Streetwalkers

Photog prowls the streets looking for potential photo subjects among the 'working girls'. He captures images of the sketchiest characters, though some have standards and require a face covering so that it can not be recorded that they will degrade themselves and there be evidence. Insightful surreal, sad. Swearing, bare skin.

Amazing book. Brings a new light, an authenticity and a humanisation of the subject. Takes the stereotype and humanises it, sympathises it and offers a unique perspective to a topic that is so shushed by everyone it usually is hard to open up about.

Scot Sothern is a photographer's photographer , a writer's writer and a hound dog's dog all wrapped up in one glorious picture book. I am Sothern devotee having followed his series of Vice submissions and devoured his earlier book, Curb Service. Sothern loves nothing better than to load his camera and flash into his car and go trolling through the wrong streets of LA in the hunt of street walkers hitting their strides anywhere between 1 and 6 am. Not a time of night you or I would necessarily want to be rolling down our car windows to chat with a strung out 'beauty' in stiletto heels and an attitude wavering between enticement and fear. Many of Sothern's short term 'models' are suspicious of his motives as never has any one wanted to simply take their picture. But in his car they climb with a quick buck to earn and Sothern's written words of the catch, and the ensuing photography session, bring the reader into the room, the alley or the underpass while the photos completely capture the moment. Combine all of this together and you will will find yourself laughing at the absurdity of the moment and cringing at the poverty of the underlife yet taking it all in with a desire for it to never end.

I pre-ordered this book back in August so I have waited a while for it...it arrived today and I am underwhelmed to say the least.Powerhouse Books bill this as "complete collection" on their website, which it may well technically be, but my issue is with the presentation and the quality.The book is little more than paperback in size, the images are, in most cases, small and split across 2 pages so unless the book is bent right open you can't see the full image and even then the spine obscures much. The reproduction and print quality verges on appalling and does not do the photographers work justice, it deserves so much more.In fairness the book is not categorised as a photography book but instead is under social sciences but I do not think this excuses the way it has been executed and presented.Perhaps I missing the point? Perhaps the low rent production is supposed to mirror the "Lowlife" subject.Regardless, it is disappointing and if it were not for the writing accompanying each image I would returning this straight back to Amazon.Save your pennies kiddies, there are far better ways to spend them...just ask Sothern.

O fotógrafo Scot Sothern (1949) obteve reconhecimento tardio pelo seu trabalho, com exposições e livros publicados a partir de seus 60 anos. Este livro bem ilustra seu trabalho e métodos: de madrugada, armado com uma Nikon e pilotando seu Camaro, o fotógrafo percorre o Skid Row (uma cracolândia em Los Angeles) oferecendo a prostitutas e travestis 40 dólares em troca de 4 ou 5 fotos, feitas ou no banco de trás do carro, ou em quartos de motéis baratos, ou mesmo em becos, túneis ou debaixo de viadutos. Tendo as modelos o corpo marcado por suas duras existências, não causa surpresa o viés de documentação social desta obra, passando ao largo do erotismo ou pornografia. Para completar esse relato visual em preto e branco de um mundo cão, na maior parte das fotos Scot escreve textos onde detalha o processo de aproximação, negociação e concretização das fotografias. Lamentavelmente, ainda que as fotos, dentro das condições em que foram tiradas, denotem qualidade, a impressão do livro é de qualidade sofrível, bem como a diagramação que vez por outra deixa a lombada bem no meio da imagem. Apenas por conta dessa falta de qualidade gráfica deixo de dar 5 estrelas.

Scot Sothern is a photographer's photographer , a writer's writer and a hound dog's dog all wrapped up in one glorious picture book. I am Sothern devotee having followed his series of Vice submissions and devoured his earlier book, Curb Service. Sothern loves nothing better than to load his camera and flash into his car and go trolling through the wrong streets of LA in the hunt of street walkers hitting their strides anywhere between 1 and 6 am. Not a time of night you or I would necessarily want to be rolling down our car windows to chat with a strung out 'beauty' in stiletto heels and an attitude wavering between enticement and fear. Many of Sothern's short term 'models' are suspicious of his motives as never has any one wanted to simply take their picture. But in his car they climb with a quick buck to earn and Sothern's written words of the catch, and the ensuing photography session, bring the reader into the room, the alley or the underpass while the photos completely capture the moment. Combine all of this together and you will will find yourself laughing at the absurdity of the moment and cringing at the poverty of the underlife yet taking it all in with a desire for it to never end.

Recomendable para fotoperiodistas, periodistas y demás fauna urbana que gusta del turismo patibulario. E tiempos de la gentrificación este libro resulta un curioso documento de personajes en vías de extinción