Street Sheet Vendor, San Francosco
fig. 1 ~ This is the first stranger that I ever approached to ask if permission to take his photograph. He was a semi-homeless man who sold Street Sheets in San Francisco…
“STREET SHEET is a monthly tabloid written primarily by homeless and formerly homeless people that provides its readers with a perspective on homelessness that mainstream media simply cannot match. It provides a unique opportunity to its vendors as well: a dignified alternative to panhandling. The STREET SHEET (cover price $1) is given free to qualified poor and homeless San Franciscans, who get to retain 100% of the proceeds from their sales. Last year, the paper celebrated its 15th anniversary, making it the oldest continuously published street newspaper in the world.”
I talked to him for a good while before asking to take his photo and when I did, he was very receptive.