For the majority of people, the day after Christmas is usually filled with farewells to extended family members, house cleaning, writing thank you cards, and crashing on the couch to watch the final games of the football season. But for many Americans, the day after Christmas offers a unique opportunity: a chance to head out to the firing range and test the new guns and accessories they received from loved ones. This year, I decided to take my camera out to a local rifle range and document the people and guns who showed up the day after Christmas.
The concept for this shoot manifested itself a few weeks ago while I was celebrating a friend's birthday party. A few acquaintances started talking about guns and a friend of mine said, "Well, you definitely don't want to go out to the firing range the day after Christmas because it is filled with tons of rednecks shooting guns they gave each other." I had a little laugh when she told us her personal experience from the year before, and it made me start to think that maybe there was a really unique opportunity to document one of America's favorite pastimes.
Behind the scenes of the simple lighting setup.
In the south we casually throw the word "reckneck" around, and with the diversity surrounding Charleston, S.C. I knew that there would be all sorts of people showing up at the range. What I wasn't sure about was just how many people would make shooting guns a priority immediately following the holiday. This curiosity set up what would become one of the most interesting photoshoots of my career.
The Concept
Great photography is so common these days that in order to make something stand out you really need to conceptualize your own vision before committing to a shoot. For these portraits, I wanted to capture people exactly as they showed up to the range. I also knew that in order to make a compelling photograph, I couldn't just take a photo against some trees or in the parking lot. My initial thought was to just set up a white roll of paper out in the field but that seemed a little boring. As I was exploring different background options, a friend of mine suggested I use an American flag he had in his garage. When I saw the huge flag in the studio I knew it would not only make for a great backdrop but it would also gain a lot of attention at the range.
Since Halloween, I have been trying to figure out a simple way to bring portable smoke to a few of my shoots. Recently we bought this cheap fog machine on clearance and we figured out how to run it off a deep cell marine battery with a cheap 400 watt power converter we got off Amazon. The typical solution for running a smoke machine on location is to use a generator but sometimes you need to use smoke in situations where a loud generator isn't possible. Since I was eager to test out my battery setup on a full day shoot, I decided to bring it along to the firing range. The smoke helped recreate the atmosphere you find at a rifle range when a dozen or so guns are going off in rapid succession. Plus it just looked cool.
The test shoot in the studio allowed me to work on the concept.
The week before Christmas, I invited a few friends over to the studio so I could design the overall lighting and aesthetic of the portraits. The lighting setup was pretty straightforward, with a single Profoto beauty dish as the key light, positioned as close to the subject as possible without being in the frame. I used a second Profoto B1 head firing back through the flag to give some backlighting to my subject. Since the shoot was happening outside, where the ambient light was bright, I went ahead and conducted the test shoots with the Profoto B1s at near full power. We added a little smoke from behind and fired away. The resulting images were pretty awesome, as you can see above. One little challenge I had to overcome was the backlight on the flag lighting the blue field with stars unevenly. I decided to block the light passing through the stars by gaffing up the entire backside of the flag so only the red and white stripes would glow.
The Execution
Once the test shots were completed and I knew the photos were to my liking, it was time to prepare for the actual day of shooting. Since I had been warned of how hectic the range would be, I got up early and drove out to the range in time to pick my spot. It was important to be close to the action, but far enough away that it I could still communicate with everyone as dozens of guns fired in the distance. My friend, Nick Milak, helped me set up the Avenger Stands, get the flag up, position all the lights, and test out the smoke machine. Everything went exactly as planned in the studio, except I did not anticipate the wind blowing the smoke off to the side of the frame. The simple solution to this problem was to wave the smoke machine in both directions to fill as much of the frame with fog as possible. It didn't always work perfectly, but it was also easy to blend a few exposures in post if I needed extra fog in the final image.
