Whether a private event, a public spectacle, or just walking aimlessly I enjoy engaging strangers. As far as portraiture goes you've got about 30 seconds to gain the trust of the person whom you've asked to photograph. All of the examples here are of people I didn't know at the time I took their picture yet I'm now friends with many of them.
Head shot, portrait photography I've taken in the studio, some in the wild.
I was fortunate to visit the city of Kumasi within the Ashanti region of Ghana. I was the guest of a friend of mine who has a house and family there. For years I'd wanted to visit the African continent and Ghana is an especially worthwhile destination. Formerly known as the Gold Coast, Ghana peacefully won their independence from England in 1957.
I was there for 10 days and was able to attend their independence celebration as well as a funeral, which is a 24 hour affair. The people are remarkably friendly and welcoming to strangers.
My friend Jose Viegas invited me to visit his hometown of Santa Cruz De Juventino Rosas (usually just Juventino Rosas) and help him document their annual Virgin of The Guadalupe parade. I've been to Mexico numerous times but this was my first trip where I lived like a local, far from tourists or tourist destinations. For the first time in my life I was seeing the real Mexico. I created a Tumblr site dedicated to my trip to Juventino Rosas where you can see hundreds of photos I took that week.
Other photos seen on this page were taken in the sleepy beach town called Bucerias, or San Miguel de Allende, or Guanajuato.
Portraits of artists
