Today is Blog Action Day – a day where thousands of bloggers around the world focus upon and highlight issues around one topic – poverty.
Here is our contribution – a collection of images taken to highlight poverty from around our globe. Click the images to be taken to the Flickr pages of the photographer and to learn more about the story behind the faces you see.
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91 Responses to “17 Images of Poverty” - Add Yours
October 15th, 2008 at 12:36 am
These folks could use a bailout. Oh wait bailouts are only for rich corporate fascists
October 15th, 2008 at 12:36 am
Actually, I’m pretty sure TOMORROW is Blog Action Day!
October 15th, 2008 at 1:09 am
do you get a homeless or poor person to sign a release
and what if they don’t speak english?
what do you do when they say no? don’t they feel you are exploiting them?
October 15th, 2008 at 1:52 am
eric…this is a photo site… not a political site.
On a side note, a lot of these images don’t really show poverty at all. I can’t see poverty in the first and third images, and so on.
October 15th, 2008 at 2:05 am
Wow! Very realistic shots! Excellent work!
October 15th, 2008 at 2:15 am
You’re a day early, but I’ve been building a very similar post for the last week that will be published tomorrow morning, and it looks like we are share at least one common image.
October 15th, 2008 at 3:10 am
Do you’ll feel good and guilty now? Spare me the one day a year angst-fest.
Living in poverty in America
October 15th, 2008 at 3:22 am
these are some stunning images.. makes you wonder how our world got into this dreadful condition in the first place.
October 15th, 2008 at 3:55 am
Quite brilliant photographs.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ignoto_someoneski/2932268700/
October 15th, 2008 at 4:25 am
stephen,
Just because you can’t see poverty doesn’t mean it’s not there. The smiling faces of children hide it well.
October 15th, 2008 at 4:46 am
The subject of poverty and overpopulation in the Philippines- my country of birth is a subject that I have been writing with passion on my recent blogs. The pictures on this blog really touch my heart, since I believe, the time that you have really live is the time when you have touch the lives of others..
October 15th, 2008 at 4:46 am
Alice: It’s a lie. It’s a bunch of sad strangers photographed beautifully, and… all the glittering assholes who appreciate art say it’s beautiful ’cause that’s what they wanna see. But the people in the photos are sad, and alone… But the pictures make the world seem beautiful, so… the exhibition is reassuring which makes it a lie, and everyone loves a big fat lie.
From the movie Closer.
October 15th, 2008 at 4:49 am
I love the expectant mother and child. There is love, innocence, and a sense of sharing in the image.
October 15th, 2008 at 4:50 am
I agree with Stephen…there are at least a few that don’t show poverty.
@ collective lens…i agree with you as well, but wasn’t that the point of the post?
October 15th, 2008 at 4:55 am
Great pictures, full of life and pain
October 15th, 2008 at 6:26 am
Thanks all for your comments. Part of my hope with this series of images was to get people talking – I think that’s part of the point of Blog Action Day. Some of the themes discussed in this thread are important and I appreciate your time in commenting.
Lara and Mike Pnic – actually today is Blog Action Day, I live in Australia and we are a little ahead of the rest of the world
Stephen – as I said in the post, click the photos to see the story behind the photos. Just because someone is smiling or doesn’t look in poverty doesn’t mean that they are. That’s actually why I used some of the images that I did, because sometimes poverty is hidden.
The other reason I chose the images in this selection was because some of the ‘beautiful’ shots actually reflected some of my own experience of poverty when living in the Third World doing aid work – ie I found that in the midst of extremely desperate situations there was at times surprising things like beauty, hope, faith and community.
I also like some of these images (especially those by Carf) because I think they give the people being photographed dignity by showing them not as desperate people but showing their beauty.
living in poverty – I am sorry to hear that. Poverty is a world wide thing, some of the shots above depict the problem in your country too. It’s also evident in mine and I only hope that this post shines a little light on a problem that we all should be working to eliminate.
Travis – as I’ve said above, I chose these images for a number of reasons – a mix of shots of people shown in desperation as well as shown with dignity, illustrating their humanness and the ‘hidden’ nature of poverty.
I guess also I partly chose those that I did because this is a photography site and I wanted to show good shots – the work of good photographers doing something worthwhile in their photography.
October 15th, 2008 at 6:42 am
Wow some great photos there. AGAIN the black and white photos seem to convey more and seem more powerful to me. Pungent?
I woudl love to see a desolate picture of building… imagining what happened to occupents.
