So, I like the moments.  Have ya noticed?  Haha! 

I feel like after several years of photography training and focusing on anticipation skills and moving to where the ball is going rather than where the ball currently is has made my photojournalism skills a lot stronger than when I started out in this business.  Photographing people and events from a documentary-style perspective has become second-nature for me.  I prefer it.  I prefer it so much to the point that portraits often feel like work to me.  Posing and having people stare into my camera (when it feels like they are staring at me) are not my favorite pastimes.  They mess up my mojo and make me feel super awkward.  So...what do I do when I feel weak in an area?  I give myself a challenge (or, if you are a Cosby Show fan, a chall-enge)!

When Bobby and I visited New York City last month, he was in meetings for the first 2 days.  Most people in NYC with a busy spouse would see the sights or shop till their feet fell off, but no.  I had to go and make things difficult.  I'm an overachiever like that.  My goal?  I wanted to end up with 10 decent portraits of people in New York City. 

I took a cab from the Waldorf Astoria and just told the driver to drop me at Delancey and Orchard...the beginnings of the Lower East Side.  I walked the LES, Chinatown, Soho, Little Italy, and NoLIta for hours, was rejected by some, but accepted by many.  It was fascinating watching the reactions of people of different cultures to the camera and to me.  Even more than that, it was a valuable lesson, examining my own experience as I approached potential subjects, asked permission, was bluntly rebuffed, got hit on, was warmly accepted, and exchanged contact information with my subjects (obvi NOT the dude who hit on me!).  This challenge made me feel surprisingly alive and connected, even though there were no "moments" captured...just real, live people.  I'm so glad I did this.  Here are the results.