As a photographer I think it is very important that you take time out to shoot in the streets. I love street photography and often use it as a means to wind down from the rest of my work and keep my skills sharp. The street is so unpredictable that it forces you to be on your toes and make something out of nothing. At any given moment you could make a picture in any direction around you, but it is up to you to show your own style, creativity, and vision by what you select to focus on. I think this is very important because it allows you to really focus your skills and predict what people are going to do in an environment before it even happens. Although I do not live in a big city I am always photographing the same streets in my home town. Most of these photos never see the light of day, but you never know the day you walk to the same corner store you always walk to could be the day you finally get that great shot even though you are walking on the same streets and sidewalks you have 100 times. These are a collection of shots that I took on a trip to New York and Philly last year that was strictly street shooting based. I learned so much in three days about reading my environment, talking to people, and sitting back and letting things unfold in front of me. I got punched by one person who did not want me to take their photograph, almost ran over by a cop car, and damn near threw fists in the street with a drunk college student and I would gladly do it all over again.