This is my friend Marcos Mendoza. He’s an artist, a music maker and an entrepreneur.

He’s also a deep thinker. And clearly stylish too.

He and I did a photoshoot a few weeks back to capture this chapter in his journey.

I was shocked at how much he’s grown and changed since our last shoot. But also glad to see how much he stayed the same.

Shoutout to every artist out there who just keeps showing up, unwilling to ever give up on their dreams.

Just like my friend Marcos.

PS: If you are interested in working together I have a great promo for the summer. Send me a DM and I’ll send you the details.

Literally seconds after I photographed Isaac, I noticed Eileen sitting on a bench a few feet away. She was smoking a cigarette and looked very deep in thought. For a moment, I considered walking past because I didn’t want to bother her.

And to be honest, I feel much more shy approaching women.

I am aware that as a man who is a stranger, approaching a woman can be intimidating for them. So I make extra effort to act respectfully and leave lots of room for people to say no.

I believe there is a way to do this with respect that ensures all people—but particularly women—are honoured.

I do not want to “steal a photo” or force someone to be a part of this art project.

I’m sure there will be times I mess up, but I am committed to learning and growing as a human and an artist with each encounter.

But there’s another reason I feel shy. And that’s because it hits harder when a woman says no.

I think it’s because when I was in my 20s, there were many women I wanted to say hi to, but didn’t.

Instead of talking to women, I would play out the interaction in my mind and convince myself it would end in a shutdown. I didn’t want to face this imaginary rejection, so I mostly chickened out.

And I still hold this fear of rejection in my body.

It makes me wonder... How much are we holding on to that is weighing us down, that isn’t even based on reality? That’s based on our imagination playing out worst case scenarios?

My goal here is to reflect on this part of myself with love and compassion and see if there is something I am finally ready to let go of.

I want to continue to showcase women and share their stories through this project. And to do that I will need to continually find more empathy and courage.

Love,

D

PS: If you are interested in working together I have a great promo for the summer. Send me a DM and I’ll send you the details.

PPS: If you want to see the behind the scenes video of me approaching Eileen and taking these photos, check out my Instagram or my TikTok.

Someone once told me that keeping a sincere compliment to yourself is like buying someone a gift, wrapping it up, and never actually giving it to them.

A few years ago I decided to say nice things to people in the moments when I actually felt them.

This is hard, especially with people I don’t know that well. I have this fear that they will respond with something harsh like, “Thanks Captain Obvious. Did you think I didn’t know that?”

But 95% of the time when I give people compliments, the recipient is surprised. It’s as if they don’t see what the rest of us can see so clearly.

This shocks me every time, until I remember that there is something about the human condition that makes it hard for us to fully appreciate ourselves.

When I approached him for a surprise photoshoot, Isaac was on his way home from grocery shopping.

I don’t know about you guys, but I never look this good when I go grocery shopping. This dude had style and swagger.

When I found out he had never done a photoshoot before I couldn’t help but share with him that maybe he should explore modelling and photography. He was sincerely surprised by my compliment and when I showed him the photos at the end, he had a big smile on his face.

I wonder why it’s so hard to see in ourselves what others can see so effortlessly?

Love,

D

PS: If you are interested in working together I have a great promo for the summer. Send me a DM and I’ll send you the details.

PPS: If you want to see the behind the scenes video of me approaching Isaac and taking these photos, check out my Instagram or my TikTok.

When I was a kid I was scared of men with tattoos.

Tattoos were not nearly as popular as they are now, and most humans who had lots of tattoos looked tough … at least that’s what I told myself.

I noticed Ian immediately from the other side of the street; he had a swagger to him. I thought there was a good chance he would tell me to get lost. I was happy to be walking in the opposite direction.

Fast forward to an hour later. Without noticing I walked back to where I first saw Ian. Lo and behold, he was in the exact same spot smoking another cigarette.

Do or die time Darius.

I said hi.

