The man going viral for taking pictures of people on South Street

A tall, young man carrying a camera stopped two ladies strolling down South Street one recent afternoon.

“Would you mind if I took a photograph of you together?” the man politely asked the friends.

This being Philly, you can imagine what the response might have been. But instead there was a spark of recognition.

“South Street Sam!” exclaimed Caroline Rybak, 19, of Germantown.

“Hell yeah!” said her friend Olivia McKiernan, 19, from Southwest.

Within seconds, the shooter was showing them their smiling images and telling them where they could access them later — his Instagram page, @southstreetsam. It’s part of a one-man, walking documentary — ambitious and ever-evolving — of life on this most Philly of streets.

“I think it’s cool,” McKiernan said. “There’s so many kinds of people on this street on any given day, and to be able to document that is really cool.”

Welcome to the South Street journey of Sami Aziz, a native son whose immigrant family roots are deep in this iconic Philly promenade. About six months ago, Aziz, 29, embarked on a photography project to capture the diversity and spirit of this ever-changing street. He hopes to continue for a full year.

Every afternoon, rain or shine, he’s out photographing anyone and everyone who will let him — and they almost all do. He is always courteous, respectful. He figures he’s created over 60,000 images — families, merchants, little kids, lovers kissing, punk girls with green hair, you name it. His Instagram page has grown to nearly 100,000 followers. One video alone of a little boy acting as Spider-Man got 3.7 million views.

Aziz knows the street has had its problems in recent years, and its fortunes have seen ebbs and flows over the decades. But the South Street that Aziz sees through his lens is a place of promise and potential.

“I see a platform for change right here,” Aziz said. “When you look at my page, you see families, you see couples, you see kids and their parents. It’s beautiful. You can look out for the good wherever you are and choose to focus on the good.”

South Street’s many stories include the story of Aziz’s family. His current photographic mission is one fueled by love and memory.

“This is a place that’s dear to my heart and my family,” Aziz said.

His father, Aziz Kadoorie Aziz, an Iraqi, and his Moroccan mother, Amina Aziz, who was here with family members, attended college at Temple University. It was here they met.

“It’s like a family love story,” Aziz said. “My mom was working at Reading Terminal Market at a cheese shop. My dad was just walking by. He thought she was Italian or something, and one thing led to another, and I was born.”

His mom also worked for a while at South Street Souvlaki, and his dad had an electronics store on South Street. He has fond childhood memories of going to Penn’s Landing with his father to watch the boats.

His grandparents were a major part of his Philly upbringing, and his mother had brothers here. But her brother Saeed Bouayad has a starring role in this story.

Nicknamed Sam, the uncle not only provided Aziz’s name, but the photographer now uses it as his alter ego — South Street Sam — as he creates his pictorial love poem to South Street.

It’s fitting; Uncle Saeed just loved South Street in the ‘90s.

“He loved the culture,” Aziz said. “It was bustling and booming. There was music. He came to the States pretty young. He was like 16. He liked the women and the scene. He was there to hang out and make friends.”

In fact, he spent so much time there, his family had their own name for the Philly boulevard: South Saeed.

Aziz’s uncle and family are now back in Morocco, but his spirit is still there, lending his nephew’s project some of his old street cred.

“It’s gotten to the point where people will recognize me in public, and they’ll address me as South Street. They’ll be ‘South Street Sam!’ Honestly, it gives me a lot of pride,” Aziz said. “They’re seeing my work, and the positivity and the joy.”

Merchants and others who make up the South Street community are among those who applaud Aziz’s project.

“He’s a great person, and he is definitely capturing the diversity of the street,” said Bridget Foy, co-owner of Bridget Foy’s and Cry Baby Pasta restaurants and whose family has been in business on South Street since 1978. “I think his project is super, and we’re really supportive of it.”

Police Lt. Steve Ricci has let Aziz photograph him while on the beat on South Street.

“We’re getting into the busy season now. He’s highlighting the good people who come down here,” Ricci said. “It’s good for the street.”

Eleanor Ingersoll, executive director of the South Street Headhouse District, linked the photo project to the area’s tradition of creativity.

“South Street has long been an inspiration for all kinds of artistic endeavors, and we’re proud that many artists have underscored the unique environment that South Street, our businesses and residents provide,” Ingersoll said.

Aziz’s subjects are some of his biggest fans.

“It’s a creative expression showing what’s really going on in the community,” said Joacquin Franklin, 22, of Philadelphia, photographed with two friends and a white Nissan by Rita’s Water Ice one recent afternoon.

“It’s like we’re famous!” said Adrian Hairston, age 8, of Delaware, who was visiting South Street with his family to have dinner when Aziz snapped their portrait.

Aziz lets the people he photographs know that they can download their photos from his page if they wish, and he lets them know he accepts tips via Venmo. He said 2% to 3% of the people he shoots do pay, and that is fine with him.

A portrait photographer, he also gets commissions for family photo sessions, head shots, and special events like an engagement video he was hired to do through the contacts he’s made in his street work. It’s enough to cover his living expenses while he pursues his passion project.

Aziz isn’t sure what his end goal for the work will be. He has done similar projects in Los Angeles and San Diego, but they were not this extensive. He says he would like to do a photographic book or a gallery show.

But for now, his focus is the seemingly limitless faces of South Street he sees every day though his lens.

“It’s beautiful, it’s amazing,” the photographer said. “I like to think this is what people need to see.”