Different Interpretations of a Photograph

[stormdog]

On Flickr, someone commented on a photograph I have of Bourbon Street in New Orleans. One of many of Bourbon Street, this one happens to include a stripper standing outside of a club. The commenter invited it to five or six different photo groups for sexualized pictures of women, and told me how "brave" I was to take the photograph. I was taking pictures of the area just to convey a sense of what the scene there is like, and that includes strip clubs. That kind of comment makes me feel slimy just by association.

I recognize that my photographs of urban ruins are potentially exploitive, but not in nearly so direct a way, and I try to avoid it there too by contextualizing them and giving them meaning beyond simple 'ruin porn.'