He seemed totally unaffected by me. I politely asked if we could do a 1-minute photoshoot and he said “I don’t care. I’m smoking my cigarette.”

I had half a cigarette’s length to get my shots.

At some point I asked Ian if he would lean up against the wall for a photo. With zero hesitation and a smirk on his face Ian said, “No. That’s not something I would do.”

I have never in over 700,000 photos had someone say no to one of my posing suggestions. It felt radically honest and a part of me really enjoyed it.

No show. No performance. No shits given about me and my fancy camera.

This dude was just being himself. And there’s something really refreshing about that.

This is part 1 of this story. It gets even more interesting in part 2. Stay tuned.

D

PS: If you are interested in working together I have a great promo for the summer. Send me a DM and I’ll send you the details.

PPS: If you want to see the behind the scenes video of me approaching Ian and taking these photos, check out my Instagram or my TikTok.

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Francis was a kind and handsome man. He was also very funny. He was cracking jokes throughout our shoot about being more famous than Jackie Chan. :)

This photoshoot was also a unique challenge, as Francis wanted to keep his mask on for all the photos. Half of his face was totally covered for every single photo.

I couldn’t help think to myself:

“Is it even possible to get a good portrait of someone when you can’t see their face?”

You tell me?

Can you feel this beautiful man’s energy in these photos?

Love,

D

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PS: If you are interested in working together I have a great promo for the summer. Send me a DM and I’ll send you the details.

PPS: If you want to see the behind the scenes video of me approaching Francis and taking these photos, check out my Instagram or my TikTok.

When I approached Omaar, I had no clue he was a professional fashion photographer.

And to be honest, I probably wouldn’t have gone up to him if I knew beforehand.

(In case you didn’t know, it’s super intimidating taking photos of other pro photographers!)

I only found out he was a photographer at the very end of our shoot. He makes a living taking photos in the fashion industry, but never gets his own photo taken.

There was a soft and gentle energy to Omaar. When I asked him a question at the end of the shoot, he paused long and hard before answering it. In the behind the scenes video, I was tempted to cut out the long pause, but it felt wrong… as if I was removing the essence of this encounter with Omaar.

After much consideration, I now appreciate how deep and long he thought before answering my question. I’m glad I left it in.

Something I learned from this shoot:

It takes courage to slow things down and really be present with the moment.

Just because social media rewards being fast doesn’t mean slower and deeper content isn’t important. Don’t be afraid to take your time.

Sincerely,

D

PS: If you are interested in working together I have a great promo for the summer. Send me a DM and I’ll send you the details.

PPS: If you want to see the behind the scenes video of me approaching Omaar and taking these photos, check out my Instagram or my TikTok.

It’s been almost 2 months since I started this photography project and I am shocked by how much I have learned in just a few short weeks.

Each person I meet teaches me something new…

Sometimes it’s a technical photography lesson.

Sometimes it’s a lesson about human communication.

Other times it’s a lesson about human expression.

My encounter with Taeo taught me a very simple lesson. Something that I actually experienced several times before I met Taeo, but it finally clicked into place:

People with fashion style like having their photos taken.

I’m talking about humans who put thought and effort into the art they put on their bodies.

I imagine humans like Taeo have carefully selected each element they wear, just like an art curator would carefully select which pieces to showcase in a gallery. Whether it’s loud or subtle, it’s not an accident.

It might look effortless, but my guess is that a lot of heart goes into having a style like Taeo’s.

The idea of having that effort seen or recognized through the lens of a street photographer might feel nice for a stylish human like Taeo.

Taeo, if you somehow end up reading this let me know: do you approach your personal style like an art project?

Love,

D

PS: If you are interested in working together I have a great promo for the summer. Send me a DM and I’ll send you the details.

PPS: If you want to see the behind the scenes video of me approaching Taeo and making these photos, check out my Instagram or my TikTok. It’s less than 60 seconds long and super fun.

I was off my game, walking around the city streets for almost an hour.

