This is my very first photography project. I began it 3 months after buying my first camera. A number of people have asked how I started this particular collection of candid portraits/street photography. Here’s how, and why:

I simply love people (especially candid) photos, whether street photography or portraits, but I was somewhat terrified to interact with strangers: a very bad thing for someone who liked humanitarian and street photography! Given this bit of info, it comes as no surprise my fear heavily influenced my photographic subject selection process. Originally, I would only shoot flowers, statues, etc—the typical, “safe,” items most new photographers tend to focus on.

I made a conscience decision to break my fear of meeting and interacting with people. That is how I began this collection: as a form of home-brewed psychotherapy!

In the beginning, I used a Canon EF 70-200mm lens, shooting people from a distance. I used this lens not to be sneaky or a voyeur, but because it was my ONLY lens at the time! In time I purchased a 50mm as well as a wide angle zoom, allowing me to get closer and more intimate with people. I was able to talk with people, learning their distinct stories of who they are. Over time I learned my psychotherapy project was being transformed.

I do not mean to be sneaky about taking the photos when they are sleep; rather, they simply are when I find them. When individuals are awake, I talk with them (this is why I was out shooting, to get over my fear, after all).

As I talked with the people I met, soon began to learn their stories of how they came to such living conditions as well as their personal life stories. Nearly every person in this gallery is former Military, who simply fell through the bureaucracy’s cracks. You must keep in mind, this is in Norfolk, Virginia, home of the world’s largest naval base, and one of the biggest government civil service employers in the country, yet here are these individuals who have fought and worked for their country, living literally on park benches. I’m happy to say this project has helped many of these individuals and others like them, by bringing attention to their plight in the media. Many have been reconnected with their families, and others have received help from the government. The 5 local city governments of Hampton Roads also have began projects to help fight homelessness within the area.