October 15th, 2008 at 6:51 am
One other note.. I notice many are happy or smiling. That reminds me of an article on 20/20 (I think) it was about how people in one third world country are genuinely more happy than any other country in world. just musing outloud
October 15th, 2008 at 7:01 am
HDR FOR POVERTY. HDR + PEOPLE == THE SUCK.
October 15th, 2008 at 7:42 am
God help us. If you’ve never been poor or homeless I guess this would be beautiful. It isn’t. Oh, very talented photographers.
October 15th, 2008 at 8:08 am
Nice post Darren… Lots of poverty everywhere, sad times… I’ve asked myself this many times “what can one person do?”
Well?
October 15th, 2008 at 11:06 am
makes me thankful. you can almost smell these photos.
October 15th, 2008 at 11:52 am
i live here in the philippines and you could see all those poor people around!!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alienscream/2827393542/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alienscream/2754538667/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alienscream/2544405616/
October 15th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Poignant, disturbing, uplifting, and introspective… thank you for presenting your images.
October 15th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
These are some exceptionally powerful images. They show a side of the world that so many people don’t get to see up close. And for some people, poverty hits closer to home than many of us think. Thanks for helping to put it in the forefront with these images.
October 15th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Thank you.
October 15th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Very striking images… great selection!
I too used some images from “Carf” in my video for “bad08″:
http://www.gauravsikka.com/blog/2008/10/blog-action-day-say-no-to-poverty/
October 15th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
hi, very nice pics. some of the pics have really touched me. i liked the kid with the dog most.
peace….
p.s. i’ve written a post on blogactionday to.
October 15th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
As stated yesterday, here’s my Blog Action Day, Poverty in Photos: http://www.randomn3ss.com/2008/10/15/blog-action-day-poverty-in-photos/
October 15th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
The photos are touching and stunning! Beautiful? I guess it would depend who is looking at it, each person will see something or feel something different, maybe that is what makes them beautiful.
October 16th, 2008 at 12:45 am
Unbelievable striking poignant, thank for you speaking with your camera. I hopee you’ll check out my BAD 08 posthttp://www.behindthebutton.com/2008/10/end-poverty-end-poverty-end-poverty-end-poverty-end-poverty.html
October 16th, 2008 at 1:00 am
i too live in the philippines. indeed, we see much poverty everyday unfortunately. these are some striking shots.
for my part, i turn to sites like freerice, kiva, and goodsearch, as ways to help alleviate poverty online.
saw this post via the front page of blog action day. it’s great that you’re participating.
October 16th, 2008 at 2:27 am
These photos are touching… sorry at a lost for words.
October 16th, 2008 at 6:35 am
Another step taken to end poverty! Thank you.
http://www.cheerfulgivers.org
October 16th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
One of the last pics looks like it’s from the NYC subway…is it?
October 17th, 2008 at 3:14 am
What a powerful group of pictures.
Thanks for sharing.
Booots
October 17th, 2008 at 7:12 am
HDR sux (when not used properly, which is almost always). The guy ath the memorial wall has an ipod. Some are good, but they are a few.
October 17th, 2008 at 9:01 am
I love your pictures– I am particularly happy that you chose some shots which were joyful. Too often poverty is depicted as the negative (with sad faces, dirty bodys, etc). We forget the humanity… that these people live lives and experience a wide range of emotion and experiences.
October 17th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Redundancies at work and in surrounding industries are happening at a rapidly increasing rate (as of today my partner is now ‘unemployed’), the financial world is crumbling around us, and we haven’t seen a proper depression since right after WW2. I can’t even begin to think of what a society must be like where a significant portion of it turns to food vouchers just so they can put a meal on a table.
Not sure about anyone else but the images here make me think about it…. it’s not a political forum this, but it sure as hell makes you think like any good image should….
October 18th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Wow great images. I have one to share.
http://www.redbubble.com/people/junmadayag/art/1334158-1-the-beggar
October 19th, 2008 at 3:07 am
Great photos, great subject. Now what are the answers. Look at all the efforts to alleviate poverty and what are the present results. Not a real solution but at the moment I am appalled at government and corporate theft. What has allowed this monster to exist that CREATES POVERTY!!!
October 19th, 2008 at 5:11 am
Extremely powerful and honest images that remind us the number of poor are increasing and today getting closer to each of our homes. There’s not a single adult American who has not walked past an impoverished person. This is staggering.
