May I take your picture?

For some reason this is a difficult question for me to ask. I don't want to intrude upon another's personal space. I fear they will be suspicious of my motives or annoyed at the interruption of their thoughts or just embarrassed to pose for the camera in a public setting.

And so my photographic work to date has been primarily landscapes and still lifes and family pics and moments in time that don't need to be asked permission. But I am tiring of this work and am now making some effort to get over my reluctance to photograph some of the many interesting people I see.

This man is standing on Bleecker street in NYC just outside the Blind Tiger Ale House where I have sampled a few with friends. We were celebrating our completion of the Five Boro Tour. We are unlocking our bikes from a tree as a steady flow of pedestrians and cars go by on this simply gorgeous sunny Sunday. I look up from my task to see him quietly smoking and taking in the scene and for some reason do not hesitate this time.  I ask, showing him my camera and he nods with a small smile. I got a very "cool gentleman" vibe from this man.