Meet Louis Carr

Today we’d like to introduce you to Louis Carr.

Louis, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve had a camera in my hand for as long as I can remember. Photography started with my Grandpa who gave me my first camera. I loved taking photos and telling stories with them but I never thought I was any good at it. I recall Grandpa once saying to me that my gift and talent for photography would one day be my voice. I was just a kid and didn’t understand what this meant. In fact, I didn’t think I was any good at it.

February 2007, I became homeless after coming home in 2000 to care for my Pops. I was broke and battling cancer. Since I’m college educated and had lots of friends I knew I’d be fine, but homelessness lasted 29 long hard months. This is when my photography really took off. I started documenting the problems I was having trying to navigate the very complicated and broken system of homelessness. I called it Project Kengikat. I used my camera and laptop to start a blog and then an outreach called Do Something Saturday~that empowers people.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, April 3, 2008, over a year into homelessness, I was diagnosed with HIV. I felt like I was drowning. I began to question what I had done wrong to deserve any of this. But I kept doing my best, kept taking photos, doing homeless outreaches. I just believed things would get better. They had to get better.

June 29, 2009, 29 months of homelessness came to an end. I moved into my apartment here in Hollywood on July 3, 2009. It’s been ten years that homelessness has been behind me. But digging out from homelessness and dealing with all the PTSD of homelessness has not been easy.

In 2009, shortly after moving into my apartment I was invited to be a Getty Images Contributor. August of 2011 I published my first book 29 months, Seen but not heard. Currently, I’m working on my 6th book which is about my life ten years after homelessness and a 7th book with my good friend and fellow photographer Sterling Scott.

I live in Hollywood with my three rescue dogs who I completely adore. I’m an accomplished photographer, community organizer, public speaker and mentor.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Transitioning from homelessness back into a normal life has not been smooth. I accumulated lots of debt from hospital stays and rides in paramedics. The City of LA will have you to believe that supportive housing works well for everyone, but that isn’t always the case. Finding work and getting back on my feet has been hard. I had all this PTSD and baggage from being homeless and now I’m HIV positive.

There are a ton of rules that remind me that I was once homeless. Lots of rules that remind me that I am HIV positive. I love my apartment but there are times when it feels like a prison with keys. For me, the biggest struggle has been with organizations and agencies and their rules that hold folks back from truly moving forward.

They say this is my apartment, but I can’t have guests for more than three days. I can’t take a vacation longer than 14 days without permission. I must see a case manager twice a month. I must get forms signed every place I go. I feel normal, but living here reminds me daily that I was once homeless and that I am HIV positive.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Project KengiKengi/Louis Carr Photography – what should we know?
I created Project Kengikat while homeless in Santa Monica where I was born and raised. It was a simple outreach to get basic hygiene items and socks to homeless people in Santa Monica and Venice. Today, 12 years later, Do Something Saturday serves low-income families, women, children and seniors as well as homeless individuals throughout Los Angeles. Unplugging HIV is the outreach I created a year after being diagnosed with HIV. It serves individuals who are either homeless or low income living with HIV or AIDS through outreach, mentoring and peer support.

Louis Carr Photography the visual aspect of what I do through my community work. It also my work as a celebrity photographer, activist and storytelling. Through photography I’ve been able to change minds and opinions about homelessness, HIV, poverty, cancer, sickle cell disease, but more importantly what is possible when we refuse to give up or allow circumstance dictate the final outcome.

I’m most proud of the fact that I did not allow the hardships in my life to crush me or even kill me. I am proud that I’ve spoken on Capitol Hill in DC several times and this year I presented my 12 years body of work documenting homelessness, poverty, HIV, AIDS and my own life experience at a national scientific conference in Washington DC. I have over 200 photos in my Getty Images portfolio. I’ve stood on every major Hollywood red carpet. I’m cancer free, my HIV is in check. I was named #6 most amazing people living with HIV. I’ve photographed eight national magazine covers. I was a social media fellow for the United States Conference on AIDS. I’m the official photographer for the USC Black Alumni Association. There’s so much for me to be proud of.

I think what sets me apart from others is that I know what it’s like to have everything and I know what it’s like have nothing. I know what it’s like to travel the world and I know what it’s like to fist fight for my belonging on skid row and eat from trash cans throughout Los Angeles. My community work, art and photography are rooted in my love for humanity. My desire to make things better for those of us at the very bottom. I want people to see humanity in my images and in my community work.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
First and foremost, I must thank God, my creator who has never let me fall. I am here today because of the favor of God. My parents for raising me to never give up, no matter how hard things get. They gave me a firm foundation to stand on and I’m so thankful for this. My folks use to say all the time “to whom much is given, much is required. My friends, I am nothing without my friends. I can’t say enough about them and I can’t thank them enough for everything they do for me. If my Sickle Cell makes me sit on the sidelines, they show up. If I don’t have money to make rent and bills they show up. When I can’t afford to buy food, they show up. If I just need to vent, laugh and just hang out they show up for me. My core group of friends are my family and I love them with my whole heart. I’d move heaven and hell for my friends. Folks who hire me to capture their most precious moments. People can hire any photographer, but they come to me because they trust me and I’m completely humbled and honored by this. I have the best clients and they allow me to do what I love, what I’m so passionate about.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dosomethingsaturday.org
• Phone: (323) 351-7797
• Email: kengikat@gmail.com
• Instagram: @LouisCarrPhotograpghy and @ProjectKengiKat
• Other: Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/kengikat/
  Getty Images Portfolio: https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/louis-kengi-carr?mediatype=photography&phrase=louis%20kengi%20carr&sort=mostpopular

Image Credit:
Sterling Scott

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