'The Gleaners (Part II) (Color ed.)'

This is 'The Gleaners', a husband and wife garbage/recycling team, making their living

out of this truck, which carries them around rural areas of Santa Cruz County making a

very modest living from hauling discards, often recycling other peoples' trash into cash.

Their lives are centered around this truck, and its cab, which reflects and embodies

their lifestyle. Your ratings, critiques and observations are invited and most welcome.

If you rate harshly, very critically, or wish to make a remark, please submit a helpful

and constructive comment. Please share your photographic knowledge to help

improve my photography. Thanks! Enjoy! john

That's a Pendleton shirt, he's wearing, one of the highest quality pure wool shirts to be found anywhere, and distinct for its hundreds or thousands of styles of plaids.

When and where I grew up in Oregon, wearing such shirts among young students, was as obligatory for those who aspired to be 'in' as wearing the right kind of Nike shoes or having an I-phone or Apple tablet is for today's crowd.  If you didn't wear a Pendleton shirt, which at last check ten years ago cost upward of $55.00 on sale (which almost never happened), then you just were not accepted -- you were one of the 'poor kids', and the 'poor kids' would scrimp and save' just to get one Pendleton shirt.  

The only physical possession that might have trumped owning a Pendleton shirt, might have been your own car when you turned age 16.

In western Oregon's climate, just as in Santa  Cruz County, CA, here, they were highly practical, as they served as a 'light jacket' in cool hours, much of the year, which worked well at night when the temperatures fell, often even in summer.  In Santa Cruz county, CA where this was taken, fog rolls over the county most Spring through Fall nights, keeping the lettuce and strawberries (and tourists, Network and Internet billionaires alike) cool if a bit sticky from the humidity.

john

John (Crosley)

Giilden, hated by many of his contemporaries for his intrusive manner of shooting (flash and 'up close on the street' with total strangers, often jumping out at them), and now sporting a prestigious Guggenheim grant, famously remarked of his 'calling' -- it's 'street photography' when you can 'smell the street' from the photo (paraphrased).

This is one, I think, that qualifies.  

I still remember the odor of cigarette smoke, mold, mildew and other odeurs that emanated from this vehicle cab. They were nice, accommodating people, and fellow citizens, possibly better citizens than some of the growing number of Internet and Microprocessor/Electronic/Networking billionaires who are now buying up and living in the same county because of its cool weather, famous beaches, and surfing. Oh, and only a short, over the twisty 1,.900 foot mountain highway route to famous 'Silicon Valley' often their headquarters and another 40 minutes to San Francisco Int. Airport (if their private jet cannot touch down for some unknown reason at the famed Watsonville general aviation airport - which hosts a world famous fly-in every year.)

This couple is a  long-time institution; no Johnny-come-latelies.

Sniff . . . sniff . . . sniff . . . I still remember the odor, and my tail starts wagging at the remembered smell.

Everything older in this 'fog belt' takes on some moldish odeur/it's inevitable, then add smoking and woof, woof, woooof, wooooooof!

Woof! 

john

John (Crosley)

He claims to have what he terms 'great street manners' in spite of his 'New York attitude'.  

One Photo.net member, some years ago, ran into Gilden on the street, struck up a conversation, and ended up being invited to Gilden's home where he and Gilden's wife ate dinner together (in Brooklyn, I think I recall).

I will never forget that story, written about in a forum post here.

He may 'jump out at people' as witnessed by various videos and films, but he takes fabulous photos of a unique genre, and I tend to believe the Photo.net member who got invited to dinner -- that the man is a real gentleman -- however much he may disguise himself at times.

john

John (Crosley)

I've looked at this for a long time and I still don't know what I think. Perhaps it is because I can't decide whether these people have their dignity and I moreover have no idea whether this is a function of the capture. I think the main subject looks a little to put on the spot for my taste. A micromoment later might have changed the whole feel. But you're certainly making the effort.

Yours is an interesting comment, because it has to deal with the viewer's reaction of possible uncomfortableness sensed on seeing a scene.  Was it intrusive or too intrusive, or was it welcome?

I was engaged in conversation with these people, and began photographing, and at first it was a little surprising, though they said it was welcome, but the appearance of a camera startled in the filling station light/darkness, and that's what you see and gives you pause.  They later 'chilled' at my presence, and even signed  releases, and signaled happiness with their ad hoc environmental portraits as depicting them as they were, not in some studio or artificial environment.

This is a D70 capture at ISO 1600, and worked out very successfully for such a 'limited' camera, small sensor with limited exposure value range, but it was held steadily, and there was not a great range of exposure values in this photo, and the colors were pretty saturated, so the camera was not overly challenged.

I have displayed another of this couple in which both are looking at the camera; why not see if that strikes you differently. 

I have another, just of the woman looking down also featuring the detailed detritus and gee gaws on the truck cab dash board -- things that have accumulated that reflect their taste, and their habit of acquiring things that 'they like' and in a great way personalizing the truck.

That truck cab, probably as much as any i've seen in the US (not Mexico or Philippines or even Bangkok or other places) was highly personalized with mementoes, nick nacks, and so forth, so it was 'theirs' and reflected 'their' taste, which for a photographer made this a rich subject.

;~))

Thanks for sharing your feelings about this photo.

john

John (Crosley)