Comments on: Family, Friends, and Neighbors

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:57:07 +0000

Hi Jacquie: Thank you so much for the perceptive and very kind words about my photographs. Your point about the difference between then and now in terms how much freedom a street photographer—especially a man, as in my case—would have interacting with kids is well and sadly taken. The 70s were, or seemed to be, at least regarding street photography, a more innocent time. Looking at those 30+ year old photos I too have wondered if I could even come close to replicating them today. I somehow doubt it, which of course makes them all the more precious. I assume there are documentary photographers still out there doing that work and it would be nice to hear about their experiences. By the way, if you’re interested and happen to have them handy, I’d like to see a selection of your CHILDREN TODAY images and with your permission even share a few with DoodleMeister readers.

By: Jacquie Roland

Jacquie Roland — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:29:13 +0000

Hi Jim – love the photos

I was shooting in Baltimore & Washington roughly the same time as you, and mostly for CHILDREN TODAY magazine. Your comment about “free range children”, among other things struck a chord with me. There was never a time I came back from a shoot on the streets of Baltimore without the most amazing stuff. There were times I literally felt like the Pied Piper, laughing, capering, kids in my wake. The FOUR SISTERS just screams JOY! How amazingly happy they were at that moment in time. THE BROTHERS FOUR is much like a photo I took of some young Hispanic boys in Washington, they were approximately the same age as your kids, and very much the same aspect… very male, very intense, and insanely beautiful.

Now, a few (ha!) short years later I doubt I would be able to get as CLOSE to kids as I did then. Parents, and the children themselves are far more aware, and wary. But it is such a joy to have those shots, especially when, as your son mentioned in his comment, they are taken from us too soon.

On a lighter note, I enjoyed todays cartoon… maybe that is why I didn’t have kids of my own.

By: Jim

Jim — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:50:57 +0000

Sorry, son, but you always did (and do) look younger than you are. Thanks for the comment.
Dad

By: Shawn

Shawn — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:40:28 +0000

Dad

Love the pic but I was a little older then 13. In 76 I was 15 and at Poly as the sticker on the rear window show’s. Johnny was 14, Vince was 13 and Tony was 6. It’s funny remembering when that pic was taken, thinking about the life we all had ahead of us. It is also sad to thinking that Tony would leave us a short ten years later and Johnny in the early 2000′s.