Home, sweet home

I finally got home to Romania a few days ago and I spent the week-end in Vama Veche, a popular place at the seaside.

Checking out their tan.


Scanning the beach.


Dancing on the beach.

Chris

Chris sleeps on the bus. He has been on the streets for seven days. Last night at 12, his bar expired and he was allowed back in Tent City.
Chris looks at Tent City from the outside, an experience he says helps him understand this community better and prevent him from repeating mistakes. A few hours before his bar expired, he walked Amber back to Tent City, but was not allowed to get too close.

Heavenly dog

A dog looks out from the back of a car in a street in Seattle.

Chris

I have a feeling that this is turning into a story about Chris, in which Amber plays a significant role, rather than a story about their relationship.

Sunday afternoon, Chris got kicked out of Tent City for seven days, for not reporting a camper that had parked his truck behind the camp (which is not allowed because of liability issues). He's been on the streets ever since.


Chris looks for a blanket outside a donation shop. The storage areas behind places like Good Will or Salvation Army (where people donate their stuff and the profits go to different benefits) are a good resource for homeless people to find stuff that helps them survive harsh conditions.


Chris rests on a bench in a bus stops and reacts when he recalls how he got kicked out for what he says is protecting other people.


Looking for a dry blanket behind a Value Village store.


He lights a cigarette while holding a blanket that he found outside a trailer behind the Value Village store.


Chris tries to force the door of an abandoned house, where he thought might be a good place to sleep. The door was secured with a couch from the other side, but not long later Chris managed to get into another abandoned house through a window.


Chris takes a short break from what he calls his scan (looking for useful stuff on the streets or for possible places to spend the night) in a gang where he used to hang out.

Hispanic community

Franklin County is the first county in the North West to have a majority of Hispanics. I went down there to what was supposed to be a two-hour assignment, to photograph workers on an orchard to illustrate the story. I felt that there was much more to a Hispanic community than just workers, so I stayed three more days to try to understand the place. The Hispanic people I met in and around Pasco were very kind and granted me great access into their culture, though my Spanish is rudimentary.

Here are a few of my favourite images.

Chris and Amber

Chris takes a break from his position as an EC (Executive Committee member). EC's are elected camp leaders.


He says he's sick and tired of people complaining with no real reason.


Chris and fellow camper Will Smith share a laugh and speak of stories they feed they ladies when they run away from home.

Amber & Chris

Another visit to Tent City. Chris tries to take a nap before his graveyard security shift, but just can't stop cracking jokes with Amber. Each person in the camp has to do security shifts at their improvised front desk. The shift they all hate is the "graveyard", which starts at 12 at night and ends at 6 in the morning.

Seafair

Swimmers get out of the water during a triathlon race in Seward Park in Seattle.

Tent City

Amber looks at a couple of people who were disrespectful of the camp rules, by having someone dropping them off outside Tent City. People in the camp are not allowed to have anyone drop them off or pick them up for work.

Ozzfan

Cristian Movila vs. 50mm, f 1.4

I tested my new 50mm, f 1.4 on this guy. He's a friend from Romania and apparently one of the youngest contract freelance photogs for the New York Times.

Amber and Chris

I wanted to do a story about homeless people, because this was the first thing that hit me about Seattle. Tent City is a community of homeless people that live in tents and have their own very strict rules. It is also one of the few - if not the only - shelters that allow couples to sleep together. I wanted to find a couple. After two weeks in which I went there without my camera, I got accepted by the community (by vote) and I've finally narrowed down my subjects. Amber and Chris agreed to let me do a story on them. They have both been homeless for a very long time. They've been together for more than five years. She is six-months pregnant.


Amber and Chris wait around for a truck during an exhausting camp move. Because of City rules, Tent City frequently changes locations throughout the year. Campers have to get all their stuff, pack it, load it in trucks, clean the whole place and build a new camp in a different location.

Seattle Pride Parade

A huge doll sits on a truck on 4th Avenue in Seattle during the Pride Parade, Sunday, June 24, 2007.

A drag queen marches in the parade.

Mister Gay Latino dances in the back of a truck.

People watch the parade go by.

A woman watches as two participants take a break from marching in the parade.

Tribal Cigarette Factory

A few weeks ago, I spent one day at a cigarette factory that is owned by the Squaxin Island Tribe.
Here's a link to the multimedia piece that I did there: Tribal Cigarettes.It's the first time I've had to do captions in a Soundslides show.

Solstice Parade

I've photographed the 19th Annual Fremont Solstice Parade here in Seattle. The parade is most famous for its tons of naked bikers. Which was a bit of a challenge, since you can't show any explicit nudity on AP. I was there from 10 till 12:30, right at the peak of the "Kodak" light.

Candice smiles at the cheering crowd of photographers and spectators.


Julianna Berry joggles in a tent during the 19th Annual Fremont Solstice Parade.


Sydni Warren, a.k.a. Nut, the Sky Goddess.


Garry Golightly fills the street with bubbles.

Streetball hits the court

Ball4Real is a 30-city tournament, where a team consisting of some of the best streetballers in the country challange local streetball teams, on a regular basketball court inside an arena. At the end of the tour, they'll select two players from all the teams they play to join their tour and sign a $100 000 contract each.

They kicked off their tour here in Seattle and I got to shoot both the tryouts and the game. It was amazing to witness. The stuff they did during the game (not set up or anything) was mind blowing. Here's a selection.