CALIBER

You can read more about my $2 Portrait Project here.

A few weeks ago, I was walking around Union Square shooting the mannequins in the windows of the surrounding shops. As I rounded the corner onto Stockton, Baby Elmo asked me for some spare change. I told Baby Elmo about my $2 Portrait Project and he agreed to pose for a few shots.

After I gave Baby Elmo his $2, he asked me for another $1 so he could buy a hot dog. He told me had had not eaten for two days and his stomach was becoming angry with him.

70-year old Baby Elmo moved from Hawaii to San Francisco in July to look for his wife and daughter. A relative had told Baby Elmo to meet his family in front of the Louie Vuitton store. So each day, he stands there on the corner and waits for them to show up. He seemed pretty sad that he had not connected with them yet.

Baby Elmo was most excited about seeing his daughter. He wanted to see how she was doing in school and if she had made any new friends since moving to The City. I told him he could go to the SFPD main branch on Bryant and file a missing persons report for his wife and daughter. He told me that would not be a good idea as he had several warrants for panhandling and one for petty theft.

About this time, another stranger approached Baby Elmo and dropped $1 in his cup. Baby Elmo smiled and thanked us both, as now he had enough money to go buy a hot dog.

And with that, I told Baby Elmo to have a nice day and headed down Stockton towards Market.

You can see the collective whole of $2 Portraits from around the world here.