Being a photographer offers many privileges, one of which is the fascinating people I get to meet along the way. I am breaking this into two parts (or more), as there are too many to put into one post.

In no particular order, I’ll start with Aaron Fletcher. Aaron is a homeless man in Ashland, Oregon who raises sheep and uses their milk for his diet and to sell. Aaron makes his living by bartering for places to sleep and helps with yard work and small chores, in addition to wool felting, wool spinning, cheesemaking.  He considers himself an eco-activist and has been promoting sheep’s milk since 2014. Aaron’s website is 123homefree.com.

The next person is The Russian. I was working on a self-promotion piece about cars and their owners, and I wanted to find someone with gold teeth for a particular car with an interesting grille. (Most of the promos featured the actual owner, this  one was the exception.) I found this gentleman and he spoke no English, but we managed to get something we were both happy with.

I met Machete Man in Ponce, Puerto  Rico while I was there last year shooting for FEMA. When I came upon him he was in the middle of the street, swinging this giant machete. Later on, I drove by, and he was seated in this chair and was happy to have his portrait taken.

Also while I was in Puerto Rico, I met a man selling bananas and other miscellaneous items.  The things that struck me were a) that bananas were overripe, and b) I loved the way his pants matched the bananas. He was happy to pose for me.

Lastly, for this installment, I have Chicken Man. This was shot during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. This gentleman was very concerned because the shelters would not allow him inside with his chickens. I assured him that I would do my best and see what I could do. Alas, chickens indeed were not allowed into the shelters, and he had to stay elsewhere.