Baltimore Night Out Against Crime.

_36W6423 — "A boy named Azor poses for a portrait during a 'National Night Out Against Crime' event in Baltimore, Maryland Tuesday, August 2, 2011."

I’ve had a lot on my mind over the past few days. It’s been one of those weeks where I’ve found myself lying awake at night replaying scenarios over and over again in my mind and thinking about far too many things.

What I love about journalism, or in my case, photojournalism, is that it takes you away from yourself and allows for a look into the lives of others, even if it does so only momentarily.

That’s what I felt yesterday evening as I shot a community picnic for Baltimore’s International Rescue Committee office. I found myself amidst over 40 asylees and refugees – now Baltimore residents – from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Bhutan, the Republic of the Congo, Iraq and other countries as they interacted, danced, and ate with others from Baltimore.

I had lots of fun shooting, and, as it has done so many times before, it took my mind away from my own world for a bit. This little guy took a liking to me and my camera, and this photograph makes me happy.