What is this?

My name is Adam. And I was an introvert who was terrified of strangers.

A few years ago I found myself exhausted by a world that had stopped talking to each other. Everything was a text. Everything was a screen. Everyone was connected to everything and nobody was actually connecting with anyone.

So I did the only thing that made sense to me. I bought the cheapest one-way ticket to Europe I could find, grabbed my Nikon, and decided to walk up to strangers and ask if I could photograph them.

I was so scared the first time, I threw up.

Then something happened. People said yes. And then they talked. And what they shared about their lives, their losses, their unexpected joys… It was more honest, more beautiful, and more human than anything I had ever photographed before.

21 countries later. Thousands of strangers. A TED Talk. National Geographic. The Boston Globe. Nikon. VICE. HBO.

And an unshakeable belief that the world is so much closer than we think. We just have to be willing to say hello.

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1,000+ portraits.

Countless conversations with strangers.

21 countries so far.

Every person was a stranger seconds before the

photograph.

But now, they’re a friend for life.

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“Composition is striking and draws my attention.”

Matt Adams, National Geographic

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“The strongest independent journalism we have seen all year.”

HBO

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“It’s like Humans of New York… But in a global sense.”

RTM

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“Adam is one of those you mention to anyone who thinks of making photography and storytelling a living. He is the rare example of someone with the combination of incredible talent, a desire to tell meaningful stories and the grit to create his own path to doing so.”

Speak Up Productions

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‘He take’s a different viewpoint than anyone else I’ve ever seen. His work is simply beautiful, and there is great cohesion to it.’

Deb Ayers, The Artists Agent

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“His vulnerable approach to speaking with people instantly breaks down walls and gives him the opportunity to take beautiful photographs of people in a way that no one else could. Seeing his photographs will brings a multitude of emotions and will always leave you desperately wanting to know more about the story behind them.”

Passport

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“I have honestly never seen anyone able to capture what Adam captures in a photograph. When he takes a photograph of someone, they see something in it they’ve never seen before.”

Visual Artists Group

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“Capturing a moment is the very essence of photography. The other fascinating characteristic of that medium is its impact on people. Adam approached strangers from around the world and asked to take their photograph… Having the result rely on the interaction between him and his subject. From that, we were able to see joy, sadness, shyness, tenderness, resolution, faith, confidence… many attitudes and emotions that he genuinely and brilliantly captured with his camera - different moments of life that speak to us and show us that we are all humans no matter where in the world we live.”

Badessi