On Saturday 27 February photographers from the Fab Collective hit the streets of Liverpool ONE to raise money for Haiti by taking street portraits for a donation of £1 or more.

A huge thank you to everyone who had your photo taken – and also to the many generous but camera shy people who just made a donation. With your help we have raised more than £400 for ShelterBox, the disaster relief charity currently working to alleviate the suffering of those in Haiti who were made homeless by the recent earthquake.

The portrait photos are being added to the Help for Haiti gallery over the next few days. If you would like a high res version of your photo you can email the photographer using the contact details below the image or email info@fabcollective.com.

Hollywood Homeless is a music and photography project made possible by the Employable Communities Fund. For the photography side of the project, members of the Fab Collective have worked with and mentored project participants. A selection of photographs taken by the homeless participants is being exhibited at St Luke’s (the ‘bombed out church’) from Saturday 6th March (*not 27th February as originally advertised*). We were blown away by how good they were and hope that you will be too.

Here are some reflections on the project by members of the Fab Collective. You can also see our photos of the homeless photographers at work in the Hollywood Homeless gallery.

The first time I met Lizzi she was on crutches. She’d broken her foot a few days earlier but hadn’t gone to the hospital until it became so painful she couldn’t walk. She propelled herself up Hardman Street without complaint telling the others not to take her picture. But every time I looked around she was stopped, propped against some surface, posing for a shot.

I’d met Neil the day before. He also had a broken foot, but no crutches. “Didn’t you get crutches Neil?” I asked. “I did. But some guy offered to buy them off me on Mathew Street the other night for a fiver. So I sold ‘em” “You sold your crutches for a fiver?” “Well, no cos ‘e only gave me three quid.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but they all burst into howls of laughter, so I did too.

“We’ve got nothing but we’re happy” Michelle said as we walked along Hope Street. At the Cathedral steps she used me as bait to tap a smoke off a smart young man. “Can you spare a ciggie mate?” she asked and before he could walk by “We’re working on a photography project. Go on Jen, tell him what what we’re doing.” And I smiled. And he slowed. And I started to explain. And all the while her eyes never left the pouch of rolling tobacco he held in his hand. He offered it up and we three chatted on as she took out just enough tobacco for a single roll-up. At a natural break in the conversation she asked for a light. Once lit, she thanked him, as did I, and he went on his way. He was smiling. And so was I.

George is a slightly-built, weathered street drinker who told me he’d drunk in every public park in the country. The day we met he said that the people he meets on the street are bastards. I assumed he meant other street drinkers but he said no, ordinary people on the street are bastards. A few days later he set off down Wood Street with Alan and I in tow. He stopped briefly, rocking on his heels, and said “This project is called Hollywood Homeless, right? Well I’m Hollywood Homeless. I wrote the book. This is my life. I’ll show you what its really like on the street” With that he handed me his favourite camera and for the next hour or so had us document a day in his life. He wanted to show us the world through his eyes. By the end Alan and I were both in tears.

These are people who I would ordinarily never meet. Yet with my hand on my heart I’ve had the best time in their company. Certainly its been a rollercoaster. Their lives are very chaotic and sometimes dangerously so. But they’re funny and warm. They have a real sense of community and look out for one another. They have little, yet share it willingly. They’re brave and resilient. They’re creative and inspiring.

As part of this project they’ve taken images and written and recorded statements about their lives. They’ve also been learning to play music together. Through these means they are offering something of themselves to you. I hope, like me, you’ll make the time to stop and look and to listen and reflect.

Jen Allanson. You can watch a short video of the afternoon Jen and Alan spent documenting George’s experiences, Looking for change, on YouTube.

I’ve worked in London a lot and have seen people sleeping in shop doorways in the Strand with nothing more than a cardboard box for cover. But Liverpool? A homeless problem? Seriously? I guess they were always here – they are just sort of ‘invisible’. They blend in. They wear what you and I wear and tend not to look overtly needy.

From the moment when the Fab Collective coalesced into existence early in 2009, I hoped that there would be some sort of social dimension to our activities. If we were to be something more than a camera club, we needed an agenda which took photography out to the young or the disadvantaged.

Some of the Collective were already actively involved in portraying the lives of Liverpool’s homeless people and highlighting their plight. So when Urban Strawberry Lunch asked the Collective to work with them on a photographic project with some of the homeless folk who congregate at St Luke’s, getting involved was a no-brainer.

