Street Portraits

So, my final holiday of 2006 was a short-break in New York. It was fantastic, as always. Unseasonably warm weather certainly helped, as did the great exchange rate of which I took full advantage. New kit was purchased, as was Aperture. I urge all Mac-using photographers to get this, it is a really excellent way to organise your digital workflow. I wasn't aware I needed such a thing until Aperture. I would like to see this crossing to other platforms so PC-users can also benefit. Mac-users are so community spirited. Or 'smug' as it is also known.

Anyway, back to the travelogue. I used the opportunity to get some college work done, set against the backdrop of Glamourous Manhattan. My inspiration for these photos was the environmental portraits of August Sander and Joel Sternfeld. I found approaching strangers quite nerve-wracking, but almost everyone I asked agreed to have their portrait taken. The spirt of the project was to find people who were on their way to somewhere, or working, or just caught up in the routine of their daily lives. The portraits such capture a moment in their day and provide parallels to routine in the viewers own life.