Hasta La Ideas

by Alison Zavos for Feature Shoot

Originally from Lima, Peru, photographer Chris Zedano has been living and working in New York since 2002. For his project, “Staple Street,” he photographed some of New York’s most interesting characters on the eponymous street dating back to at least the early 19th century in lower Manhattan .

Who are your subjects, where did you find them and how did you initially approach them about being part of the project?

My subjects are performers and interesting characters from New York City. It’s people that I’ve always been curious about. I found them through extensive research. I’d go through periodicals and look for articles about people that I find interesting for the project or sometimes articles on events in NYC. I would follow my sitters to their shows and meet more performers at venues. Also, I used to walk around the city and talk to people that I believed would be great subjects for the project.

I started working with sideshow performers. Once I had a site with some images, it was a lot easier to get more people involved. I’ve been lucky to work with so many amazing people that were excited about the project. In a lot of the shoots, people came with great ideas, which made it easy.

When did you first come across Staple Street and what is it about the street that makes it so special to you?

Continue reading and see more images after the jump.