PatrickMonnier

People, friends, often ask me: "Why photograph strangers, why travel thousands of miles to go and get intimate with complete strangers... take their pictures and walk away? Why?" It's a very good and deeply introspective question, in my opinion. It's a good question because I do spend a lot of effort (and money) getting to these places and getting these shots. It's introspective because there has to be a reason for me doing this, a reason that says something about me, who I am, what I value in life. Life is hard, life can be really hard, but it is all relative. I am not saying I feel better personally seeing people struggle more than me. E

https://patrickmonnier.exposure.co/nogales-sonora-mexico

My morning commute these days starts way too early for my liking. I crawl out of bed and find my way to my car, a coffee mug at hand.   My drive is long and quite uneventful from a visual point of view. But lately, my boring drive coincides with a magical event that happens throughout the world, every day. For about a week now, I have had the privilege to witness the rising of the sun, all the way from being hidden behind the horizon to the brilliant orange, magenta, and purple colors. By the end of my commute, these splendid and ephemeral colors are gone, with the majority of the local population still asleep oblivious to this tremendous s