Approaching strangers on the street has never been easy for me, especially when you have a bulky DSLR in your hand. People in France are extremely cautious and so far i’ve mostly had negative responses to my requests to make a photograph, their portrait. But when you do get a rare permission to take a photo, my advice for you – go for it, don’t take just one, take as any pictures as you can, overstay your welcome. There is a great article written by Eric Kim about the myth of The Decisive Moment and the importance to work the scene.

On today’s walk i stopped to have a chat with a homeless man that was sitting on the stairs with his dog. At that moment of time i didn’t even think about putting a camera to his face and taking a snap shot and moving on. We had a conversation about his daily life and troubles, he shared that he used to be an alcoholic for many years but he dropped the habit and hasn’t touched the bottle in 10 years, he also told me that he has 6 dogs that guard and protect him and remain his best friends in this world. At the end of our conversation i asked him if i could take a few pictures of him and his dog, and he happily agreed.

I felt i had to share this encounter with you as this is probably my first ever proper interaction on street and the fact that i managed to take a few photos of this person only made it better and i feel more confident and motivated to hit the streets another time.

Take care and keep your eyes peeled!