Gale
A Tale of Two Communities
“The greatest suffering is being lonely, feeling unloved, having no one. I have come more and more to realize that it is being unwanted that is the worst disease that any human being can ever experience.” Mother Teresa This is a Thanksgiving story about two communities: Sacramento’s homeless community, what I call “Second City;” and,…
Read MoreVeteran's Day Salute
“In the aftermath, we are because they were”. R.J. Heller Gale Filter, a volunteer at Loaves & Fishes is an air force veteran and a retired environmental prosecutor and educator. He believes that photography provides a powerful means to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves and that in the eyes of many who experience…
Read MoreOne City, One County, One Plan
Tuesday afternoon, the County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to use $44 million from their Mental Health Service Act funding over the next three year as a means to partner with the City of Sacramento in addressing homelessness. This partnership is a bold step forward. Therefore, when we gathered with our fellow Sacramentans yesterday to…
Read MoreDia de los Muertos
Gale Filter, a volunteer at Loaves & Fishes is an air force veteran and a retired environmental prosecutor and educator. He believes that photography provides a powerful means to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves and that in the eyes of many who experience homelessness, one finds the “homes of silent prayers” to…
Read MoreFriendship Park's Peace Day Celebration
The only true guardian of peace lies within: a sense of concern and responsibility for your own future and an altruistic concern for the well-being of others. Dalai Lama World Peace Day-September 21, 2017. I am at Loaves & Fishes to photograph the dedication of Friendship Park’s new Peace Pole. Peace Poles are recognized throughout…
Read More731 K Street
Our volunteer photographer, Gale Filter, reflects on the history of homelessness along K St. The door above has memories for me. I see it nearly every week on my early morning K Street walks. From 1999 to 2007 it was the door I entered to start my work day at the California District Attorneys Association…
Read MoreThe Decisive Moment
The “decisive moment” is a concept introduced by Henri Cartier-Bresson, the father of street photography. As Cartier-Bresson explains it the decisive moment “is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event is a proper expression.”…
Read MoreFriendship Park Breakfast Recipe
Each weekday at 7:00 am, coffee is served to the about 300 guests in Friendship Park. Everyday, Friendship park powers through 60 gallons of Folgers coffee, 10 lbs of sugar and 10 lbs of powdered cream. At 7:30 am, volunteers start serving breakfast to the guests. Over the past year and a half, more than…
Read MoreA volunteer's Rhine River cruise inspires portraits of Europe's homeless
Gale is Loaves & Fishes consummate photographer. He takes pictures of our guests and people experiencing homelessness throughout Sacramento. His photographs ask that we not look away from the crisis of homelessness perpetually unfolding in our city. Two weeks ago, he went on a Rhine River cruise with his wife and, while in port, photographed…
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