Growing up in small-town Manitoba, I idolized the lives of those living in the big cities of America. The idea of variety, possibility and opportunity around every corner was captivating compared to the insolation of farm life. As a visual person, there was also a deep enthusiasm for places like Manhattan, where you could see thousands of people walk the streets in a single day.

Street photography, for me, started as a way to test the quality of new photo cameras. So out of my downtown Winnipeg condo, I would venture, taking photos of whatever greeted me outside. This testing mantra blossomed into a new hobby for me, quickly entranced by the candid, slice-of-life images I was getting.

When I booked my ticket to New York City for the first time, I knew that I wanted to do something which would pay homage to this passion. That's when I reached out to the New York City Street Photography Collective to ask if they had a community member who could help me out.

The project was simple.

To have a street photographer take pictures of me as I was taking street photos. You can see the results below.

Answering my email, photographer Jorge Garcia, Founder of the NYCSPC. He agreed to meet me in Midtown Manhattan for my photo session.

Working with Jorge was an absolute blast. He's a wealth of photography knowledge and knows the NYC area inside and out. We shot in Time Square, Grand Central Station, and outside the New York Public Library. Travelling down 42nd street, the evening was full of colourful opportunities to capture moments unique to NYC.

You can see his work here.

Some people see the Empire State Building, and others the Statue of Liberty. Sure, there's no shortage of sites in NYC. My journey, however, was a personal project which turned out better than I imagined.

I want to thank Jorge for delivering this project beyond expectations.

Josh Diaz is a filmmaker and video editor based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.