hi there. i am writing to let you know that i decided to not photograph strangers anymore, at least not in this particular fashion. if your curiosity encourages it, stay in touch with me via this site as i will undoubtedly begin working on other projects and will advertise their whereabouts here.
this project has been an epic adventure for me and i am sure that i will learn many more lessons from it even though i have stopped the process as we have come to know it. the daily routine eventually became very mentally consuming and i often battled with the decision to continue. from a photographic standpoint, i became bored with the imagery. and from a relational standpoint, i was rarely satisfied with the amount of time i was able to spend with each day's new stranger. with these things in mind, i will begin the process of finding a new project.
i do apologize to those of you who will be saddened by not having a new stranger to meet here every day, but i'd like to encourage you to meet one of your very own.
thank you for your patronage. thank you for your encouragement. thank you for your support.
joshua langlais
blog archive
more about the project
if you feel like it
visits
I must admit I will be sad not to see a new stranger every day, but I understand that you need to go in a new direction. I wish you luck and I'll definitely be interested in following your new project! :) Thank you for opening my eyes to a new way of looking at strangers.
ReplyDeleteI will miss your posts. I used to love reading about your strangers.
ReplyDeletegood luck with all your new plans!
Thanks for the adventure!
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the time you have put into this project! I don't think you truly appreciate how many people it has impacted! I can't wait to see what you do next, and enjoy Denmark!!!
ReplyDeleteMeghan
Oh, too bad! I really like watching the photos and reading the stories. I hope you find a new project soon :) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the project but support your descision wholeheartedly. Not the strangers you met but yourself where the center of the project and if you do not believe in it anymore it just ends. No worries, it still is (was) a project worth doing.
ReplyDeleteI will keep my eyes on this site and look forward to your next project!
Do take care.
ReplyDeleteaw...
ReplyDeletebut it was so awesome that you kept going for so long. and I've still only read up to your second November; now I can finish knowing that it has an ending. and hopefully that ending is a happy one...
How ironic, I just finished reading every entry from day one yesterday. I wish you only the best in whatever path you choose!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ride!
ReplyDeleteIt was a great project, and I'm sure others you pursue will be equally engaging. Best of luck in all your endeavours!
ReplyDeleteIronic that I should visit your site on this day that the Utne Reader should gush about your interview by Amy Sly at Slice . I quote:
ReplyDeleteQ: Finding and photographing a new person each and every day must be challenging and there must be days you’d rather stay at home; when those days strike, what keeps you going?
A: Those days have become more difficult since I did not stop at the one year anniversary. Doing this for one year was my goal. I met that goal, but I couldn’t stop. I am afraid to stop.I have the “golden ticket” that allows me to go up to anyone on the street any time I feel inspired and ask them to talk to me. I can’t help but think that the day I stop will be the day I was supposed to meet a patron, or a cool Brooklyn magazine art director or the guy that cries as he shares his story with me.
Are you still afraid you missed that "one more" person? What outweighed the fear?
Sad, but thanks! Now I have time to just troll the archives at my leisure. All best in your future endeavors...
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this project and being inspired to continue it for so long. It has been wonderful to check in and see these new faces and new stories, as well as to understand your thought process on the searches. As someone who loves meeting new people and chatting with strangers, I can understand how the need to photograph under time pressure has sometimes overwhelmed what the project seemed to be about, which was meeting strangers and being open to sharing a brief moment with them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing all these new people with me, and perhaps now this will give me a chance to catch up with your archive. Keep us posted on your new projects, and best of luck to you with your move!
i will miss your posts too. and your special respectfully manner to write about and picture your strangers...
ReplyDeletesunny regards from vienna,
sabine druck
for me it´s a pity that you stop.
ReplyDeleteBut I can understand it. After such a long time.
I hope you will find an new idea.
I found an other project. is similar to your old one:
http://eye-catcher-stuttgart-engl.blogspot.com/
You will be missed...I will check back to see what you do next.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Josh, for a wonderful ride. Best of luck to you with your next endeavor, whatever that turns out to be.
ReplyDeleteAh, too sad. I came back to this after being away for family business. I wish you the best. Thank you for your year and a half of strangers...when I moved away from denver, this made me feel like I was right back there, as my favorite thing to do was sit downtown and people watch. Best of luck to you and your future projects...I'm sure we'll all see you in the future!
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say thanks for the work you put in to the stranger project. It was always interesting and I loved the portraits you photographed for each one.
ReplyDeleteSad to see it end but glad you'll have more time to pursue other projects.
Best of luck with those ;)
Thank you for keeping this up as long as you did, it was a real pleasure. Best of luck to you in what you do next!
ReplyDeleteAhh, I will miss seeing those portraits...I'm from Asia and this has actually inspired me. Good luck with your future endeavors/projects! :)
ReplyDeleteWill miss those portraits and straight from the heart writing. Stories from strangers are inspiring. All the best in your next project.
ReplyDeleteCould you please put the total number of people you took pictures of on your profile?
ReplyDeleteAlso - nice work.
Joshua,
ReplyDeleteYou had a great run but when it starts to become a chore it is probably time to bring it to an end - you'll come up with other ideas.
Good luck in future endeavors and thank you for doing your part to make the world a little better.
Richard Luna
Thank You for doing this! You and your work will be greatly missed!
ReplyDeleteit's a pity that i was late to discoverer you blog featuring a shot of strangers which i find interesting. but i do understand your interest in coming up with a new project. good luck, i'll stay tuned. ",)
ReplyDeleteCome back to us soon! Good luck (:
ReplyDeleteThanks for such respectful profiles and beautiful portraits. It was nice to know that you were here capturing our neighbors, friends and loved ones and that we could link in and meet someone we didn't know, or see a friend we already knew, because of your valiant efforts. You will be missed and we wish you great success and luck in your life and any and all of your endeavors.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joshua.
Come back!
ReplyDeleteCant help but drop back in every once in a while to relive a little.
ReplyDeleteOnce again...
Thankyou
Hi Joshua!
ReplyDeleteAs someone with a daily task of my own, I completely underatnd where you're coming from with your decision to end the project. (I believe you told me you were supposed to start at 1 year anyway, but then proceeded with making it longer, right?) Anyways, it's kind of sad how I got caught up in my own routine and have had less and less opportunities to stop by to read about new strangers and now that I visited your blog - it's done!.. Well, at least we can always go back and read the posts we migth have missed. Looking forward to hearing about your new projects and best of luck to you!
Julia
I just found your site now. Your efforts were appreciated, and apparently endure. Do consider making an update to your site about what you're up to now. You could call it a six months later retrospective!
ReplyDelete;@)
I am also sorry to see the project has ended and quite in awe of how long you kept it up for. I came to the project because I know one of the strangers and I became hooked when I saw your beautiful photographs and your caring words. You also gave me a window into the life of a distant family member when he was far away from his family. I am sure that good karma will follow you from this project - may you go from strength to strength.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me so sad, even still. Hope you're doing well!
ReplyDeleteI was just going through my old bookmarks and found this page again. I cant believe it has been 14 months already. Thankyou for the beauty and wonder you have shown us. Wish you all the best :)
ReplyDelete