Karlyn is a NY based stage actress with experience in production. I met with Karlyn in between 40th and Broadway on a sunny, (but cold) January afternoon for a casual portrait session; which was something I wanted to do for a long time; probably ever since I became aware of timeless pictures like Denis Stock's photographs of James Dean for Life Magazine or the NY punk scene in the 70s.

Before meeting with Karlyn, I spent about an hour walking around Times Square and Broadway doing street photography, so just about everything called out for my attention, like reflections on store windows, walls, and even smoke coming out from chimneys. While keeping my eyes open for any location that would come in handy for my portraits with Karlyn, I came up with the idea of whenever possible, include people as a framing device.

For this portrait session with Karlyn, I wanted to keep things simple and leave room for spontaneity, so I mostly used a 50mm F1.4 lens and kept my shutter speed faster than usual, with a medium-size aperture and the ISO level set at 800; which was a little nerve-racking since I shoot with an older DSLR.

The results, I hope, portray a young creative person in the midst of a fast-paced, social environment which leaves very little room for self-introspection.

Click here to take a look at Karlyn in action!