I found working on the project to be hugely rewarding. It obliged me to re-think all of my preconceptions and suspend my annoying inclination to judge people. It was refreshing to just accept people and their many and varied problems without feeling a burden of responsibility to try and change things. All we were being asked to do was to hang with these ladies and gentlemen and help them to take some decent photographs.

Of course, it wasn’t that simple. It never is. Human nature being what it is, we tend to want to right injustice; to challenge prejudice and to raise low self-esteem. It just feels like the right thing to do. Especially when you get an insight into an amazing community where everything is shared and where the bonds of solidarity are as strong as steel. Perhaps when you have got nothing, it is a lot easier to share everything – but I have observed qualities that I thought that the ‘rat-race’ had killed off. OK – these folk are not all angels and society seems geared up to make ‘the wrong choice’ the easier option for them. But isn’t it a cruel paradox that society could actually learn a lot from these ladies and gentlemen? If only we would listen and observe more.

I was beginning to think that my job as a father was almost done. My two daughters are making their way in the world as socially responsible, upright members of society. Recently, unprompted by me, they have both started to follow my example and buy The Big Issue regularly. I call that a small step in the right direction. But lets none of us rest until there is no homeless problem in Liverpool. Lets not rest until there is no Big Issue anymore.

Ladies and gentlemen of the streets of Liverpool, it has been an honour and a privilege to spend time with you. You have taught me so much. You have inspired me and humbled me. Thank you. Really.

Alan Cookson

You know these people, they’re the ones to avoid eye contact with as you walk down Bold Street. The ones to slip a few pence to rather than get into a conversation with. The ones to dismiss.

Whilst I like to think I didn’t bring too many preconceptions about the project to the table, the ones I did bring were to be challenged hard. More than any group of people I’ve met for a long time, I came across the sort of camaraderie that only comes from a shared experience.

Being constantly surprised by many of the group, their creativity, their intelligence, their sensitivity, came as a revelation. We had our problems of course, we got kicked out of The Black-E because one of the group was abusive to a member of staff, sometimes people didn’t turn up, and two of our number got taken on a virtual roller-coaster ride through Liverpool with an alcoholic in the driving seat. These times were in a minority though, and I often came away feeling like I was being mentored, not the other way around.

You know these people, they’re the ones to go for a coffee with on Bold Street. The ones to help out when you can. The ones to learn from.

You know these people.

Mark Lea

The homeless. Stop, take a second and think what that phrase mean to you, it might suggest images of Big Issue sellers, people sleeping rough or begging for money on the street or it could be young families living with their parents. It depends on where you’ve been and what you’ve seen.

We like to put people in categories. In a complex world it makes it easier to have them in a place that makes sense to us. Homeless, scally, social Worker, scouser, gypsy, student, elderly, all useful labels to place around a group. How many times have you heard it? How many times have you done it yourself? Once we’ve boxed them off it also allows us to have a unified view, a single opinion, where certainty exists. It can make it easy to use the negative characteristics exhibited by some in a group to denegrate or generalise about all in that group and gives some people the justification to dislike, hate or just ignore. Others may carry false ideals, it helps us and society cope with the hard stuff, reality.

Now for me I see a phrase that sits uncomfortably. I prefer the term ‘homeless people’, it better reflects my better understanding based on my own personal experience. It reflects the fact that each and every one of the people I have met in recent months is first and foremost a person rather than a member of an anonymous group with as much variety as society itself. I’ve seen bad and I’ve seen good and it’s that fact that makes it so important not to generalise. I’ve seen some people that cannot be trusted, others that have a past that is not to be proud of, with little excuse. I’ve seen weakness and selfishness and a lack of self regard. On the other hand I’ve also seen courage, pain, bravery, comradeship, selfnessness and humour. I’ve seen low self-confidence, despair, lack of self-esteem, lack of trust and lives that I know I could not have coped with. Sometimes I’ve just seen people who are quiet, thoughtful, harmless and just need a break in life.

All sorts of factors take people there. Some, especially alcohol and drugs, just make sure people stay there, like a hole that once you fall down, the sides are too slippery to climb out of and just pulls people back in. Some people get a helping hand out, others show enough determination to get out themselves, a few were never too far away from the edge and some are maybe too deep and too far gone to ever get out.

