"I’m a disabled Vietnam veteran. I lost a lot of my friends in the war and because of that, one of the things I suffer from is survivor's guilt. When I lived in Chicago, I used to the roam the streets, two- and three-o’clock in the morning, with a K-bar [Marine survival knife] in my hand in case somebody tried to jump me.
"Photography was my way out. I’d been taking pictures from the time I was six or seven years old; both my parents were shooters, so it was in my blood. I started shooting a camera again, but instead of taking aim with a gun and bang, bang, bang, I take aim and it’s click, click, click. Back in 2009 I started a camera club here at Caritas Village for neighborhood kids --- did it for a couple of years --- where I taught them the basics of photography, how to edit pictures, and how to make graphics. One of the kids I taught is in college now majoring in graphic design. It gave me peace of mind to help them and keep them out of trouble. Some of them didn’t have a father in the home or their parents were working all the time, so they needed somebody to spend time with them. I took them places, showed them things they hadn’t seen before, and taught them not only about photography but about life. Shooting was --- and still is --- a way out for me."
"Photography was my way out. I’d been taking pictures from the time I was six or seven years old; both my parents were shooters, so it was in my blood. I started shooting a camera again, but instead of taking aim with a gun and bang, bang, bang, I take aim and it’s click, click, click. Back in 2009 I started a camera club here at Caritas Village for neighborhood kids --- did it for a couple of years --- where I taught them the basics of photography, how to edit pictures, and how to make graphics. One of the kids I taught is in college now majoring in graphic design. It gave me peace of mind to help them and keep them out of trouble. Some of them didn’t have a father in the home or their parents were working all the time, so they needed somebody to spend time with them. I took them places, showed them things they hadn’t seen before, and taught them not only about photography but about life. Shooting was --- and still is --- a way out for me."
A sampling of JB's work:
If readers are interested in purchasing any of JB's photographs (and there are many more to choose from), he can be contacted through Caritas Village.
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