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Sean_Mcr
07-09-2006, 14:00
This is Hayden my nephew.

Hayden is one of my older sisters kids. Hayden's mother sadly suffers from quite severe mental illness and has done for many years. I found him on saturday waiting for one of my other sisters to come home. We waited together, i shot him. He's a kid i often feel that i've let down, that's simply because it's true, i've not been there for him enough as he has no positive male influence in his life.

This is where i shot Ben for those that can recall. I know these stairs well, i sat on them myself in much the same way as a boy. My sister is very much how my mother was. My mother took her life in 92, but she had become a shell long before that time

I'm one of seven, and most of you would have considered me anti social, all of us in fact. There is not one of us that hasn't been in trouble, that includes three girls. 4 of the seven spent time in care one of my brothers was fostered to a family

There were not ASBOS in those days, and the term chav was not yet in the media. But i'd have no doubt have been slapped with an asbo, and described as a chav by Daily Mail readers.

I don't know what a chav is, i know you could not describe an asian person in certain way or hayden in a certain way because of the colour of his skin. But white working class are fair game. Burberry cap, people like that are not meant to get above their station and wear Burberry, the should know their place.

Could you imagine people refusing to wear a pair of Levis because asian people liked them?


So to dress as Hayden does, would pretty much get him labeled a chav, don't really need to know anything more then that, chavs wear trackies and trainers and hooded tops.

All's i see when i see Hayden, is a good kid, but a troubled one. I was actually a good kid myself, sometimes good people do bad things.

I've long since left that life behind. That's down to a girl that had some faith in me and she changed my life, but not the person i am. I have always been a good person, i was simply not living a good life.

I see myself in this boy, you might see a chav i don't know. But there is more to a person then what they wear, where they are from and how they live.


Good people always do good things, bad people always do bad things. Well life to me is very much like photography, it's not always black and white

Hopefully as Hayden grows older, he'll have enough positive influence in his life to give it some value. Right now that's not the case, and i think it's plane to see in these photographs, and yes i can shoot him playing football. But what you see here is often how you find him, so they are true photographs, they may not be pretty but i think they have some beauty and truth to them

But it's fine not to like them, you'll either get why i shot him or you wont.


If you've read through that lot, thanks. But hopefully my images tell their own story

Cheers

Sean




http://i.pbase.com/o4/87/571287/1/66284122.sI4QEs3j.20D388.jpg

Latchkeye kid
http://i.pbase.com/o4/87/571287/1/66221342.MpB8ZSKP.20D399.jpg

a room with a view
http://i.pbase.com/o4/87/571287/1/66218975.K0TjE2Ui.20D347.jpg

Land of hope and glory
http://i.pbase.com/o4/87/571287/1/66220591.Ztsz3K4Q.20D393.jpg

Eye's are the window of the soul
http://i.pbase.com/o4/87/571287/1/66426836.X70FBNS5.20D363s.jpg


http://i.pbase.com/o4/87/571287/1/66429086.Xd5FTWV5.20D381.jpg

lee
07-09-2006, 14:12
Hi Sean,

I looked at the pictures and got it, then read what you had written, which pretty much backed up the shots.

There are probably a few of us on this forum which are glad asbos weren't about when we were kids ;)

TFS

Cheers Lee

sue
07-09-2006, 16:22
Love the photos, you can really tell how he is feeling, hopefully he will find someone to believe in him like you did. make a change to see this side of life and not the always happy similing one that just isnt always true.

Marianne
07-09-2006, 17:34
aww...such a sad story, and the look of woe in that lad's eyes....you are there for him now Sean...I guess he gives you some respect for that at least...
Sometimes the stuff that happens to us in childhood sticks and we behave the same to our children and sometimes it makes us stronger and more determined to cast that stuff aside, like you did by all accounts.
I was lucky, had a good, strict but happy upbringing but my Mum struggled with finding love as a child, fortunately she learned that she would be the sort of mother that she craved as a child and we were totally loved...let's hope that Hayden is strong enough to be different!

moomike
07-09-2006, 19:11
Very powerful story & image Sean, Can tell how you were feeling from the images too by the way. Agree with Sue & hope that things work out ok for him & he finds his way in life as you did.

Warspite
09-09-2006, 18:32
Some very powerul imagery there Sean, you can definately feel the struggle this lad faces.

Particularly feel for the first shot, I think the use of shadow on the subject to be very effective in giving him the impression that something is missing, perhaps from his life - hopefully not from his soul.

Sean_Mcr
10-09-2006, 01:22
Thanks for the replies. If you read through it i'm sorry if it came across as some kind of rant, wasn't meant that way. He's spending the weekend with me and Diane, i took him out in to the country today. I'll share the shots when they are done. Will be easier on the eye. Though we all find beauty in different things

Thanks again