Travelling in Thailand, I carried my sisters instant camera, the type people refer to as a Polaroid. It was a really nice change to approach interesting people and offer to make a photo with them, and then to give them the only copy of that photo. The reactions were wonderful and often it opened strangers up to conversation and led to many experiences and relationships I would otherwise have missed out on. This was particularly true in situations where there was no common language.

If the person and their photo were interesting, I would ask for permission to take a digital photo of them holding the instant slide: The results were fantastic!

I realised that peoples hands said as much about their lives as their faces do. Artists with dirty delicate hands, musicians with elegant long fingers, climbers covered in calluses, and manual jobs with heavy strong hands.