Close Ups With Strangers Vol. 2 is a project of collected images taken in 2025 in Tokyo, Japan, primarily around Harajuku , Shibuya, and Shimokitazawa.  

On my first day in Tokyo,  I was wandering around Shimokitazawa after dinner with my brother and sister-in-law when a highly stylized human walked by with fangs dangling from their front lips. As most moments like this go for me, I was filled with an unrelenting urge to run after them and ask for a portrait. Of course, I didn’t, because, well, I was scared by the prospect of being told “No”. Immediately swallowed by my shame, I understood that, yet again,  I don’t have the courage to face the possibility of rejection and that fear is the dictator to my creative longings. Later that evening I asked my brother (who lives in Japan), “Do you think people like that would be ok with having their portrait taken?” Quickly Aaron replied, “If they are dressed like that, they want their photo taken.” I stewed over the idea all night - what if “Yes” was a possibility too? The following day we were, again, walking around Shimokitazawa after dinner when I saw a couple decked out in the most amazing mix of punk/goth/rocker fashion (photo on right). I hinted I was ready to ask for a photo and Aaron and Michelle silently and supportively followed as we chased them. To my complete and utter surprise, they said “Yes” and “Do you want just one or both of us?” I could hardly hold my camera because my hands were shaking from my heart pounding out one nervous thought after another (sounds insane but it’s true). Somehow I remembered to take more than one photo and move my feet to get unapologetically up close. I showed them the photo and thanked them - they smiled at the photo and at me. Something like... joy? curiosity? hope? bloomed inside of me. What if I could do this again tomorrow and have the same outcome? 

Every day after that was filled with so many encouraging moments of consent. Each “yes” made me feel more brave than the last and encouraged me to keep going, keep trying. I didn’t know this trip would be about being brave but I’m glad it was.



Many thanks to Aaron and Michelle - without your support, I would not have taken any of these photos.