Herman

Say hello to Herman. I met Herman about 18 months ago when a group of students from my first photography class called Photographing the Magic City were in the Five Points South area of Birmingham taking late afternoon and early evening shots. Herman got interested in what we were doing and was looking over my shoulder at the images I'd captured. We talked briefly that evening. Since we were supposed to do a series on the Magic City from some unique perspective, I decided I'd get Herman to show me around the city and I'd photograph what was important to him. After talking to him one afternoon for a couple of hours, I decided that wasn't going to work out, so I just snapped some pictures of Herman and his friends/acquaintances who were hanging around the fountain. The pictures of Willie and Chuck below were also taken that same afternoon. When we reviewed the photos in class the next week, the teacher really liked some of them and I decided to do my series as portraits of those street people, up close and very personal. Based on the photo of Willie below and my wife's comment, the series was called Somebody's Uncle. I went back an a couple of other afternoons and got some photos of different people in the area. Herman, however, is the icon of the area, and many, many people would know who you were talking about if you referred to Herman from Five Points.

Herman