As I said in the video, I wasn't exactly sure who would show up or how people would react to this portrait session. During my five-hour stay at the range, I probably saw over 150 people come and go, with only about 20 percent of them agreeing to take part in the photoshoot. Those that did take part were extremely enthusiastic. It was important to me that the people in these photos weren't overly posed or acting like they were in combat, although a few people did gravitate towards that direction. Most everyone cooperated with me and simply displayed their rifles and handguns in a respectable manner. The majority of people out at the range that day had a few guns, and some had even received ammunition for Christmas, so I made sure to include that in the portraits. The craziest gun from the whole day was "Christine," who had the custom-made, pink 50-Caliber anti-tank rifle. It was also bedazzled in jewels.
Overall, this portrait session was pretty easy because I had prepared well in advance. Everyone who had their photo taken was super excited about the images, and each portrait had its own character with the smoke and the variety of weaponry displayed. Obviously, the politics concerning gun ownership and how the U.S. Second Amendment fits into today's society is a highly debated topic. My goal with these portraits wasn't to take any particular side in that argument, but instead, I just wanted to capture the diverse group of gun owners from every walk of life, as they enjoyed their hobby following Christmas. I think what makes any photo series interesting is seeing how individual people with different cultures, beliefs, and ideologies interpret and critique a collection of photographs. For me, these are some of the most interesting photographs I have ever taken, and this is a series I could see myself revisiting down the road.
The Photographs
Enough talk about preparation, technical photography talk, and the entire experience. Below are a few of my favorite images from the entire day. I have to be honest and say I'm not an expert in gun nomenclature, so if you know the names of any of the guns included in this series, feel free to discuss them in the comments below.
A bunch of news outlets have featured this photo series since I published it. Fox New's Fox and Friends recently featured me on their show to talk about how the photo series came about and my thoughts on the series as a whole.
"May I add, kindly, that the freedom our country enjoys was largely fought for by civilians armed with guns."
Freedom against the locals that didn't appreciate your invasion?
Freedom against rulers from abroad for "unlawful taxation"?
Freedom to practice your "uncivilized" form of religious extremism?
Freedom to burn alive those that didn't agree with your beliefs?
May I kindly ask when 'merica will own up collectively to being nothing more than descendants of what they label as "terrorists" these days?
Doc, balling up events in American history which represent so few of our people (hateful minority extremists, and post-revolution war mongers) and then posing them as a series of questions to rebuke only 11% of what was written sounds rather vacant. In line with that, please don't blindly associate me or, for that matter, any other American as being party -in action or spirit - to those actions which harmed others in the name of hate. Perhaps you'd like to share with us the country of your origin so that we, too, may pick and choose some ugly events in its history and apply them to your character. That wouldn't be fair, would it? I'll assume you were just writing out of frustration and lost track of the point you were trying to make.
You were recalling the past, to which I replied with questions from that very past you consider a success. Be thankful and have pride you were on the winning side. But please stop with the arrogance that the fight was any better than those fighting for their own freedoms today.
"Balling up questions" was the short form that hopefully allowed you to think for yourself in relation to the sentance I quoted.
Since you asked: I'm a white American of 53 raised in MN; went to school, lived and worked in LA during the '80s; the last 26 years I've been living and working mostly throughout Europe, with short periods in India and Sri Lanka.
So be my guest: point out the failures amid the admitted successes of my country. I'm aware of where I came from and how it affected other cultures for good and bad, almost every single day.
Maybe that is what's needed more: Americans stepping outside of their cacoons to see how they're viewed by the "every day man on the street" from around the world.
Here's just a couple of the "nicer views":
How The Dutch View Americans - https://youtu.be/e0nc2TDYZcw
How the Germans View Americans - https://youtu.be/G1-XHWLgtlA
*** I'm only frustrated that so many photographers can be so willfully blind.
Doc, I apologize for assuming you were not an American. I must have read poorly into your comments.
I have travelled to every continent accept Antarctica, and have lived in Europe, wandered many countries in Asia, the Middle East, South America, Central America and have been through all 50 of our States. On top of that, I travel the globe for my living. I am not sheltered nor am I new. I am all too well aware of what other countries think of the US. I have been told many times that my interaction with people had positively changed their view of our country - if not a lot, at least a little. I recognize that any American traveling overseas is an ambassador, whether they accept that or not. I also see where many people not of our country have gross misconceptions of who we are and what a few of us stand for. They assume that we're all war mongering, power hungry, trouble-makers who nothing more than to be rich and immoral at any cost. That may speak of some but it still doesn't speak to the majority. Most of us, no matter which country we're from, want peace, food in our bellies, a roof over our head, and opportunity to be what we make of ourselves. While the US is not perfect, it is still the most free country I've ever visited and am proud to call it home and would fight to keep it so.