I let at least 7 really interesting humans walk right by me; not saying a word, I was frozen by overthinking.

Maybe it was because I showed up so late. I had an earlier photoshoot with a client that went amazingly well, but definitely took a lot of energy so I decided to rest before leaving. By the time I had my camera ready and jumped into my car to head downtown it was almost 8pm.

I was losing daylight fast.

I couldn’t help but think, “Is today the day I get totally shut out and am not able to meet one stranger? Maybe I should just call it a day and go home.”

So I took a deep breath and slowed everything down.

Instead of placing my energy in a potential future encounter, I brought it back to the here and now. I became present to the fascinating streets of Toronto. So creative, so multicultural and eclectic. The sounds, the music, the fashion and the deeply interesting humans everywhere.

I almost forgot I had a camera in my hand.

Before I knew it, I ran into 2 super cool humans back to back (which has never happened before). The first stranger literally led me to the second one just a few seconds apart.

Aslan was the second human. I saw him walk right by me as I was finishing the first shoot and I knew I had only seconds to approach him.

He had this energy like he was late to hang out with friends. He was on his phone and I guessed he was looking for an address or maybe a restaurant.

In my head I thought, “There is a good chance this dude does not have time for a photoshoot, even if it is 30 seconds,” but I knew I had to ask anyway.

And I’m so glad I did.

His energy felt easy, free and joyful. I also loved his cryptic answer to my question at the end.

me: If you could send a message back to your younger self, what message would you send?

him: Leave the doors open. Be happy.

There was a good lesson in this experience: sometimes the most productive thing you can do is to slow down and let go.

Sincerely,

D

PS: If you are interested in working together I have a great promo for the summer. Send me a DM and I’ll send you the details.

PPS: If you want to see the behind the scenes video of me approaching Aslan and making these photos, check out my Instagram or my TikTok. It’s less than 60 seconds long and super fun.

Most people are totally oblivious to me until I say hi.

Eli, on the other hand… spotted me coming from a mile away.

He actually started talking to me before I could say a word.

Somehow he knew exactly what I was doing before I could even introduce myself. For a moment I thought maybe he’s one of those TikTok street photographers I admire so much—the ones that have inspired this project.

Eli was playful and honest. He also had a surprisingly deep answer to my question at the end of the photoshoot. Despite Eli’s very vulnerable answer to my final question, he had a very mysterious air to him.

If you told me he was a tech billionaire, I’d believe you.

Or if you said he was a musician hitchhiking across North America, I’d believe you too.

I appreciate the time I got with Eli.

I am also grateful for his answer to my question at the end of the shoot, which I captured on video and will share on TikTok and Instagram soon.

When people are willing to go deep and be vulnerable with a stranger, that is a very special thing in my books.

The first time I approached Quinn and asked if I could take her photo, she politely said, “No thank you, I’m meeting someone and I’m late.”

I’ve been taking photos of strangers for the past 6 weeks now and surprisingly very few people decline my offer to take their photos.

I was disappointed that I couldn’t take any photos of Quinn, but I smiled and moved on.

20 minutes later on a totally different street, I ran into Quinn once again. I didn’t want to bother her and made sure to respect her space. I said hi again while passing and as I was walking away I asked, “Any interest in that photo?”

She smiled and said something I couldn’t hear, so I slowly walked back to see what she said. Apparently that friend Quinn was meeting still hadn’t shown up yet, so she was now open to taking a few photos—so long as it was fast. Perfect!

The shoot lasted maybe 90 seconds and ended almost exactly when her friend showed up. I even managed to get a short behind the scenes video of the shoot and got her permission to share the video too.

I love the photos we took together and hope somehow Quinn will see them, and I gave Quinn a card with my NoStrangers.art website link. But here’s the thing about photographing strangers on the street: there’s always a chance you will never see them again.

This whole project is a good exercise in letting go and surrendering to the mysterious ways of the Universe.

>> CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTOS <<