Touching Strangers by Richard Renaldi

I thought the exhibit Touching Strangers by Richard Renaldi was very powerful. I love the idea that he had with bringing strangers together and posing them in a way in which how close one would be with a loved one. I think it is interesting on how he was able to photograph two complete strangers in such a way that the majority of the people looked comfortable. I felt like there were only a few instances in which the poses looked uncomfortable, but I feel that would be expected between complete strangers. I love how he had most of the subjects look directly into the camera because I feel like it makes you more connected with that person. I thought it was interesting in how Renaldi brought together people of different races and ages as it shows how really connected we are as a society regardless of how different we really are.

My favorite image from this exhibit was of the older woman and the man who was kneeling in front of her their hands interlocking together. I love how these two people are so different in age and they are giving the exact same expression. It is almost like they are reflecting their pose to make the viewer more connected to them, like they are one person. I think it is a really great exhibit because with these portraits I feel like one can picture their self in each portrait. It makes me wonder how comfortable I would really be if I had to be this close to a complete stranger. I would feel like I would give an awkward pose showing how uncomfortable I really would be, but looking at these portraits I feel like you really do not get a sense of that. I think really the only ones you do get a sense of people being uncomfortable are the few where some of the subjects are not even looking at the camera, giving us insight of these are actual strangers brought together to create a powerful portrait.