Street portraits and gritty stories

Amidst all the technical discussion going on in the forum (which I'm actually enjoying, as I await my NEX 7 from B&H) thought I'd share this set of portraits from Chris Andrade.

He takes portraits of people in NYC (mostly the Bronx) of people who've had tough lives. He tells their stories - with words and images. They're gritty stories, but they're not exploitative. As he says "I post people's stories as they tell them to me. I am not a journalist. I don't try to verify, just listen."

This set is fairly incredible:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arnade/sets/72157627894114489/

I enjoyed his other sets as well.

I know he shoots a Nikon, but I thought many of you who are interested in street photography and portraits would enjoy this as much as I did. And at the end of the day, we all take picture to tell stories. I was inspired by these. Made waiting for me delayed camera a lot easier. And reading these stories and seeing their faces only underscores what's really important in life.

Hope you enjoy

+K

Enjoy