My love of photographing Manhattan streetscapes began upon my first visit in 1996. The grittiness of the city captivated me. In 1997 I was fortunate to return and live there for 3 years. During this time, I'd roam the streets capturing the endless subjects, while using very high speed film and adding contrast to the prints in order to infuse the grittiness and toughness of the city into my pictures. A couple of visits years later reflected my age, I guess, as I was content with digital reproduction of the more traditional scenes.