Photographer Horia Manolache had a goal when he started his latest project “The Prince and the Pauper“. He wanted to show homeless people in a new way to help make their stories heard. Inspired by Mark Twain’s novel, Horia’s series shows homeless people as they are and as they’d once dreamed to become. It’s quite a stark contrast. Shot in a mobile studio, the preparations for each subject lasted between one and three weeks depending on how quickly he could find subjects. Horia’s wife assisted him on the shoots, helping with haircuts and make up while he found the costumes.
Tammy
Frank
Her biggest pain is that her grandmother and her first husband took the kids away from her.
Max
His wife wished to be a ballerina but because she was overweight, she felt uncomfortable to pose for this project. Frank is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met.
Honey
A regret that he has is that he doesn’t speak with his daughter anymore.
Bill
She is called Honey because of her sweet voice. She had her first performance in the hotel where I photographed her.
Henry
He wished to send these photos to his mother because she has Alzheimer and in this way she will recognise him when he will be back.
Mike
He is from Mississippi, at a point in his life he had to choose between his mother and father and that marked him.
Pops
He is now rebuilding his life, he has a place to stay and he started to work, thanks to an organisation from San Francisco.
Hatter
He was addicted for 12 years and he was in a rehab clinic. Unfortunately, he is now an alcoholic.
Jennifer
He got fined for more than $100,000 so he had to quit.
Dan
She is very shy when she is sober.
Michael
He will use this photo for the next book he will publish.
Shad
He lost his mom, his job and his house in two days.
McKayas
He realised that his life was so overwhelming so he didn’t have a moment to stop and think what his dreams were. Hearing and reading the stories that go along with the images is a sad reminder that this could happen to any of us, through no fault of our own. He lived in Mexico, Hawaii, Indonesia, Panama, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Peru and he plans to visit every country in the world. Horia Manolache is an editorial portrait photographer and Photography MFA student at Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He also earned a degree in filmmaking in Romania. You can find out more about him on his website, follow his work on Instagram, or reach out to him through Facebook. Horia is currently in the process of raising funds to publish the work in a book and donate to the Taking It To The Streets organisation. You can find out more information and order a copy for yourself on Indiegogo. He also has an exhibition starting on with his The Chairs project. The exhibition is at the Corden Potts Gallery in San Francisco, and starts on September 8th.
