19/1/10 Richard Renaldi

Richard Renaldi a 40-year-old American photographer based in New York. He has produced a wide variety of work since graduating from New York University in 1990 ranging from interesting landscapes, commercial studio images to sharp powerful portraits of people. His work titled “Touching Strangers” was a project that I found relevant to my own personal development. It helped me with my communicational skills and understanding the community around us. He studied a lot of portraits of friends, family, and lovers together from the 19^th century in particular. Once Renaldi Had plucked up enough courage he went out on the streets and would approach total strangers asking them not only to pose but also touch each other. In today’s society this would be a really challenging task, as most people would get the wrong impression and most likely refuse. It would all depend on the way he approached his targets whether he used a soft voice or an open body language. Another issue he faced was trying to find a suitable pair with a connection that would work the best.

“Finding good pairs is a matter of chance, patience and instinct. Most often, it is a matter of luck and timing. Sometimes I try to find people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, different races, sizes, and sexual orientation. But occasionally, I find myself trying too hard to look for opposites”.