For me, the stars are the invisible people on the street that people don't really get a chance to know.

When I approach a person, I feel a certain way. If I don't feel that way, I'm not going to approach that individual. "I see something in you" - I want the person to know that.

When a photographer or a person sees your beauty, your inner beauty, it makes you feel special like, "Wow, someone saw that within me."

I think that's what the war photography did for me. It showed me the human side of people and how certain circumstances can change people's lives.

For me, the stars are the invisible people on the street that people don't really get a chance to know.

What I strive to do through my work, is to teach compassion. You need to have a lot of it, in this day and time, and it's lacking.

I wanted to go amongst gangbangers, to understand this war they were fighting amongst each other. I wanted to document it, [also] to show the human side of it.