I’ve met people who can see a better life, for some it’s one they’ve had before, for others it’s one they’ve never had. There are many out there working to help but I do get the impression that as some people are being helped and managing to get out a whole host more people are heading into the same hole. Society will always try to prevent it but people just keep slipping on through.

As regards what we can do, well, be aware, each one reach one and beware the path that could take you there yourself because it is so easy to slip, whatever age.

And one final thing, to everyone I’ve the pleasure to meet in the last few months, too numerous to mention, thank you. I’ll be seeing you around, especially as for some, I walk through your living room every day.

Tom Fairclough

The Fab Collective went back to basics to attempt to answer these questions. Each armed with a cheap disposable camera we hit the streets of Liverpool for a couple of hours on an overcast November afternoon to see what shots we could get. You can see the results in our disposable camera day gallery.

Some people shot to a theme or focussed on a particular subject. Aidan decided to take advantage the covert nature of the small cheap plastic camera and took candid images. Pete shot all his photos from the perspective of a dog. Alan chose a subject very close to his heart. Sam took photos of herself with strangers, as using the camera reminded her of taking disposable cameras on nights out with friends, when they would always take similar portraits at arm’s length.

The day ended where it began, in the pub – after a quick visit to get our prints developed with the fastest service available as, being used to the instant gratification of being able to review shots on our digital cameras, we couldn’t wait to see how we had done. Over a sociable pint we agreed that it had been an interesting exercise that had made us all think again about the way we take photos. None of us have since abandoned our usual cameras in favour of disposables though…

“One of the reasons that I was flattered when invited to get involved with this fine group of people was because I knew I had a lot to learn as a photographer. There were many disciplines that I had never tried – and approaching strangers on the street was RIGHT outside of my comfort zone.

So when Fab Faces, our first day out, forced me to try my hand at this, I was terrified and excited in equal measure. My results were mixed but I was thrilled with this shot: it ticked most of the boxes and it made me feel as though I had made a real connection with my subject – even though my comfort zone was way over yonder.” – Alan Cookson

“I have many fave images from Fab 2009. All of them for different reasons. I’ve got some great images of Fab people in the Ship. I’ve got some great images from our days out to Lark Lane and Southport. And I got some great portraits using the whiteboard background at St Luke’s – an exercise that I really really enjoyed doing.

But in the end its this one. Big City Mist was Zak’s subject for his exhibited photo. At the opening evening they turned up to see the shot and you could tell they were well pleased with it. And to be a part of the ‘Up to something’ exhibition. I asked them to stand by their pic so I could rattle off a few shots. They were more than pleased to do so, although they wouldn’t stand still and they wouldn’t concentrate. They were too busy looking at the pic to pay any attention to me. Of all the shots I took, I don’t think I’ve got one where they are all looking at the camera. In hindsight, that’s fine and this one works.

The Daily Post were so cool at publicising the exhibition before it opened and then they also published this shot the following week, so kudos to them for that too.

Oh, and Big City Mist are a top band.” – Peter Goodbody

“I can hardly believe it was only last May. It feels like years ago. This sticks in my mind because it was taken at the first Fab project we did – the first day I ever asked somebody I didn’t know if I could take their photograph. I was totally terrified at the start but Terry and Zak gave me loads of confidence.” – Graham Lloyd

“It’s not my best Fab shot of the year, that would probably be this whiteboard portrait. However I chose this one because the Fab Faces day was such a turning point for me. I gained a lot of confidence and had a lot of fun due to the support of all my fab friends and this chap in particular (thanks Mark), my mentor and owner of the widest grin in Liverpool, which I haven’t really done justice to in this shot. We were both a bit nervous at the start but as you can see here, we soon became a lot more comfortable about asking strangers if we could take their photos!” – Sam Bytheway

“This was a tough one because the only proper Fab event I’ve really taken part in was the disposable camera day and that didn’t result in many amazing shots due to the nature of the beast. One thing that did strike me when wandering around the streets of Liverpool city centre was how damn fashionable kids are these days. I saw so many teenagers, some as young as 13 or 14, who had obviously taken real care in putting together an ensemble that created a unique style. The other thing that impressed me was that they wore these clothes with such confidence, strutting down the street as though it was their own personal catwalk. That’s why I’ve chosen this image of a young black guy who is dressed like the reincarnation of Joey Ramone and caught me taking the shot out of the corner of his eye.” – Ade McManus

