Portraits Of Boston: An Entertainer

One of the many perks of working on "Portraits of Boston" is knowing that eventually every “most” or “best” chance encounter is destined to be surpassed, its reign doomed by the inevitable occurrence of something better or odder, but not knowing when it will happen.

Until last night, my most unusual photo shoot had taken place back in April when a woman in Roxbury danced and sang and crawled for the camera for half an hour before running her hands over my body right on the street.

This man’s theatrics went a step further. He didn’t find my body enticing but was quite generous showcasing his. I’m posting a few of the less indecent photos, but some I will have to keep to myself, locked in a treasured vault, only to be opened in times of greatest need for being cheered up. Last night, every time I looked at some of his pictures I fell into a laughing frenzy, tears streaming down my face. I know one day I will meet a character greater than him, but right now it’s hard to imagine.

After witnessing his twerking and breakdancing skills, stamina, inventiveness, enthusiasm and apparently endless arsenal of moves, I had no choice but to exclaim:

“Man, you’ve got talent! You should be an entertainer!”

“What do you mean,” he yelled back, “I already am!”

Portraits of Boston is a project of independent photographer Ivan Velinov. He is regularly sharing some of his favorite portraits with WBUR. Visit his website to see the hundreds of portraits he has taken on the streets of Boston.