Heart of the Valley

I live in San Jose, a bay area city also called the Capital of Silicon Valley. Its impression to the public is usually filled with tech companies and foreigners working inside. I’m one of those foreigners. Most people who live around downtown are locals though, and don’t work in the tech industry. As an outsider, I’m always curious about their lifestyle and living conditions, so around three years ago, I started this portrait project. I usually park my car around downtown, and start several hours of wandering, trying to find the trace of life that is worth documenting to me, sometimes homeless people or stray cats, sometimes people smoking outside of their house, sometimes just passersby. Through these portraits, I wish to capture a state that is outside of the public's initial impression, and provide an observing angle of silicon valley that sometimes is neglected.