I've always been scared of taking portraits. Photographing static objects and scenes is an intensely private activity; when a human is the subject, the process is not only more public, but more risky. The presence of a human within the photographic frame also adds the potential for crucial aspects of the image to develop spontaneously, out of the photographer's control and separate from his or her creative vision. The photographs in this gallery represent a project I began several months ago partly with the goal of overcoming my deep aversion to portrait-making. I decided to do this not by engaging in planned shoots with a familiar subject, but rather with spontaneous street photography.

Some of the portraits focus more on the subject, others more on the background, but in all of the photographs the relationship of the subject to his or her surroundings is important. While I began this project as more of an exercise than anything else, I found not only the process interesting, but the images interesting as well, especially for the questions they raise about what may be going on in the subjects mind: do they know they are being photographed or are they completely oblivious? If they do know, does this awareness disturb them, flatter them, confuse them?

     Thank you for viewing my work. To contact me please send an email to kaziops@gmail.com.