Photographer Merrick Morton got his start taking portraits of LA street gangs in the 1980s, cementing that world in history when few took the time to document these people's lives. He photographed people on the street, at home and even in prison. 

After decades of taking photos, Morton got his first solo show at  Eastern Projects in LA's Chinatown neighborhood. There's also a new book "Clique: West Coast Portraits from the Hood, 1980-1996" that's available from Hat & Beard Press.