I am wandering around the blogs feeling the unification and linked into a beautifully simple solution I found on a young girl’s blog. I lost her link, but am carrying on the message of “The Girl Effect”…
http://dreamingaloudallowed.blogspot.com
wiser now…
Sharon
October 20th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
These are powerful images. So saddening yet the children look so happy in some. Some say that these are images that people don’t see…images that we do not come across in our everyday lives. How wrong that is…there is poverty everywhere in this world. We, as the “privileged” ones, are just used to blank out who we come across even when we walk down or drive down the street to buy groceries.
I only hope Blog Action Day makes a bit of a difference. Anything to keep the ball rolling towards equality in our standard of living and thinking.
October 21st, 2008 at 11:39 am
here’s another one:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alienscream/2958309860/
October 21st, 2008 at 2:45 pm
The subject of poverty and overpopulation in the Philippines- my country of birth is a subject that I have been writing with passion on my recent blogs. The pictures on this blog really touch my heart, since I believe, the time that you have really live is the time when you have touch the lives of others..
October 23rd, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Torn – great photos but disturbing at the same time.
October 25th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
how large a photo can make changes … friend. images of poverty are often only consumption, not a change of ideas
October 26th, 2008 at 7:00 am
I got two messages from your images; there is raw pain in poverty and there is always hope!
October 27th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
How are you?, Give something for help those hungry people from Africa or India,
I added this blog about them:
in http://tinyurl.com/5qlbzs
November 5th, 2008 at 2:29 am
I guess it would depend who is looking at it, each person will see something or feel something different, maybe that is what makes them beautiful.
November 7th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
its too touching every picture is real and it makes my heart melt down
November 8th, 2008 at 4:58 am
let’s try to change ! not just to say that those pictures are really bad …………. this is the most important point here.
November 12th, 2008 at 3:26 am
you dont see poverty in the frist pic and so on cuz you dont want to see it
November 12th, 2008 at 3:33 am
we all have to put hands 2gether an try to solve this problem.saying :these pics are really sad wont solve any of these problems.insted of talking so that u care through action
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Letting some one live in poverty IS A CRIME !!!
http://heavenuezation.blogspot.com/
December 16th, 2008 at 1:43 am
I agreee with Lara! we should all start doing something about!!!!
you can go to
http://www.freerice.com or http://www.freepoverty.com
these websites donate food and materials to people i poverty!
January 3rd, 2009 at 4:14 am
I hate the reality in which these pictures bring…because this world is so rich in resources there should’nt exist any poverty, I wish everyone in this world were atleast thousand heirs or up<<<(made up word).
February 1st, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Hello,
We saw you pictures of poverty on the internet.
Please consider adding some pictures with a link back to your site in our forum at Liplies.com.
We promote charities and provide an outlet for constructive criticism of today media networks and broadcasting companies.
Also please consider linking back to our site from your web site.
Check out Liplies Social Media Network
Thank You,
Administration
Liplies.com
Lipadmin@liplies.com
February 1st, 2009 at 9:16 pm
I did not mean to leave my email in my previous post. Please remove.
Lipadmin Says:
February 1st, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Please post as follows:
Hello,
We saw you pictures of poverty on the internet.
Please consider adding some pictures with a link back to your site in our forum at Liplies.com.
We promote charities and provide an outlet for constructive criticism of today media networks and broadcasting companies.
Also please consider linking back to our site from your web site.
Check out Liplies Social Media Network
Thank You,
Administration
Liplies.com
April 9th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
really, images shows the reallity of poverty.
April 17th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
This is so touching and I can find any word to express the pain I feel seeing these
May 20th, 2009 at 2:37 am
Just wanted to say I’m really proud of everything you’re doing.
Here is the video I did for the young lions competition in hopes of encouraging people to add their names and help Oxfam by joining the movement to encourage world leaders to vote for change at the summit in Copenhagen in December.
Hope you enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ0nlJ9Ythc
June 30th, 2009 at 12:52 am
hey the pics are really great..the girl child specially..
October 24th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Thanks for your picture, remind me there is “people” out there waiting for us.
October 25th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
hey ur pics were so realistic that it was remind me & those people who have seen these pics that after independence,india was totally changed but still there is a poverty exist!thax a lot these touchable pics………
November 14th, 2009 at 5:51 am
what what ever Eric
November 27th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
the way you portrayed zes people is worth praises…not only can we find poverty, but also rays of hope in those eyes…
January 28th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
thanx a lot man
February 24th, 2010 at 5:19 am
Photographing homeless alcoholics and crack-heads is not exactly what I’d call definitive of “poverty”. I would have been more impressed with say, a family living in their car or children poorly dressed playing in a ghetto neighborhood. It’s not much of a challenge to go downtown and start snapping street people.
