Why photograph strangers?

Perhaps it is a form of visual eavesdropping. I want to have a moment of their lives become part of my life. I find myself taken by their gestures, their expressions, their situation. I am entranced by the people I photograph, those who pose and those whose images fall surreptitiously on the film of my Rolliflex. I have carried this camera with me to New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Mexico DF, Paris, Rome, London and Berlin. “People and Places” begins with photos from New York City the 1980’s. As I migrate these images from my negative sleeves to my website they seem to provide a form of time travel. But more importantly the people who inhabit these photographs no longer seem to be strangers. Look for more images to be posted soon.

Janet Delaney, 2010