"Fun and a greencard."

The first time I shot strippers, I wasn't sure what to do. This wan't a headshot/fashion shoot. I didn't just want to take some pictures - I wanted to change the world. Show that it means something different to each of us - to survive.

When I came face to face with strippers for the first time - I was shocked - none of them looked like airbrushed Barbie Dolls. They looked so real.

I got Lena and Mona on stage - the owner gives me one last set of instructions, "Make 'um hot."

Christ, could I have gone in a worse direction?? Two girls, lips to necks, hands on asses, lips and tounges, legs intertwined. B grade porn at best. What was I doing, these women were more then this - but I couldn't get past the obvious.

Lena was foriegn, she was a nanny most of her life. She came to America and never looked back. So here she was, no money , no greencard, no work permit. With few options available she began stripping.

I called her the ballerina. She wore long flowing dresses and moved slow and innocently. She was by far the most popular dancer. By popular, I mean they watched her like the girl in school who got labeled early on, as EASY. The men looked at Lena with a sick intensity, like she was their prey, like there was some score to settle. She had the 'girl next door that you can never have' quality. Yeah that drove'em crazy. She just smiled at a man and he was already reaching for his wallet. She spent a lot of time behind the walls of the lap dance room.