Dead Safe...??? (not for the easily offended)

[Marty]

Yes, I am shooting in risky areas again.
I named it dead safe for two reasons.
One, there are clean needles which is much safer than sharing.
Two, dead becasue this is where the unlucky addicts may end up.
The colours havent been touched, thats how dirty it is in the area they shoot up.
Any comments, does it have an impact, does it make you think...
Like all my work, nothing is staged, just as I find it and just as I leave it.....

[macka]

There has been a spate of recent heroin-related deaths/overdoses, which is terrible. This scene in itself is a great argument for injecting rooms which save lives.

[whiz]

I like it, but I'd prefer a bit more depth of field.

As for "the easily offended", screw them.
The world is well and truly way to Politically Correct.

Personally, I'm all for the chinese method of addict detoxification.
100 percent successful, fast and cheap.

[Marty]

Hey Macka, my reasoning behind my recent images are to show how some less fortunate people live. I dont glamourise their live, but I want the general public to see a world they generally wouldnt see.
It is very sad, and more common than most people realise or care to know.
And Whiz, I hae seen documentaries on the Buddhist monks in Thailand who treat heroin addicts, it severe but also has very high success rates.
Thanks for your input on the DoF, I wanted to just focus on the areas between the needle and the spoon and blur the rest out.
But in this environment I didnt check the lcd to see the images, I was just keen to shoot the image and get out.
Marty

[Alpha_7]

Strong image Marty well done. I'd agree with whiz that a bit more DOF wouldn't have gone astray or perhaps just moving the focus toward the spoon a little more.

-OT- Macka what's with the new sig, I like it

[marcotrov]

Now this is getting down and dirty Marty. Another thought provoking image
cheers
marco

[rokkstar]

Marty,

I like the idea here but for me the syring and spoon get a bit lost. They don't retain the eye.
NIce treatment though.

[Geoff]

Marty - this is a confronting image. If I were to make any suggestion I would like to see a little more contrast in the image, and as already suggested, a greater DOF. Would be interested to see more from this series if you have them. Different work than we usually see here mate, it's a welcome 'change' if that makes sense.

Sadly - this is reality.

The injecting rooms have significantly reduced the number of near fatal/fatal overdoses, this is a fact.

Your images provoke many thoughts, thanks for sharing.

[macka]

-OT- Macka what's with the new sig, I like it

Craig, I noticed that some people go to great lengths to include their gear in their signatures (which is fine), sometimes to the extent of including their spare batteries etc. I found this quite amusing, and decided to have a bit of a go. Finally, someone noticed!

Marty, I got carried away and didn't actually comment on the image. Definately striking, but I agree greater depth of field would be better, so as to get the spoon in focus as well.

[Alpha_7]

-OT- Macka what's with the new sig, I like it

Craig, I noticed that some people go to great lengths to include their gear in their signatures (which is fine), sometimes to the extent of including their spare batteries etc. I found this quite amusing, and decided to have a bit of a go. Finally, someone noticed!

I hope I didn't take too long Considering the hours I sit on the forum, I should notice these things

[Marty]

Thanks guys,
and many thanks Geoff.....
More DoF it is then, looks like I will be going back again soon...
I am glad there are other members who like the subjects and style of my images.
I will post more as they emerge from ancient computer....!
Cheers
Marty

[mudder]

A very powerful image with a very strong message, a message that will be interpreted differently by different viewers, perhaps influenced by their life experiences...

I admire you not touching your environment, I would have been tempted to move that packet in the background so just the spoon and needle were the central subjects, but that could have altered the reality of the scene...

Very confronting image, one that invokes emotion in the viewer, which speaks volumes for the way the subject is portrayed...

[Marty]

Thanks Mudder,
I am very interested and happy to read what this image means to you.
Like you say, it can be interpreted in different ways, that’s the beauty of photography. My interpretation of this image may or may not be the same as yours, neither is right or wrong, but what is important to me is that it makes the viewer think.
If it makes people think, then it has served the reason why I took the image.

ps
I did briefly think about moving the needles closer to the spoon, I know this would have created a better image. But I don’t move things, and even a fool like me didn’t have the courage to touch anything in there.

[Dug]

A strong image Personally I would have moved the subject matter to make a better image But that is just me. I carry strong gloves in my camera kit and in my car glovebox just in case.

It is sad the lengths people have to go to to cope with our society.
I think drug addiction is a medical problem not a criminal one.
Cheap, clean, measured doses of legal heroin make it a safe drug both for users and society. It is the criminality of it that causes so much trouble.

ANyway that is my rant for the night, Good image, carry gloves, cheers doug

[Bodak]

Very confronting images and something that was suggested I do in our local area but would need some friendlies in case I was seen.
Needing backup was enough to turn me off.
I would recommend that you give it a break for awhile, for your own sake.

As I said in the beginning, very confronting and sadly the way life seems to be heading..

[Jeko70]

Thanks Marty to share with us this Image.
Not the pic but the meaning.

Yes, me too suggest more DOF. Next time try to "keep out" the siringe and the spoon from the image, play more with light and contrast, not just in PP but when shooting.

