a>, Venmo https:\/\/venmo.com @LA-Standard-Newspaper, PayPal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/paypalme\/lastandardnewspaper\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/paypalme\/lastandardnewspaper<\/a>, and GoFundMe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/support-blackowned-los-angeles-standard-newspaper\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/support-blackowned-los-angeles-standard-newspaper<\/a>. Checks can be mailed to 2415 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure>\n<figure><a href=\"index.php\/shop-black-los-angeles.html\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Black_LA_FB_ad_2_web.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Shop Black Los Angeles! T-shirts and sweatshirts. <a href=\"index.php\/shop-black-los-angeles.html\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/index.php\/shop-black-los-angeles.html<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure>&nbsp;<\/figure>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=347&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fjason.d.lewis.5%2Fvideos%2F292239706517020%2F%3Fidorvanity%3D2045952435644667&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"347\" style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n<figure><em><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Karim Saafir<\/span>was the guest presenter at the Los Angeles Camera Club meeting. <\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/figure>\n<figure>&nbsp;<\/figure>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">By Blake Carter<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Street photography was a recent topic at the monthly Los Angeles Standard Newspaper Camera Club meeting.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s a type of photography that can be tricky because the photographer is typically taking photos of strangers who may not be receptive to having their photo taken.&nbsp; Camera club member and local photographer Karim Saafir has a lot of experience in this genre, and he gave the group a presentation about how he shot the pictures for his book, &ldquo;Shelter: Faceless Names of Homelessness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Instead of being intrusive by taking pictures of homeless people who he did not know, Saafir wanted to form a connection with his subjects and find out about their stories.&nbsp; He started out by reaching out to people in his network to see if they knew anybody who was homeless.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">&ldquo;The first guy to contact me, he said that he was homeless, but he said that he wouldn&rsquo;t be good for the project,&rdquo; Saafir said.&nbsp; &ldquo;I told him that he&rsquo;s perfect for this project because I wanted somebody who I would have never known was homeless.&nbsp; So he told me his story; how he lived in his car and ate hot dogs and raw eggs.&nbsp; He said that he couldn&rsquo;t cook anything so he&rsquo;d get the hotdogs and eggs from 7-Eleven.&nbsp; He said that he took a shower at Bally&rsquo;s gym.&nbsp; He said that nobody knew that he was homeless, including his parents.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Saafir planned to work on this project in Skid Row, but he knew that he couldn&rsquo;t simply show up and start taking pictures, which some photographers unfortunately do. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">&ldquo;Before I took a camera out there, I went out there empty handed and just met the people first,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; &ldquo;Other people go out there all the time and take pictures of these people and post them on social media.&nbsp; I just didn&rsquo;t want that feeling.&nbsp; I wanted to look at the homeless people as people, which they are.&nbsp; You can go to the zoo and take pictures of the animals all day with no interaction.&nbsp; But when it comes to people, I wanted to put a human aspect behind homelessness.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Saafir asked permission from all of the subjects that he photographed, and he formed relationships with several people in the Skid Row area.&nbsp; The friendships granted him more access into these people&rsquo;s lives and shelters than photographers who just show up and randomly shoot strangers. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">&ldquo;They knew who I was, so they let me take photographs of them doing different things,&rdquo; he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Saafir also developed relationships with administrators at shelters and with organizations who assist homeless people.&nbsp; With greater access, he was able to see many details that the typical person would not see.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-2428\" src=\"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/79276053_web.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/79276053_web.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/79276053_web-300x240.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">&ldquo;I wanted to give people an idea of what homelessness is,&rdquo; Saafir said.&nbsp; &ldquo;Homelessness is not a clean thing.&nbsp; Whether you live in your car or on the streets, how do you take a shower?&nbsp; How do you eat a hot meal?&nbsp; All of these things that we take for granted.&nbsp; I can go and wash my hands in the sink.&nbsp; But if you&rsquo;re out there on the streets, where do you wash you hands?&nbsp; So all of these details I was thinking about.&nbsp; I wanted to show how it is being homeless.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Saafir was surprised about how innovative some of the homeless people were. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">&ldquo;One day that I went down, it was a hot day, and a homeless man was like, &lsquo;Do you want a cold water?&rsquo;&rdquo; Saafir said.&nbsp; &ldquo;He then opened up an ice chest inside his tent.&nbsp; And he had a lot of meat in it.&nbsp; He said that they were going to barbecue.&nbsp; He said that he&rsquo;s not broke because he gets his GR (general relief aid), so he can buy groceries.&nbsp; He just can&rsquo;t afford to have a place to live.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Saafir is a full-time professional photographer, and he shoots celebrity events often.&nbsp; But this book project was a lot more personal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lot different than shooting celebrity events,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; &ldquo;I had more of a relationship with the subjects that I worked with on the homelessness project.&nbsp; When you&rsquo;re shooting the celebrity events, they don&rsquo;t really know you.&nbsp; You&rsquo;re not really having conversations with them.&nbsp; I&rsquo;m making sure I&rsquo;m doing the job and capturing the moments.&nbsp; I may meet people at the events, but I don&rsquo;t have a relationship with the celebrities.&nbsp; With the different subjects for the book, I had conversations with my subjects, which got me a little closer to them.&nbsp; Which was the hard part because I take things kind of emotionally, and when some people would tell me their stories, I had to hold back a little bit because it was hard to hear those stories.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Saafir&rsquo;s intent of the book is to bring more awareness to homelessness by giving people a closer look at how people live, and also by telling their compelling stories.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The book can be purchased at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shelterexhibit.com\" target=\"_blank\">www.shelterexhibit.com<\/a> and also visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.karimsaafirphotography.com\" target=\"_blank\">www.karimsaafirphotography.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The Los Angeles Standard Camera Club meets every third Tuesday at 7 p.m. on Zoom.&nbsp; Meetings are free to attend.&nbsp; RSVP by emailing <a href=\"mailto:info@lastandardnewspaper.com.\">info@lastandardnewspaper.com.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Local photographer Karim Saafir discovered remarkable stories of resilience, pride, and dignity as he formed relationships with less fortunate people in Los Angeles.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[169,170,93,168,858,167,161,351,2579,218,2580,156,157,75,135,163,162,474,102,158,160,159],"class_list":["post-2429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camera-club","tag-african-american","tag-african-american-newspaper","tag-baldwin-hills","tag-black-newspaper","tag-camera-club","tag-community-newspaper","tag-crenshaw","tag-homeless","tag-homelessness","tag-inglewood","tag-karim-saafir","tag-ladera-heights","tag-leimert-park","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-standard-newspaper","tag-mid-city","tag-park-mesa-heights","tag-photography","tag-south-los-angeles","tag-view-park","tag-west-adams","tag-windsor-hills"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}