Some assignments give you photos.

Some give you friends you didn’t see coming.

I went to The Villages to photograph a story for @aarp about fraud in retirement communities. Important topic. Serious subject. Golf carts everywhere.

But the best part of the job is always the humans.

I got to work with one of my favorite photo directors, Michael Wichita, and my ride-or-die Wallace Cruz, who might be the best video editor alive. I spent the day meeting residents, hearing stories, and being reminded that life doesn’t get less interesting with age — it just gets better characters.

The first night, I had dinner at the restaurant bar. I met a charming Canadian man who has been divorced twice, still believes in love, and is actively searching for an amazing woman. I told him I’d put it in the caption so the internet can help.

🤌🏼💜 (He’s a babe, ladies. And smart. And funny.)

Then on the flight home I met Giles, a golfer with the calm wisdom of someone who has spent many hours walking very green grass. We just had dinner in Dallas like old friends who accidentally skipped the first twenty years of knowing each other.

This job is funny like that.

You show up to document someone else’s story… and quietly walk away with a few new ones of your own.

Photography has taken me all over the world, but the real gift is this: sitting at a bar, on a plane, or across a dinner table with a stranger who suddenly isn’t one anymore.