Adam Taylor decided to become a photographer when he was stuck at home with a permeated disc in his spine after a snowboarding accident. Lucky for him, he was quite good at taking photos.
Like many teenagers, when Taylor was growing up he went through a photography stage when he forced his dad to turn their basement into a dark-room, and spent his time taking pictures of his friends getting up to no good. In a way, that theme still dominates his photography (albeit in a more sophisticated way). One of his best collections STREETKIDS sees Taylor following kids aged 13 to 21 who, due to homelessness or issues at home, congregate on the streets of New York after dark. In abandoned laneways, underpasses and parks, Taylor captures both the heartbreaking reality of domestic violence and also drug and alcohol problems that drive kids to brave the streets, and the sense of community these young people force in the absence of a positive family life. However Taylor doesn't document street life in a condescending way, rather the images seem to have a balance of power in that both Taylor and the kids are telling the story.
More at adamtaylorphotography.com.