Vladimir

Vladimir a photo by Thomas Hawk on Flickr.

Recently I blogged about a new project that I am starting called $2 portraits. The idea is that I will offer $2 to anyone who asks me for money from now on in exchange for their portrait.

I met Vladimir at about 1:45 earlier this morning down around the Pike Place Market area of Seattle. Vladimir asked me for money and I told him about my $2 portrait project. When I told him about my project he said he'd do it for $5. I told him that I only paid $2 for the project and he agreed to pose.

Vladimir did not seem to want to talk about himself. When I asked him questions he was not very responsive. I asked him if he had family he said no. But he then added that the entire world was his family. Vladimir said he'd been in Seattle 4 years and had lived in Philadelphia for 10 years before that.

After I took his portrait and paid Vladimir he asked me for more money again. He said he could write me a poem for more money.

Update: Some people have asked me if it would be ok if they start their own version of this project as well. I think that is great and believe that frequently the best projects become collaborative. With that in mind I've created a new $2 Portraits group on Flickr. If you'd to, feel free to join the group and post your own $2 portraits there.