That being said, I made one opening sentence, "May I add, kindly, that the freedom our country enjoys was largely fought for by civilians armed with guns." which simply set the tone for the other 88% percent of what I wrote. The point of my comment was to point out that guns are not the problem, it's the nut who wields it. It is my opinion that we have gross societal issues at play which contribute to the increase in seemingly random acts of violence. History is full of violence but it seems that these days, it's not just coming from crazy dictators and power-hungry governments. It's the John Doe across the street. That leads me to an attempt at answering the Why? I would be genuinely interested in your view on that?
First off, no apologies necessary. I’d also like to note that it’s nice to discuss specifically with someone as well travelled as you are. AFAIC your opinion then carries even more weight and my surprise at your following quote.
“The point of my comment was to point out that guns are not the problem, it's the nut who wields it.”
I disagree. Guns are the problem the world over, not just in America. That a gun can do more damage in less time than say a knife or a baseball bat is fact. Making a gun easily to obtain legally or otherwise, is simply asking for trouble in a large population of psychological differentiation, especially when guns outnumber them.
“It is my opinion that we have gross societal issues at play which contribute to the increase in seemingly random acts of violence.”
The glorification of gun violence in entertainment is the “gross (pun intended) societal problem” that is unique to America and certainly not random. It is pervasive(!). Add to that the wide-spread media propaganda from both sides of the political spectrum, and you’ve created an atmosphere of fear, loathing and hate for your neighbour and imaginary enemies. Some of the intellectually challenged aren’t able to handle psychologically, nor decipher the brainwashing and lash out in frustration. It’s really not much more than that.
Yes… they are “nut jobs” with guns. Then again, IMHO… A society that accepts and allows a child to be given a toy gun or a game that at it’s core is killing things to “play with”, yet will call the halls of justice down upon anyone that dares bare a female breast to that child… is sadly a perpetual circle and large collective of “nut jobs”.
That a certain American political event that will engross the world this year is currently being led by 2 extremists and their ability to foment fear and hate among the American public, I don’t expect things to get much better any time soon whether 2 world-travellers discuss the finer points of “why” or not. And regardless of who wins, I doubt very much that it will alleviate any of the concerns and questions from the people *I* talk to every day. More than likely I think we’ll all be aghast and I’ll be just as tongue-tied to answer the Big Question on everyone’s lips as I am right now:
“WTF is happening in America?”
Well said Doc. I see your point about the effectiveness of a gun vs. more "traditional" means; worth further consideration on my part. I'd say it takes less insanity to pull a trigger than it does to stab someone to death and perhaps that is what makes gun crime more likely to occur than an old-school stabbing, especially with so much practice at it available to them in games.
"A society that accepts and allows a child to be given a toy gun or a game that at it’s core is killing things to “play with”, yet will call the halls of justice down upon anyone that dares bare a female breast to that child… "
That is so true. My wife and I have 9 kids (same marriage, all ours, no we're not mormon, catholic, muslim, crazy, tired, or on welfare, and we know what causes it) and all of them have been breastfed. Even in the privacy of a limousine-tinted vehicle, my wife has been subjected to hateful comments for nursing - with a blanket over the baby. All she can do is smile back and then burst into tears when they walk away. Not to mention the freedom people express in their ugly comments to her AND the kids for us being a large family. Indeed... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? As hopeful as I try to remain for some miraculous recovery of our country, I certainly have no faith that the next pawn-in-office will be the answer to any of this.
It's all about balance. Criminals have weapons, government and police have weapons, and people should have weapons as well. Gun owner needs to practice to be able to use it properly. Most people that practice shooting will find it challenging and fun as they try to get better score at the range.