May 12th, 2010 at 11:26 am
just because they are photos of homeless people doesnt mean that they dont live in poverty.
May 13th, 2010 at 12:41 am
Sarah.. I think he was referring more to difficulty of the photoshoot. I think the poster (lee) must have misssed a few of the photos…
Now a year or so later, I would love to see a second page,,, one with foreclosure signs, evictions, people living in the national forests, cars loaded to the grill with possessions while moving, a hobo on a train. Things like that for a second edition.
May 18th, 2010 at 10:18 am
how to stop povert? isthere a possible solution for that? gosh…poor creatures…huhhhh
January 28th, 2011 at 4:34 pm
Thank you for the terrific images! I have a song titled “Last Night in America” that I set to images that I found on the web including this website. You and your artists have provided me with good imagery for what I am trying to convey.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHopAmyuhCo
I hope you approve and enjoy.
Thank you!
February 15th, 2011 at 12:04 am
Can anyone tell me when will this action take place in 2011? I also like to submit some more images of poverty, focused on India http://www.photographymojo.com/2011/02/fascinating-india-a-photography-journey/
February 20th, 2011 at 4:58 am
My b/f helps me start a blog about my life in town near Cagayan de Oro, and helps with some expenses.
Somehow people do not know or care about poverty, so he says I should write my stories, and post pictures of life here.
April 4th, 2011 at 8:04 pm
too sad to see these photos……. I wish i could help………
April 25th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
I am from India, the above pictures matches with upper middle class Indians. Each 100 individuals among one indiviual in my country is having tons and tons of poverty. Try to get pictures from India.
May 27th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
ITS REALLY HEART TOUCHING TO WATCH THESE PHOTOS
June 17th, 2011 at 10:49 pm
POETRY by me to see theses pics
A WALK FOR FOOD
kaisi duniya hai samajh mn hi nahi aati hai
kuch ko mil jati hai aur kuch ko yeh tarsaati hai
kha kay khana ameer walk pe nikatay hn
khanay ki bhook mn ghareebo’n ko bhagati hai
June 17th, 2011 at 10:49 pm
from PAKISTAN kARACHI
July 8th, 2011 at 2:56 am
Darren, great eye! I lived in Thailand for a bit while in the Peace Corps, visited refugee camps in Cambodia, taught in the inner-city, and grew up in rural America. I have seen poverty from multiple perspectives and can appreciate the challenges in the eyes of the people you photograph. Studying poverty as a doctoral student, I found your work honest and beautiful. Hopefully, the critics who don’t “see” the poverty in all of your work will understand that even if you don’t see it, it doesn’t mean it is not present. Thanks for sharing!
August 2nd, 2011 at 12:33 am
Men it’s heart touching images
September 4th, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Nice list of images. I’ve noticed the most impactful photos usually feature young children. I’ve also compiled my own list of 41 heartbreakingly beautiful poverty pictures if you’re interested in looking!
http://flairpix.com/41-heartbreakingly-beautiful-poverty-pictures/
October 21st, 2011 at 4:05 pm
Like the third picture best
November 13th, 2011 at 6:35 pm
oh!the pics are very heart touching. still the povery is present in our world this is really shameful…….
November 30th, 2011 at 11:52 am
Hello Darren,
I want to let you know how powerful your pictures are. Brought tears as we (Me and wife) watched the pictures. I had come across your blog when I was looking for some information about poverty in the world with the intention to encourage how we must become more involved to reach out to them. Would it be possible like to use your pictures, along with some of mine for a powerpoint presentation in our school Christmas program. I will use it with my song called ‘Walk this Life’. I will copyright your work and print your website. I will be glad if you can also give me permission to use it for my ‘Cafe Live’ I do at church in Japan. I live in Okinawa, Japan.
Thank you.
Vee
December 5th, 2011 at 10:53 pm
Nice list of images.the pics are really heart touching. it indicates the poverty in India.
March 7th, 2012 at 11:03 am
I’m currently an art student study fine art. I’m looking into the freedom of speech and expression, I’m trying to portray the poverty side of humanity and ask what if any rights have we acknowledged?
March 21st, 2012 at 4:02 am
These are touching pictures and I care. And I pray that god will bless these homeless people and give them his love, because I care and understand.
March 24th, 2012 at 1:08 am
once it is them soon it may be you
May 20th, 2013 at 6:31 pm
these photos are really inspiring me to do something charitable work for the poor.
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