Photo by Laurie Jo Reynolds and Chris X. The prisoner requested a photo of himself in front of a blue sky.
My dear friend Jon forwarded me a link to this organization, YearTen.org, which chronicles life in solitary confinement for the men of Tamms CMAX, a super-prison in Illinois. For more than 10 years, many of these prisoners have been or are still living in tiny rooms, with no stimulation and no interaction. Their only salvation? Photographs.
I was moved by this idea and this organization. Perhaps you will be too – this is where you can help.
On the site, you can read the requests for pictures by the prisoners. Some ask for family photos, others ask for Jesus. Or, like the above picture, some want images of themselves dropped into a background that highlights hope, love, or something more. A few men just want something funny to look at. It’s strange to think about a photograph as a privilege, but when you’re denied everything else, a single image can be the difference between salvation and insanity.
If you want to pitch in (and maybe change someone’s life), join me in sending photos by following this link.
Change someone’s day, week, or life with a single image. Thanks.
Matthew, I think your definition of this as “a waste of time” already signals to the way that you view this project. Do you value rehabilitation and the chance that someone might change or someone getting their “just deserves”? I don’t think it is up to any of us to dictate that these men should be treated like animals and long forgotten for past mistakes, particularly when you consider that any person is capable of nearly anything at the right given moment. Not wanting to start a debate either, I think it can most easily be summed up with this question: if you were locked away with only yourself for 10 years, would you want to be given something that reminds you that you are human?
FIRST OF ALL . . . . . .clever name thing. I guess that’s true, I hadn’t really thought of it in that light, but at the same time, let me give you a quick story about where I come from when viewing “prisoners,” I’ll keep the whole thing brief:
When I was in the Navy and first got to the boat, I knew a guy who I came to really trust. It was my first time away from home on the opposite side of the country and this guy opened his home up to me, he was really into photography which I connected with, and we become really good friends. After about 8 months of knowing this guy, I found some child porn on his Zune. Along with that were photos of his stepdaughter, I think that’s enough detail, you get the idea. It REALLY screwed my head up. I knew this guy and trusted him, and he turned out to be a filthy worthless being. I ended up being the reason he went in prison. And they only gave him 13 years for molestation and a bunch of other charges, turns out there was more than photos happening.
So, ‘Another Matthew’ when I look at ‘Prisoners’ I associate those people with this guy. They did wrong, and they should be paying for what they did. Once they get out of prison, that’s a different story, but I have a hard time feeling compassion for these people when they are still serving what society has deemed a suitable punishment.
I guess my point is simply a curious inquiry as to what drew Chase to want to promote it? Is it a simple matter of helping people somehow? Which leads me to the next question of if so, why prisoners, is it just what you happened to hear about at that moment you wanted to post on your blog??? I don’t see it as good or bad, and I am in NO WAY condeming the project, I feel very strongly in people doing what they want in the world of photography, and if this project makes people feel better or helps them better their photojournalism skills or whatever, so be it, but, I was just curious as to the reasons for posting this up.
First, love the fact we are having a respectful discussion going on here!
Maybe this project is needed because of the perception many people have of prisoners. I am guilty of this myself;I viewed inmates, especially at maximum security places, as being scum of the earth, but is it really fair to made broad brushstrokes on approx. 3% of the population (this is the number of people who are currently retained by the system).
These photos can help change the perception of prisoners from being animals that must been kept fenced in to people who also have hopes and dreams that may of been dealt a bad hand at some point in life.
We need to get past classifying large groups of people based of lack of information.
It seems to me that we are not suffering from a lack of information. These folks aren’t in jail without cause—that’s why we have trials and verdicts. It’s kind of the opposite of the “don’t judge them” thing, eh? They aren’t in jail to be treated well. They’re in jail to keep them from hurting other people or disturbing society. Giving them nice things seems a lot like patting the dog that just bit your hand off.
Ok, so, I am more just interested in your response to this Chase, but, why waste time helping these guys who are convicted criminals that have done some despicable things when there are so many other options out there in the world? You took the time to make a blog post about this, so I am curious, what drew your attention to THIS project???? Just curious, not trying to spark a debate about good and evil and all that jazz. Great work and I love how involved you stay with the photog community; giving so much information back to those trying to climb the ladder! Take care.
Thanks for highlighting this project!
Chase, your Giving Back ethos is so inspiring. In my city there was a fire last week which completely destroyed a block of homes. All the residents were left homeless and with nothing, having to face starting over again. And of course among the things which were lost are precious family photos. Some members of a local photography group are planning to offer new family portraits as these folks get back on their feet.
A photo can change a life, or help get a new life started.
Thanks for all you do.