Has anyone seen.....

[CanonChrissy]

A set of documentary photos by J A  Mortram called Small Town Inertia? www.smalltowninertia.co.uk. interesting and moving.

[Clicker]

I do remember this chap James Mottram from a news item a few years ago Chrissie .. He is a man who empathises  so well with the subjects of his images and one can see that  they are  completely trusting and  oblivious to the camera  by the time he  takes their photographs.. .... a very honest body of work , Thanks for reminding me ...I imagine Fuji would  love this if he doesn't know of him already ...

[CanonChrissy]

I once, as a wet behind the ears photographer, critiqued an image he listed on a forum and we got off on the wrong foot. But we shook hands and made up.......then I found out he was its famous in his field!

[FUJI]

Thanks for drawing my attention to this Chrissy.

Very powerful images and bitingly accurate observations, make for very powerful, thought provoking viewing.

Uncomfortable for me, because my roots are firmly in a very similar background to many of his subjects......far too personal to detail on here......

'But, there is a difference.......it's a very long, tangled story......suffice to say, that despite all that life has thrown at me, I have come through on the other side with a few scars, plus a strongly developed positive outlook. Mainly as a result of developing a.....Can Do......attitude, nurtured on the building sites and army service of my youth.

It isn't easy, I know first hand, how difficult it is to rise from the mire of near poverty and bad luck....but it can be done through self determination, self motivation and self education.

I am currently doing my best to motivate a teenage beggar to get off his backside, for the past three months he can be seen sitting in the bitter cold, hoping for small change off passers by. I have given him hot food and drinks, plus a notebook containing contact details of where to get help....he also had one of my lathe turned pens for Christmas.

it was then, that he told me he wouldn't be back in January......He is though, very sadly he seems determined to destroy his young life.....he assured me he isn't addicted to anything. I have tried to raise awareness of him in various church and charity groups to no avail.

This wouldn't have happened in the 1950s when I was his age, because ALL 18 year olds were conscripted for National Service......he would have attended a medical, been assessed then put in one of the services to be made a man of. I was such a young man, poor background, poor self esteem, a potential failure ............until the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, put me right.....National Service, was a very real leveller, no one was exempt unless deaf, half blind or flat footed ....all classes were forced to live and work at close quarters.

No apologies for making this so long........You can see that  James Mottram's work has provoked a strong response from me.

Despite my dodgy roots.....I did become a qualified Teacher.....then....a Social Worker with an all too real inside knowledge.

 

FUJI

Edited January 28, 2016 by FUJI