Those who think that guns don't belong to law abiding citizens, didn't put much thought into that. They probably didn't study much history or don't even realize what is happening right now.
I love the shots where you can't see the stands. Love the smoke, the flag, and the whole idea, but I am sad to see a few folks with their fingers on the triggers.
Thanks Jeff. I definitely considered shooting everyone completely surrounded by the flag but that seemed too simple to me and I actually preferred the look of everyone standing outside with the "production" elements in the frame. I did try to photograph most everyone in a way that I could crop in tight if I wanted (the 36mp files allow you to have both options at a resolution high enough to print massive images).
Cool photos and concept, I just don't understand America's obsession with guns lol.
We are a nutty bunch. Its like football, its an American past time. Im still trying to understand why europeans like soccer and try to call it football. lol. Beautiful photos btw.
hahaha. It is called football because players use their feet to kick the ball. Why american football is called football? There is no use of feet nor there is a ball ;)
You got me Roman :)
Always remember gun safety 1. The Gun is always loaded and 2. Finger off the trigger. The picture of the guy with the drum magazine has his finger on the trigger. Thats a no no. Cool project though :)
Maybe he didn't read the owner's manual yet...
In the Marines we are taught "TREAT NEVER KEEP KEEP"
Which is short for
TREAT every weapon as if it were loaded
NEVER point a weapon at anything you don't intend to shoot
KEEP your finger straight and off the trigger till ready to fire
KEEP your weapon on safe until you intend to fire
Some of these subjects could use a crash course in gun safety.
It's cringe worthy. I don't own a gun and I know that you never put your finger on the trigger unless your want to shoot.
That family man with the hand gun next to his daugther...
I noticed that as well in at least one picture. The one that stands out the most is the two young men (possibly 18 years old?) holding their guns and one of them had the gun pointed out. To me this is a big safety issue. I used to shoot guns occasionally just to stay in practice but I never had a mag in unless I was about to pull that trigger.
I know people won't like me saying this and I understand the concern for safety, BUT we did do a thorough gun check to make sure every single gun was unloaded, no bullets were chambered, and every clip was completely empty. Safeties were also explicitly turned on too before anyone got in front of my camera.
That being said, yes it looks like a few people did not practice the straight finger rule and it was something I did not catch while shooting. As for the guns being pointed towards the camera, the angle was very very obtuse and there was no one in front of those guns in anyways.
To be clear, I actually didn't want people holding their guns in a glorified military or combat stance for this project. I wanted everyone to be more or less presenting their gun or holding it in a comfortable manner without actually looking like they were firing it. A few people did do both stances and only a few wound up with images that were better in the military stance because I only took about 8 frames per person.
And I can respect that completely. Plus its not your job to make sure people practice common sense. Something that I have learned over the many years that I've done photography is that some people tend to lose their common sense when they get in front of a camera and want to show off.
Always good to encourage common sense when a gun is pointed at you.
The red checkered shirt guy has the best picture.
Seeing the stands (that are bright orange no less...) sort of take away from the pictures...
Kinda like seeing the strings in a movie.
The stands were not orange but metal avenger stands. Not sure where the orange color is you refer to.
As for "seeing the strings," that was my intention. I wanted people to see the "photo set" to bring a sort of realness to the images and show exactly what it was like to be out in the woods while still not having a distracting forest background. I did wind up cropping a few images to mix into the series to add some diversity but I felt like a series full of cropped, full flag photos made everyone look too overly heroic and glamorized. It's a personal choice that the viewer can like or dislike but it was 100% intentional from my perspective.
Pretty ironic, not to compare them to or get to deep. Guns and Cameras (Media) have probably changed the world probably than anything else in History, good and bad. Imagery shapes the world we live in just like the other. Pretty amazing to me. Nice work Patrick! you put them both in the same story. :)
Thanks Dan. I'm glad you enjoy the series. It has been interesting hearing and seeing so many different opinions about guns in America as well as the criticism I have received personally for taking these photos in the first place. In the end I tried to be as objective an unbiased as possible while capturing a very common element to American culture. Like it or not, this is a reality much like Joey L's amazing photos of terrorists in the middle east is a reality.
