Often, a photo isn’t about the technical or artistic merits of the photo itself; it’s about documenting the experience of the moment. It’s the quaint café of your first morning in Tokyo, perhaps. Some moments just resonate.

Around the corner from this spot, there’s a crowd waiting at a bus stop on a busy street. Off to the side, this guy is just doing his own thing. 

At street level, for a variety of reasons, people are suspicious of the camera. They want to know how the photo will be used, understandably. Other times, I approach someone on a human level — simply by asking their name — and they match that energy.

But, there’s another level. The best level — one where people are so in-tune with the moment, and so connected, whether the photo conveys it or not, that the experience stays with you long after.

But, I have to wonder, is it because of other less obvious factors? Does something about this person remind me of someone I once knew?

In the case of James, perhaps. In a rapid fire exchange of overlapping introductions,  when I asked him his name, he told me his. Then asked for mine. when I told him my first name, he then told me his last name, and asked for mine. That’s uncommon. Usually, I get an abbreviated name, or a nickname — maybe because of the area I’m often shooting.