The bleating of a distant siren, glass storefronts catching the red and green reflection of changing stoplights, worn awnings flapping in the wind. An old man pushes a twisted shopping cart while trash cans line the grubby sidewalk like dutiful soldiers. A plastic bag swirling gradually up, a parachute caught in the whirlwind. The sights, the sounds, the smells of the street are all around.

Street photography, at its core, is all about truth – about finding the honesty in real life.

To capture the beauty in chaos and expose the rawness.

To fully experience the city, to watch, to listen and observe. To see it the way it was meant to be seen.

Street photography is holding a mirror up to the disharmony and peeling off the band-aid. It’s an un-rehearsed play, a stage where anything can happen.

Without a backdrop, you have to pay careful attention and always be ready to create at a moment’s notice. How do you frame your subjects with the tools at hand? How do you work with the shadows and light, the buildings and doorways?

Street photography pushes you to move beyond what you know. Shoot that beautiful woman exiting a cab, the crow picking at a pizza crust, the lone baker turning on the lights and starting his 3 am shift.

The beauty of street photography is in the everydayness of it – capturing the magic in the ordinary – ultimately revealing all that is true.