maegiu
FollowRanger Gus, 43 years old, thinks about his past life in the Army. He worked in the Drug enforcement division (Army) for 20 years. Sergeant 1st and then demoted ...
Read more
Ranger Gus, 43 years old, thinks about his past life in the Army. He worked in the Drug enforcement division (Army) for 20 years. Sergeant 1st and then demoted to Sergeant 2nd. Has been part of the Special Forces -Green beret and black beret- in the demilitarized zone in Korea, Gulf War, the Coup d'eta of Manuel Noriega in Panama, the current Iraq war. Married, divorced, with two kids, he has lived in a shelter for two years and now sleeps in his trucks. He works as a builder during the day. He has a substance addiction linked to the stress caused by the Army. He has been diagnose with PSTD. He fought in Iraq where he killed a little Iraqi kid and still feels guilty for that
Read less
Read less
Views
648
Likes
Awards
Featured
Contest Finalist in Americana Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Top Ranks
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in New York, outside the shelter for Homeless Veterans.Time
Late morning. He was sitting in the back of his truck and the shadow created by the car allowed me to take a soft pick and avoid harsh light.Lighting
I wanted the viewer to share the emotions this Veteran was feeling while telling me his story. He killed a kid in Iraq and the face of surprise of that kid while holding a gun and being shot is still haunting him today. "it could have been my son", he told me many times. Because of what he went through, he know lives in the street, his white trunk his only house, depending on drugs to reduce the pain of guilt. He is divorced and misses his family a lot. PTSD destroyed his life.Equipment
Canon 5D, no tripod, no flash, just natural light. Lens 85mm 1.8fInspiration
Far too many veterans are homeless in America—between 130,000 and 200,000 on any given night—representing between one fourth and one-fifth of all homeless people. Veterans shelters cannot cover this increasing numbers. Veterans gave her life for the government and when they come back from war for them it is really hard to cope with day to day life. A large number of live with lingering effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse, which are compounded by a lack of family and social support networks. Additionally, military occupations and training are not always transferable to the civilian workforce, placing some veterans at a disadvantage when competing for employment. These people need help, their story need to be told.Editing
No major post-processing, just increased the contrast a little bit.In my camera bag
Canon 5D, 50 mm 1.4f lens and 24-70 mm 2.8f lensFeedback
You really need to talk a lot to the person you want to photograph before shooting. You need to understand what he went through, check out where he lives, feels what he feels. Most of these veterans are sick (diabetes; skin problems caused by Agent Orange, an herbicide used in Vietnam to remove trees and dense foliage that provided enemy coverage; hepatitis C; mental illnesses.... just to mention a few). They live day by day, they have no friends or family. Spending time with them is psychologically exhausting...