Well, im glad your standing strong. there really should not be controversy. Whether I believe in gun ownership or not, I thought they were great photos. Nor will I judge the people by the way they look in the photos, or for the way they held their guns. Im from the NYC region, but I do know that most people from down south are super nice, laid back, good hearted people. You took photos of what looks like to be some good people just having some fun. "whether they held a firearm perfectly or not". I find as I am getting older, I cannot care what people think or let their offences control my actions. People seem to get offended at everything these days one way or the other. It is important as photographers not to be moved by stuff like this, It will hinder our growth especially over controversial projects. Which is the way you handled this, and I think thats great. If this was a series of girls in bikinis sitting on tanks, everyone would have loved it, a bigger death devise.
place holder for further enjoyment
The year is 2030 and fully autonomous cars have been available for 10 years. Back in 2015 1.3 million humans were killed in car wrecks each year but today the number has began to drop due to self driving cars.
Manual driving has been banned in a few of the most liberal countries. Americans, especially the men, fight for their right to drive manually.
"I know it's dangerous but it's our heritage" says Billy johnson. "My great grandfather worked for ford and my grandfather used to race cars. The government doesn't have the right to tell me what I can and can't do."
The opposition suggests that not only are manual drivers a danger to themselves and their family but they are also making all roads more dangerous for everyone else in automatic cars. "How many children have to die before you will give up your death machine?" says Kate Moore.
Patrick Hall photographs American men standing next to manual cars and the debate continues.
Scary!!! But I think you are predicting the future. Patrick, don't forget this assignment ;)
Lee, I must say this is a creative argument. I wonder though how it relates to gun ownership. The current political initiative is speaking against our right to even own a gun.
Using your story for a moment to correct the skew: That would be like telling those manual car-driving men that they are not allowed to even own a car that is not automatic. Outlawing a manual car sitting in a garage with a car cover on it is more analogous to what is being pushed to change in the time we live - as it relates to guns. If we get to the point where we allow our government to determine what we can or cannot own based purely on potential for misuse, then we are headed for some darker times. Laws which limit who may not own a gun, as a result of one's personal history, are just and required. Laws, however, should not dictate to a law abiding citizen that he/she may not own them. When was the last time you were out and about and saw a law abiding citizen carelessly wielding a weapon? I venture to answer that for you and say, never. Even if guns were banned, do you honestly believe that a person with criminal intent would allow imposition of a law to sway them from their appetite for violence? They'll find another way to maximize loss of life because they're human and humans are creative that way. Some use their creative power to do good and some to do bad. Peace.
I don't think the USA will ever ban the ownership of all guns. What about antiques? What about guns that have been modified so that they don't fire?
I find myself right in the middle of this heated argument. I don't own a real gun but I do occasionally go out and shoot for fun. I also own air rifles which I shoot for fun all the time.
I understand that having more guns is more dangerous (look up gun deaths in Japan). But at the same time I hate the Government telling me what I can and can't do and own. If guns are banned in the USA it wouldn't really affect me, but what will they ban next? I could certainly kill someone with my air rifle if I wanted to so will they come and take that too? What about about explosives? What about gasoline? What about fireworks? What about rat poison?
Our freedom will be taken away one step at a time. Manual cars will eventually get there and I really enjoy driving! It will be sad if I am forced to give that up one day but I do understand that we have to give things up for the greater good.
There are comments here and elsewhere about efforts to ban gun ownership in the United States. What we mostly see however are strong efforts to restrict some very high power automatic weapons and ammunition, and large capacity bullet clips as well. There are also calls for background checks and modification to how guns are bought and sold. Looking at statistics from 2015 people were more at risk from being shot and killed by a toddler, sitting in the classroom, domestic violence, or accidents than from a terrorist attack. And there are no real signs our elected government officials or the President of the United States is preparing to round up everybody's guns. Many concerned citizens, community leaders, and politicians look at the very alarming and heartbreaking statistics of gun violence and death and are compelled to make sensible changes without any call for an outright ban on gun ownership.
