Sometimes we are just divided, but we still, for the most part, we have similar hopes and dreams.

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.

Photography is humbling, it really is, and it really allows for me to atone for some of the missteps I've made throughout the course of my life.

I think what it was with the war photography was the concerned eye, the desire to document these situations to show the world the horrors of war. It inspired me to document prostitution; inspired me to document homelessness in America. We are the richest country in the world, yet we have people suffering, so it helped me to look at things in that manner.

The images of war inspired me to create, to go to different situations and communities, to document the human side of people, to show a side that we don't see.

The majority of the people I've taken photographs of, I've had conversations with. "What are your goals and aspirations?" "What are you about?" It's not just about me capturing the image; I want to know what you are about.

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