Take care

Fab

[Marty]

Thanks for more comments.....
Bodak, I think if I had the opportunity to shoot images in the local area, I would have taken the opportunity if I thought it was for the right reasons, having 'backup' is more of a visual deterrent, with safety in numbers. But of course it depends on who made the suggestion and for what purpose.
I have given some free time to an organization that help with addicted and homeless people in the past, I do not consider them threatening in any way, they sometimes just don’t act rationally. And yes I am very cautious when dealing with these people even in the organization I worked with.
Why do you suggest I give it a break...?? I am cautious when shooting my images, and if I thought there was even the smallest possibility of an encounter with the addicts, then I would definitely leave before this situation could eventuate.
And Jeko, the spoon and syringe are the subject of the image, if I kept them out then it would simply be an image of an old building. I don’t understand your suggestion, but please reply to me and elaborate on why you think the objects should not be in the image. I am always open to any recommendation.
Thanks guys
Marty

[stubbsy]

Marty

I think Fab means he thimks you should make them stand out more rather than remove them. Trouble with english as a second language.

I've looked at this a few times before commenting since the poor DOF annoyed me too, but even with this it's still a great image. You've managed to use the colours (or lack thereof) in this environment to visually isolate the key parts of this image and I think ot works very well for that reason.

[Marty]

Cheers for the clarification Peter....
I didn't understand the post.
God damn you all, bloody DoF, whatever the hell that is, now that means I have to go back on my day off work.
Oh well, I suppose if I have to, then I will.
Marty

[stubbsy]

Marty

I suspect you are having a lend of us, but being the good natured sucker I am. DOF = Depth Of Field.

[Jeko70]

Yep, I'm sorry about what i said.

I meant Stand Out, Bring out, thanks Peter, to give the right stress and increase in value the pic because looks a bit flat to me.
I'll never say "take out the siringe" or remove it, to any image!
It's your image and not mine!

Cheers

Fab

[Marty]

Ciao Fab,
no problem, thanks for clarifying.
Marty

And Peter....
Oh that thing, I have heard of it before.
I will let you into a secret about my style/technique.
I generally get so engrossed in what I shoot, I forget to change any camera settings.
On a good day, I might rember to change my iso before I shoot, on a very good day I might remeber to set the aperture for the type of shots I am expecting.
I have a 'look and shoot' mentality, I wish I could buy a smarter camera that knew what I wanted it to do.
I know and shoot with many highly technical photographers, but sadly I am on the other end of the scale when it comes to adjusting settings for every shot.
Marty

[whiz]

And Whiz, I have seen documentaries on the Buddhist monks in Thailand who treat heroin addicts, it severe but also has very high success rates.

Nothing beats the Chinese cure. The addicts who "volunteered" were instantly permanently cured of their addiction. In fact they never did anything good or bad again.

[Marty]

Hey Whiz, if you are suggesting the Chinese addicts were killed as a cure to their addiction, then I certainly do not agree with that in any way.
I am very shocked to hear this, and consider that action immoral.
This forum is not the place to discuss the action, and not the place to condone such atrocities.
Marty

[Dug]

I wonder if we would approve if people "Cured" diabetes or another similar disease by killing patients?

Addiction is a disease not a crime.

[Raskill]

I wonder if we would approve if people "Cured" diabetes or another similar disease by killing patients?

Addiction is a disease not a crime.

I beg to disagree. addiction is not a disease, it is a physical dependancy. In the case at hand a self inflicted physical dependancy, that when taken to the extreme results in a $1000+ habit a week, that means addicts break into our houses and steal our cameras to fund it.

They're not victims by a long shot....

[stubbsy]

I wonder if we would approve if people "Cured" diabetes or another similar disease by killing patients?

Addiction is a disease not a crime.

Marty, Doug - absolutely. Killing someone for any reason is an extreme solution to ANY problem.

[Dug]

I wonder if we would approve if people "Cured" diabetes or another similar disease by killing patients?

Addiction is a disease not a crime.

I beg to disagree. addiction is not a disease, it is a physical dependancy. In the case at hand a self inflicted physical dependancy, that when taken to the extreme results in a $1000+ habit a week, that means addicts break into our houses and steal our cameras to fund it.

They're not victims by a long shot....

I have a physical dependancy too, if I do not take medication I die.

Addicts break into homes because heroin is illegal and expensive. Make it legal cheap and clean and you stop most street crime and break and enters.

You also put large organized crime networks out of business.

Prohibition has never worked we have ben fighting a "War on Drugs" since the 1920's and have not won it yet. The death penalty does not deter people from dealing drugs.

Isn't it about time we tried a different approach?

[macka]

Addicts break into homes because heroin is illegal and expensive. Make it legal cheap and clean and you stop most street crime and break and enters.

You also put large organized crime networks out of business.

Prohibition has never worked we have ben fighting a "War on Drugs" since the 1920's and have not won it yet. The death penalty does not deter people from dealing drugs.

Isn't it about time we tried a different approach?

Well said, Dug.

[Marty]

Peter and Dug, well said, I agree.
It's an incredibly difficult situation, both for the addicts and others affected by their addiction, which luckily not many people will ever have to experience.
For those invloved there isn't any clear cut solution.
Open mindedness is a good start, too many people are judgemental and group all addicts as criminals.
I am not qualified or trained in addictions to debate the subject, I have had first hand experince with addicts of all ages and backgrounds through charitable work I do.

[Dug]

I have had a bit of experience in a lot of different sides of the arguments and have discussed the problem with many skilled and knowledgeable people who have many years experience in the field.

The one consensus of opinion is the system we have is not working and we need to change it.

It is a political hot potato and such an emotional issue with so many people Especially shock jocks pollies and religious conservatives playing a blame game. IE Blaming everyone but themselves.

Like most complex problems there is no simple answer.