I'm the first one to say that the fear the media is spreading about the dangers of terrorism is absolutely non sense the same way that the dangers of bird flu, SARS, Ebola, and Mexican cartel murder is non sense. On one hand it's great for ratings and entertainment/obsession but on the other hand you are almost 100% more likely to be killed by a car than all these things combined.
That being said, I also see the slippery slope you face when you want to ban only the "high powered automatic weapons and ammunition." For one, a fully automatic weapon hasn't been used in a mass shooting in America....maybe ever. Those are illegal to own without some major background checks and expensive tax stamps.
The tricky part comes in with defining these weapons you are trying to reference. Almost all guns are semi automatic weapons with many of the smaller hand guns actually having clips that carry more bullets than the bigger "assault rifles." Let's say you banned clips that hold more than 10 rounds. I still do not think mass shootings would end; people would just load more clips and take a few extra seconds to reload.
I don't have the stats in front of me, but some of the most horrendous mass shootings in America were actually carried out with small hand guns (the less scary ones). I want to say this was the case with Sandy Hook although an AR15 was found unused in the trunk. There are some pretty unbiased, hard fact reports you can find that show which guns were involved in which mass shootings.
When I weigh all the options and look for a real solution to this problem in America, I wind up coming to the conclusion that 1) we either tackle the real problem with gun violence in America (poverty mixed with race issues mixed with overall violence desensitization mixed with media glorification of murders) and leave all the current laws as is with high capacity magazines and semi automatic guns legal OR 2) ban all guns completely and spend the billions of dollars we would need to spend rebuying back all the guns from the population the same way Australia did.
While in my mind those seem like the two best ideal options, they also do not seem practical at all and I cannot see America solving this problem anytime soon. If you look at how Congress and the rest of the US government approaches this issue, I don't think they are willing to tackle it either. The current democratic party in america is as Anti Gun as ever and yet Obama won't actually do anything but talk big on gun reform, and on the other hand the Conservative party and NRA are not going to allow any reform to happen either. I can't imagine a solution being formed anytime soon and at this point I don't think the actually problem is the guns but rather the issues I outlined in solution #1 above which is going to take a LOOOOONG time to resolve if it can ever be resolved.
I appreciate your thoughtful reply and I'm glad to see that you do truly understand our situation. I couldn't agree more with what you said. The problem that remains is who do we allow define for us what is the greater good? Politicians who run this country in an ever downward-spiraling pit of corruption and immorality? Can't say I trust any reason they may present as cause to reduce our personal freedom. I've already given them 10 years of my life to go fight wars which served purposes that never saw print in the newspaper. Strategic lies and bad intentions, packaged up in such ways to seem consumable by the largely unaware and distracted populace. And the people ate it up like it was candy, waving flags and talking about patriotism and national pride. I am not an untrusting person but I find experience has taught me well enough to know that a government wishing to subjugate people to the point of being dependent on them has no less an intention to eventually rule them, free from the "chains" of our failing system of checks and balances. That, I cannot trust. I never signed up for that and I doubt you would either.
"They took our cars!"
Jest aside, creepy perspective.
oh lee you really going to stand up for this to its a dumb idea hurtfull and disrespectful to all your fans that may have lost some one to a gun miss hap or on purpus cars where not made to kill people they where mad to help people wonder how many times a gun has saved some one thats been hit by a car compaired to how many lifes get saved in from gun shots by abulances and other responce vechals that can get them to a hospital i thought this was an amazing site with some of if not the best photographs in the world so let down not just by one person on here but now by you to and going on the rest of the responce on here and you tube you guys have messed up guns should not be promted in any way and i thought you was better then that after hearing what you was saying about what happend in france not to long ago so thoughtless to your fans and others that have lost some one to such a stupid invension and making jokes about how many children have to die really in cars even if it is some thing that some one else said i lost my daughter she was run over but you know what the man that did it still to this day has nightmares and cant forgive him self wonder if thats how the people fell after they shoot up a whole school
awesome work Pat!
I'll bite. This is just awful in every way... A family posing behind an American flag with children holding assault rifles. What is wrong these people?
As an Australian I just cannot comprehend the mentality.
Because 'Merica and freedom or some crap.
