John Free: The End of The Line

The work of John Free is unique, the pictures deal with so much loneliness and suffering, up close and without a filter.

We watched the video where he goes through most of his project about Railroad Tramps, where he over the course of 10 years arranged his life around going down to the tracks and talk to and shoot the vagabonds coming to Los Angeles with the freight trains from all over.

He named the project fittingly: The end of the Line and when you watch the video, you’ll see the emotional involvement that went into it. How he cried with the men he met and how the stories he heard took him down with them.

To be honest, much of the 50 minutes of the video felt like he’s the Johnny Cash of photography. The theme of the rail road, the many men that are down on their luck and that have no voice but his to tell their tale.

He mentions that he always used to bring a dog with him, not as protection, but as an ice breaker

This reminded me of a man, I don’t know if homeless, but he was playing music for money at least. You can meet him in Copenhagen still, with his bike and his two dogs that follow him without a sound or leash. Dogs are a powerful way to connect with people, because they mean no harm if you didn’t train them to. They’re an instant connection and intention check.

You can see more of John Free on his official website or on YouTube.