I spent last Friday afternoon cruising around downtown Phoenix taking photos (it was too damn hot). While doing so, I met this guy who I ended up talking to for a couple hours about everything you can imagine. I was taking pictures of this abandoned hotel when he came up to me and gave me an in depth and very interesting history lesson on the building I was taking photos of. What struck me immediately was that he was a very smart and articulate man; who from the best I can judge just hit a string of bad luck in his life and ended up homeless. That's the short story at least... anyway I helped him out with some cash and he agreed to let me take a few portraits of him before I left. This is the result. It's easy to see a homeless individual and make assumptions about how they got there... but how often do you consider the possibility that they really are out on the street through no fault of their own? I was pretty happy with how these portraits came out, and I realized after this experience that many of the most interesting "models" are roaming our streets everyday... and sometimes its worth it to take a chance and strike up a conversation with them. It can end up being a great experience.

This shot also strongly inspired by my good friend and his Poverty Series.