...and Australia still has the Queen on their currency. "Don't tread on me" was the motto of my forefathers who would not let a controlling government assert its power over them. To Americans, the gun is still held as an icon for what we stand (once stood): a nation with a government of the people, by the people and for the people. This wasn't given to us, rather we took it. I can't speak for how well we've let that hold true in modern times but that mindset still exists strongly in many parts of our country. If the government takes our guns, they're disarming us of the very tool we used to win them that fancy office in Washington D.C. It makes people a might nervous around here. Hope that helps clarify our cultural difference of opinion on the topic. Cheers.
I agree Grant. Seeing how well gun control has worked here for the past 20 years I really can't fathom the American position on gun control. People are dying but Americans just want to maintain their "rights". Absolutely astonishing that people can justify murder so easily. You can have your rights America, I'll have fewer gun related deaths any day.
For me, many of the comments, and my reaction to the pictures, is about symbolism. Some see the photos and think about freedom, fun or safety. Others are reminded of death and suffering. The pictures make me feel uncomfortable and sad, in a similar way to my reaction to cigarettes as a popular prop in portraits. Some pictures are of course created to provoke and make the viewer uncomfortable. Sorry, but I don't agree with the comment comparing them to automobile photos.
I didn't even finish reading the title of this post from the front page, yet instantly I knew, "there's gonna be arguing in the comments due to the guns"
The funny part is, American gun owners, dont run around holding the guns the way Patrick posed them in the photos. I say this for all the photographers in this thread who mistook this for accurate photo journalism and never pose their subjects. Looks to me like this may have been a photoshoot for fun, and not the NYTimes.
I simply told people to hold their guns in a way that presents the guns vs standing in a combat stance. Some people still did the combat stance but most of the people held the guns however they wanted. The girl with the 50 caliber held her gun the only way she could have. For the families, the only major thing I told them was to move a gun so it didn't block their faces.
I'm not exactly sure what sort of "natural" holding position you think I told them to avoid.
Nope, Im on board with what you did. I must of worded it wrong. I was addressing people in the thread who think this is how Americans walk down the street. Whether you posed them, or they posed themselves, they were having fun with it. I think you did a great job with the shoot.
You can tell from my profile pic how I feel about guns. But even if you hunt to feed your family, I don't like the idea of guns for Christmas.
By the way, that "anti-tank" gun looks more like an ugly bench rifle. And if anyone cares, I use my .460 XVR (world's most powerful production handgun) for punching tidy holes in paper.
Since we're talking about guns received as Christmas presents, some may be interested to know that in 2015 aprox one American per week was killed by a toddler with a gun. Over a dozen toddlers accidentally shot themselves to death this year. Brings to mind a much different possible photo project.
Government statistics indicate that ~ 5 children per day die as a result of neglect. 76% percent of those deaths are from woeful care from their parent(s). Our politicians in this country are putting to the forefront these Gun Control statistics above much larger issues. 1500+ children dying per year... from NEGLECT.... I don't think guns are as big an issue do you? I point this out not to diminish the loss of children killed by gun fire (irresponsible storage of a weapon) but to show that Gun Control initiatives are not at all born out of deep concern for public safety. More people die per year from reckless driving, unintentional household poisoning, alcohol related incidents, etc. There are MANY more things that kill people each year than guns and yet there is such a push to take away this freedom to possess such a tool. I can't digest well what they're feeding the masses.
I love the set up with the fog and the backdrop, the lighting set up is just amazing. Also the concept is really interesting!
When I saw the subject matter I knew it would be very polarizing. I shot my first gun and photograph over 56 years ago. A lot of things have changed but was has changed the most is the polarization of opinions of guns. Statisticly the number of gun deaths per 100,000 has been steadily going down for the past 20 years. At the same time the amount of guns has steadily increased to a point there is roughly one gun for every person in America. Now the number of gun deaths in certain cities and neighborhoods have skyrocketed but it is not the guns, it's is the morals of those involved.
Patrick I loved the idea, it sure got some attention. Yes I went to the range the day after Christmas and yes it was packed. A gun is just a tool, it is how you use it that counts!