keyboard kid.

I debated about whether I should post this photo or not. It's not one of my best shots. There are things I would've liked to do differently…different angles I might have attempted had I not been eager to go catch my train a few tunnels over, but this is what I managed to snap amid the hustle and bustle of the crowds shuffling through the subways of New York City. I think my favorite thing about it is that the little boy playing keyboard is black and white and the inanimate people illustrated with tiles are vibrant colors. That, and you can't help but imagine the crooning coming from that dapper young fellow's vocal chords with an expression like that on his face.

amber in malibu.

Last Monday, I made a spontaneous trip up to Malibu to see my old friend Amber, who just moved to the area to begin attending Pepperdine in the fall. She's got a quaint little studio in a large house that sits on the side of a hill overlooking the ocean, which meant we could literally stepp out of her doorway and begin hiking from there. The morning fog was still covering a lot of the area, but it created a beautiful contrast between the grey fog and the blue skies that covered the other half of the sky. I snapped this of Amber and just fell in love with her expression paired with the chilly grey look of the landscape surrounding her. It's even more interesting to me knowing that there were bright blue skies with wispy clouds at my back. Just goes to show that shooting from a different angle can change the whole feel of a photo.

old man mexico.

On Wednesday, I went down to Tijuana with my roommate and a great old friend I knew from my days in Greece to hear an incredible missionary/photographer speak at the ministry my landlord runs. After we picked the brain of the speaker for a while, we headed down the dirt road to one of the tianguis set up nearby. Tianguis are a temporary open air market with vendors selling things ranging from pizza and tacos to second-hand tools and clothing. We opted to go to one of my roommate's favorite taco stands on the way out of Tijuana, so we didn't end up getting anything there, but luckily, I ran into this fantastic older man. He was asking for money (I think), so I got my friend Amber to translate for me and ask permission for me to take his photo. He stared at me blankly without showing even a hint of having understood what she asked. I finally just pointed to the camera and then at him and he nodded, but kept his soulful eyes fixed on me expectantly. I wish he'd responded in order for me to get his name, but Old Man Mexico will just have to suffice. *(Side note…I usually try and avoid reflections of myself in my photos of others, but the one that contained less of a reflection just didn't strike me as much as this shot…and for the first time, I actually don't mind my reflection because it kind of shows how personal the photo is to me since I'm in there too.)