“This is one of my faves as it was a strange day and I think this sums it up, still brings a smile to my face now, the cocktails that followed were fab too ” – Jan Rogerson

Southport day out – Pete Carr

Southport day out – Graham Morgan

‘Up to something’ exhibition launch – Andy O’Hare

Chris – Jen Allanson

Whiteboard portrait – Terry Hindle

Whiteboard portrait – Tom Fairclough

Fab Faces – Mark Lea

‘Up to something’ exhibition launch – Marion Pope

Southport day out – Jane Macneil

Fab Faces – Mark Maloney

San – Hollie Edwards

Chris, whiteboard portrait – Simon Barrow

Southport day out – Will Lee

Southport day out – Iain Francis

As 2009 draws to a close we’d like to thank everyone who has helped to make this such a successful year for the Fab Collective, especially if you visited the ‘Up to something’ exhibition or let us take your photo on our Fab Faces and Lark Lane days out.

Just in case you were wondering, we haven’t been idle since the exhibition closed in September. After all the hard work involved in mounting an exhibition in a roofless building during a typical British summer (whose crazy idea was that again?) we decided that we deserved a holiday. So we treated ourselves to a fun day out at Southport in early October.

In November we returned to our regular stomping ground in Liverpool city centre in an attempt to answer the age old question of camera or photographer? We went right back to basics and got some interesting results, which you will be able to see on this website very soon.

Over the last few weeks we have been working on our most important project to date, in partnership with our friends at Urban Strawberry Lunch. Look out for more news on this exciting venture in the new year.

And if you’re looking for a treat to spend your Christmas money on and can’t quite face the sales, don’t forget that ‘Up to something’ – the book of the exhibition is available to purchase online from Blurb.

Happy New Year from everyone at the Fab Collective – we hope to see you soon.

In October 2009 the Fab Collective left the familiar confines of Liverpool and hit the streets (and beach and ever-so-long pier) of Southport. We hoped to capture a slice of this seaside town on a typical autumn Sunday.

Some particularly keen members of the Collective got there first thing in the morning, while others arrived in time for fish and chips by the carousel at lunch. Throughout the day we met an interesting bunch of people, including fishermen, ice-cream vendors, bikers, fairground ride attendants and a lady with a large bible.

Most of us were armed with digital cameras to document the day but a few people only used film. Have a look at the highlights of our trip in the Southport Fun Day gallery.

The book, which contains all of the photographs from the exhibition, comes in three different formats:

• Softcover £16.95 (plus postage and packing)
• Hardcover with dust jacket £22.95 (plus postage and packing)
• Hardcover with image wrap £24.95 (plus postage and packing)

Each copy is specially printed to order, so please allow a couple of weeks for delivery.

For your viewing pleasure is a video of the hugely successful launch party at St Lukes. Our exhibition launch was amazing and we were so pleased you hung around in the rain for it to clear so you could enjoy the exhibition.

Don’t forget that ‘Up to something’ – the book of the exhibition is now available.

If you had your photo taken in the exhibition then see if you can spot yourself in the ‘Up to something’ portrait gallery (we are adding your photos as quickly as we can but it may take a few days for yours to appear). We’d also love to see your photos if you took any in the exhibition. Please add them to the Flickr ‘Up to something’ group.

The photographs in the exhibition were all either inspired by or chosen in response to quotes about Liverpool. The title ‘Up to something’ is taken from this quote:

“You know what scousers are like, they’re always up to something. Please do not repeat that to anyone from Liverpool.” Jack Straw 1999

In response to this we would like to say that yes, we are scousers and we are up to something – something fab!

Read reviews of the exhibition by the Daily Post and Art in Liverpool or watch a video about the exhibition on YouTube.

The Fab Collective will be back with more projects and hopefully another exhibition. To find out what we are up to you can follow us on facebook or twitter.

Fab people do fab things. It’s not just Magnum that have all the fun.

The Fab Collective are currently entirely self funded. However if you would like to sponsor any of our activities or future exhibitions then we would love to hear from you. Please contact info@fabcollective.com

We would like to thank Urban Strawberry Lunch, c3imaging and the Ship & Mitre pub for their support for the ‘Up to something’ exhibition. Thanks also to the many people of Liverpool who we have photographed.