People: Portrait (PROFESSIONAL) - HONORABLE MENTION
San Francisco Dreamers

Photo © GyuHo Park
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Before I moved to San Francisco from South Korea, I saw the city as the guidebooks presented it to me: glossy photos of the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, Pier 39, and Union Square. It was a city, in my eyes, that gleamed and glittered. However, when I arrived here and actually started wandering the streets, I saw these landmarks, but I also saw a very different picture: streets littered with crumpled newspapers, condoms, cigarettes, and homeless people. The homeless, I found, are just another insignificant part of this landscape—a part that most people walk right past. I, also, used to walk right past. After all, it’s unnerving to stop and pay attention. But, I was so confused. How could this be one of the richest cities in the world and there be people making their living by collecting used cans and bottles from trash cans? How could there be some buying $4 coffees and wearing $200 organic cotton sweaters while others, wearing torn and tattered clothing, begged on the street corners? I wanted answers to these questions. So, I started stopping and talking to these people. I started learning about their stories. And, I started photographing them. In this process, I came to see their humanity. My hope is that my photographs will also encourage others to pause, to pay attention, and to notice the humanity in the people they’ve become accustomed to ignoring. My hope is that people can come to understand that the homeless are people just like the rest of us: people with goals and dreams. This is why I’ve entitled my project, “San Francisco Dreamers.”
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Before I moved to San Francisco from South Korea, I saw the city as the guidebooks presented it to me: glossy photos of the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, Pier 39, and Union Square. It was a city, in my eyes, that gleamed and glittered. However, when I arrived here and actually started wandering the streets, I saw these landmarks, but I also saw a very different picture: streets littered with crumpled newspapers, condoms, cigarettes, and homeless people. The homeless, I found, are just another insignificant part of this landscape—a part that most people walk right past. I, also, used to walk right past. After all, it’s unnerving to stop and pay attention. But, I was so confused. How could this be one of the richest cities in the world and there be people making their living by collecting used cans and bottles from trash cans? How could there be some buying $4 coffees and wearing $200 organic cotton sweaters while others, wearing torn and tattered clothing, begged on the street corners? I wanted answers to these questions. So, I started stopping and talking to these people. I started learning about their stories. And, I started photographing them. In this process, I came to see their humanity. My hope is that my photographs will also encourage others to pause, to pay attention, and to notice the humanity in the people they’ve become accustomed to ignoring. My hope is that people can come to understand that the homeless are people just like the rest of us: people with goals and dreams. This is why I’ve entitled my project, “San Francisco Dreamers.”
About author:
GyuHo Park currently graduated Bachelors in Fine Art at Academy of Art University. Through his education at AAU, he has been learning photography techniques, which are useful in modern photography field. Based on Photoshop and experience in lighting, GyuHo Park presents his own style in fashion editorial and documentary photography, which is easily understandable for the audience.BACK TO GALLERY