“My work begins with an encounter. These photographs are not taken from a distance or in anonymity. Each image begins with a conversation — an introduction, a shared moment, and permission granted between two people who were unknown to one another minutes before.

I am drawn to faces that carry experience rather than performance. Working primarily on the street, I seek moments where vulnerability, dignity, and individuality reveal themselves outside controlled environments. The resulting portraits exist between street photography and formal portraiture: spontaneous yet deliberate, candid yet collaborative.”

– Sal Patalano