PORTRAITS
OF STRANGERS

I had to ask.

Person with long hair, a chain necklace and a green plaid dress, standing among parked cars.
The first portrait of a stranger I ever asked for.
Two people in black T-shirts and wrestling masks, one seated in front and one standing behind, beside a building.
Person in a yellow striped dress tipping a wide straw hat on a sunlit street.

Not taken.
Asked for.

Person in reflective sunglasses and a university sweatshirt, standing in front of a busy outdoor food stand.
Two people in winter hats and coats, standing together against a wall of dry climbing vines.

To ask, I had to get closer.

South Congress, Austin, Texas. Where I learned to ask for the portrait.

Person in a gold jacket, helmet and sunglasses on a scooter, in front of a parking garage entrance.
Person seated at a perforated metal bus shelter, with wind blowing long hair across their face.
Person in a plaid shirt and safety vest with a bicycle, standing under a small tree on a wide sidewalk.
El Paso, Texas.
Person in a face mask and patterned top pointing a camera back at the photographer, in the middle of a city street.
Person in a bandana and glasses, smiling and holding a video camera rig against their chest.
Person in a cap and T-shirt holding a twin-lens camera at their waist, in front of a stone building corner.

To get closer, the headphones came out.

Right off Lake Austin, Austin, Texas. One of my favorite places to walk.

Black-and-white portrait of a bearded person in a helmet, sunglasses and cycling gloves, seated at the base of a tall concrete column.

Some of them told me stories I'll never forget.

Instant-film portrait of a person in a sleeveless white top and pendant, on a tree-lined street with parked cars.
Instant-film portrait at night of a person in a face mask leaning back on a scooter, with both sneakers up on the handlebars.
Instant-film portrait of a person in dark sunglasses and a black T-shirt, on a city street lined with tall buildings.
Instant-film portrait of a person with curly hair and round glasses, in front of a graffiti-covered metal shutter.
Instant-film portrait of a person in a hat, face mask and pink shirt, beside a graffiti wall and a bicycle.
Instant-film portrait of a person in a patterned shirt and sunglasses, seated on a yellow bench on a city corner.

New York City