My studio has recently been moved to downtown Rochester, NY. I have been close to downtown for years, walking distance — but never close enough to feel the sense of community I did when spending weekends in Brooklyn or exploring other inner-city barrios around the world.

As the fall season offered warm sunny days, I felt drawn to explore a bit and learn about the city. So I started wandering downtown in the afternoons and weekends.

My adventures brought me into the paths of people busy with their lives and I began to see Rochester the same way I see other cities I visit: Full of potential Full of personality. Rochester began to graduate in my mind from nondescript familiarity to a place with feeling. I began to recognize people. The homeless, the business people, the commuters, skateboarders, shop owners. I learned their names. Anonymous Russians asked for directions; an English couple needed a restaurant recommendation. A couple kissed in the middle of rush-hour main street and quickly scurried to the safety of the sidewalk (missed that shot.) Richard stopped asking for money and started asking for pictures. “Come back and take another, I’ll have different clothes on,” he offered.

Each of these walks brought me closer to my surroundings. Scenes that were once examined from my car become reactive, changing because of my presence. The city became connected to me, lending me a kind of hypersensitivity to the surroundings. I became aware of even the smallest change as something out of sorts, a requirement for uncovering the unusual among the seemingly mundane.

I was increasingly enthusiastic about these walks as the images I captured began to turn into a short series. Perhaps more important, however, is my renewed sense of appreciation for the city I live in. Sure Rochester struggles with a number of chronic issues, most disturbingly a high crime rate and active drug trade. And it snows a lot. But it’s also filled with normal people who work and live here. It’s not all that different from any other place on earth and is equally worthy of exploration. Hopefully my images show that.