Comments on: I may not even go back to the prairie

By: Adrian Cooke

Adrian Cooke — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:14:56 +0000

Jim and Kris, thank you both for your comments.

By: kris

kris — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:45:31 +0000

I think, for me, the best we can do is be respectful. I am uncomfortable about documenting people’s stories in ways that belittle them (and it can be easy and tempting to do so when we look at lives from the outside and often from a place of immense privilege).

The writing and photos in Sweet Juniper seem to have their origins in love and appreciation for the city, and an interest in people’s lives. So, regardless of individual images of hope or despair, my lasting sense of the blog is one of connection and care with a place and people. That’s why I love it: it gives a necessarily fragmented and incomplete vision of the city and the inhabitants, but the interpretations are respectful.

By: jdg

jdg — Mon, 04 May 2009 00:13:29 +0000

thank you for this interesting take on my situation,.

I just watched a 1990 documentary called “Stranger With a Camera” that really put a lot of this into perspective for me, at least in terms of how to reconcile what it is that I do as a resident of detroit taking pictures and telling stories while so many writers and photographers come here to photograph the ruins and tell the story of a dead city that is still full of life.