Steve – The Dying Breed

Posted by Justin Korn

on June 11, 2010

As I set out to do a walk around the block before grabbing lunch, I bumped into Steve smoking a cigarette. I approached him with my line, “Sorry to bother you. I’m a photographer doing a photography project on people smoking. Would you mind if I took your portrait?” Steve responded with, what I’m very used to hearing now, “No thanks.” I responded, “No problem, that’s why I ask” and as I turned to walk away, Steve said, “I’m not really a smoker.” I turned back around and asked Steve if he was trying to quit. He explained that he has quit several times, but that “these things are evil”, looking down at his cigarette. He continued to tell me a few stories of his attempts to quit. As I was thanking him for sharing his story, he said, “You know what? Go ahead and take my portrait.”