In the summer of 1995, I went on an Outward Bound trip in the Gila wilderness between New Mexico and Arizona in the Southwest. At the end of one week of gorgeous intensity, we each picked a quote to read from the program’s Readings Book. The quote I found expresses the poignancy I have always felt in meetings and relationships with other human beings.

People. People important to you, people unimportant to you - cross your life, touch it with love and carelessness and move on. There are people who leave you, and you breathe a sigh of relief, and you wonder why you ever came in contact with them. There are people who leave, and you breathe a sigh of remorse and wonder why they had to go and leave such a gaping hole. Children leave parents, friends leave friends, acquaintances move on. People change homes, people move apart. Enemies hate and move on. You think on the many who have moved into your life

with hazy memory. You look on those present and wonder.

I believe in God’s master plan in our lives.

People move in and out of each other’s lives, and each leaves his or her mark on the other. You find you are made up of bits and pieces of all who have touched your life, and you are more because of it.

And you would be less if they had not touched you.

Pray God that you can accept the bits and pieces in humility and wonder, and never question, and never regret.

“Bits and Pieces”

Below are photographic portraits I have shot over the years that were striking to me because they revealed hidden aspects about people I knew. I am honored to have known these human beings and cherish the opportunities that allowed me to take photographs of them.