I found an old leather couch by the side of the street and decided to shoot some halloween portraits. After causing quite a stir on SportsShooter, I have decided to include this disclaimer: "First of all, I would like to apologize to anyone that I have offended by selecting these photos for my SportsShooter post. My intent was NOT to offend anyone and I should have been more careful in selecting my photos for this site. However, it is my job as a photojournalist to document what I see and that is all that I have done here. I did not pre-select any of the costumes, nor did I exclude anyone from posing on the couch. I do understand that several of the costumes are offensive (and yes, very racist), but my job as a photojournalist is to document both positive and negative aspects of life. Thank you very much for taking the time to view these photos as well as commenting on the message boards. I am a student and therefore am always looking to improve my technical skills, so any tips on improving my lighting would be very helpful. Thank you."