The first time I can remember asking a stranger to take their picture was in college. I was working on a photography assignment that focused on colors, and I saw a guy in a green uniform. I walked up to him and asked if I could take his portrait. He said yes.

If it wasn’t for one of my college journalism courses that was unofficially dubbed “Talking to Strangers”, I would have never felt semi-comfortable asking this stranger. I tend to walk a line between introversion and extroversion, and this very clearly crossed a boundary my introverted side did not want to cross. But I did it anyway. The sheer nerves that came preceded a thrill of excitement and accomplishment.

I’ve been doing this ever since. I still feel the nerves and excitement when approaching a stranger, each one with a unique personality and story.

Whenever I travel, I try to take a photo of a stranger at each major location. I don’t pretend to be the most talented photographer, but I have thoroughly enjoyed my journey of photographing strangers and want to share that journey here.

Here are some of the first photos I took of strangers, from my time at UNH.