Lance Gross (@lancegross) Photographs Homeless People In Air Jordans

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and there is nothing more powerful being said from these black and white photos captured by Lance Gross, part time photographer, full time actor.

In the photos, which Gross posted to his Instagram page, homeless people are seen wearing some of the most expensive Jordan sneakers. There’s symbolism here that may go over a few people’s heads and this is what I love about it. Photography is at its best when it tells a story and here, a story is being told. The people being photographed have absolutely nothing. One photograph is captioned, “I could do a lot for the price of these…” and that is exactly the feeling I got from looking at the photos.

We spend upwards of $200 for retro Jordans that will probably re-release in another five years. We wear them a few times, tear them up then discard them like the $200+ couldn’t have been used elsewhere. Are we happy? Yeah, for the moment. The homeless people Lance shot, one even having lost a foot, are all happy. They don’t have a lot. They’ll probably have to return the Air Jordans after the shoot, but they’re happy with the little they do have. Covered in dirt and all.

I think the message here is to be mindful of what we put value in. Very powerful message.

If you’d like to see these photos up close, Lance Gross is having his very first photo exhibition in LA and NYC soon. Follow @lancegross on Twitter and Instagram to stay posted.