this is charlie.

This is Charlie. He's from St. Lucia and I met him in the parking lot of Hardee's shortly after I went in and ordered food after taking photos of Joe. I saw him sitting at a table and reading a newspaper and was really intrigued. I kept my eye on him and was waiting for the perfect moment to go over when he suddenly got up and walked out. I almost admitted defeat when my friend Debbie made some comment about how I'd lost my chance. Never one to give up, I bolted out of my chair (almost hitting a Hardee's employee while doing so) and ran out the door to grab a photo of him. It turns out he wasn't leaving at all, but going to the payphone on the corner to make a call. I stood and talked for him for a few minutes while taking his photo, then went back inside to eat. (Debbie got this shot of me chatting with him outside…I've never had a photo of me interacting with one of my street portrait subjects before, haha.)

Shortly after I finished eating, Charlie came over and asked me to come out to his car to hear his music. I happily obliged and even got a short clip of video of the experience…his music was fantastic!

I love how many great experiences I get simply from walking up to strangers and asking to photograph them. If there was ever a reason to get over your fear of approaching strangers, the entertaining stories alone should be it!