He complains that most of photography is of beautiful people in highly artificial settings. From this video I do like his style, however would insist his work is as well artificial, seeing how asking permission renders it artificial.

The glimpses he talks about in his early days of shooting may not have been as compelling as his current work, but no doubt it was more "real".

Sorry, but I just don't see anything artificial about his work at all. He's making portraits of regular people in their natural environment - their expressions and the demeanor that they carry for the photo are more real than anything else, add to the fact that his photos are just beautifully made.