"Over the years, I have had the chance to cross paths with many remarkable individuals. People who shared their lives with me for an afternoon, others for years. Normal folk whose culture, socio-economic background, health, age and worldview often varied greatly from my own. Sierra Leonean refugees, Malian villagers, African American men living with AIDS, my great aunt Ruby, a French bride and her groom, Dominican farmers. This crossing of paths offers the opportunity to give and take, to forge a brand of honest communication and to discover common bonds. My photography explores the bounty of crossed paths.

"The encounter and exchange is what I live for-talking about millet crops with Eduardo Rodriguez in the mountains of the Dominican Republic; drinking millet beer with my friend Ambasagou in Mali's Dogon Country; playing cards with Anthony at Joseph's House-a home for formerly homeless men living with AIDS. Only when the time is right-when mutual trust has been established-do I introduce my camera to the scene. This may be as early as at the initial meeting or months later.

"These photographs then are the documentation of my various encounters with certain individuals and their environments that shape them."