TEFF, THE DON, BY CHARLES RABEN

Photos by Charles Raben of Urban Face // edits by yours, truly.

- [17-8-13] - The essence of Living New York, stems from the luxury that any given thing, can occur at any given time. Now, this is a Universal law, but surely, it is more active in NYC. This encompasses events as small as finding a $100 bill, to events as large as being scouted by a topnotch agency. I can go down a list, but I don't think that's entirely necessary. I find that I am (usually) enthralled by the individuals that I meet on the streets of NYC; whether planned, or by chance. New York truly is where dreams come true. I'm sure some people would beg to differ, citing the overwhelming cost of Living(+) as an ailing force. But I've come to learn that dreams only work if and when you do. I mean, over the summer, I had the opportunity to meet a handful of my (f)ol(lowers); 99% of which was by chance. That's been a dream of mine; I am no stranger to my Love for Love. Somewhere in between, I met a wonderful 15-year-old photographer based here in NYC -- Charles Raben. I have said this over and over; he has a capacity for creating and eloquent-speaking far beyond most his age. He's what most would call an "old Soul" -- through and through. He photographed me initially right outside of the YMCA on 14th and 6th; I loved the photos so much, I asked him to photograph me on a second occasion in Chinatown, at night. He's a daytime/light photographer much like myself, but I wanted to present the challenge of shooting in low-light; sort of to test the depth of his skill-set, and as you can see from the photos above, he delivered. Check out his interview for Huffington Post. Since meeting Charles, I've been able to speak with him and pick his brain, and I can't help but be blinded by the promising future this kid has laid ahead of him. I keep thinking: "Imagine if I had this same thought process when I was his age". I mean, I'd be much more evolved. You know?