Christine Chang Photography

If John McCoy, staff photographer from the LA Daily News, had a blog and he had an entry, maybe that’s the title he would name today’s entry.  In any case, today I got to tag along with him and a journalist in downtown LA for a story assignment. 

Here’s the story:  LA County wants to help the homeless more, so they are doing this by sending social workers into skid row in downtown LA.  Seeing families there, 3 out of 10 kids get taken away from the families because they are deemed too poor or unfit to raise kids. 

We walked around downtown LA and into skid row.  As I was walking around and smelling a lot of urine and trash, I thought, hey, this is just like where I was in China; poor and urban.  Then I felt at ease, because I was with two white guys who were big and tall.  So no need to worry about safety, John McCoy had way more expensive equipment than I did.  Usually I would go to these areas thinking that I’m a little Asian girl and that I’m not gonna make it out of this place without giving up my camera to a thief.  Then I say a little prayer and I go for it, take the pictures, and leave.  Every time I do this I leave the place a bit braver.  My professor tells me how during the LA Riots he would go into stores that were being looted and start taking pictures there, and I always tell myself that one day I will be at the level where I will be able to do that.

We didn’t get much today because the person who was supposed to show up to direct us to a family didn’t show, but I did get to meet a man who decided to lift up his shirt to us and show us 7 bullet wounds and a huge fissure on his stomach.  It reminded me of a watermelon just as it was about to be split open, and a wound in his neck.  We also went into an apartment complex that’s around $250 a month, with the highest priced rooms being $360 a month. 

What I’ll always remember from John McCoy is this: He said that in the end, you need the money, but how much do you need?  Your posessions come and go, even people come and go sometimes, but your experiences will be with you forever.  So if you want to do something like photojournalism, you’ve got to be ready to take the vow of poverty.  Sometimes poverty forces you to take risks that you wouldn’t otherwise take if you’re in comfort.  This can be a blessing in disguise, because sometimes when you’ve got nothing to lose you’re willing to work harder and take those risks.