A portrait of the city of black and white


  • Photographer
    Cole Davis
  • Prize
    Honorable Mention
  • Date of Photograph
    July 19th, 2017
  • Technical Info
    Sony a7rii / 35mm 1.4 Distagon

B&W Portraits of homeless people suffering from drug addiction.

Story

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES. Baton rouge is separated by a literal divide; North and South Baton Rouge are home to majority Black, and majority White, respectively. This clash causes locals to ignore rampant drug and alcohol abuses near the dividing lines of the city, causing homelessness and suffering for both sides.

Focusing on the division of the city, rather than the problems at its core, keeps Baton Rouge from becoming a progressive and peaceful city.

Baton Rouge experienced some of its worst moments last year, with the tragic shooting of 37 year old Alton Sterling, and the horrifying shooting of 7 police officers shortly after. Blatantly highlighting the issues in Baton Rouge.

When you look at my images, you will see that those in the worst conditions in Baton Rouge are not separated by color, they suffer as one.

The series works as a journey into the depths of homelessness. Showing each consecutive image, that things are not just black and white. It is in chronological and figurative order as I was lead by the gentle homeless man in the first image. His first words to me were, “Do you want to see?” Each image goes deeper under the I110 Highway, showing a literal descent into drug addiction, poverty, and suffering.

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