“The stories. That’s one of the most important thing that I need in my photos. I need to know the story behind the photo. I need to feel the stories that brought me to the idea. Many people tell me that they have found themselves in these pictures. They say that my pictures feel strangely familiar. Photographs as mirrors? Yes, they should be a mirror of our souls. We all are living these stories. But we only keep them hidden in our mind, in our inner world.” – Martin Stranka

When my daughter Alison was born, in the tradition of a new parent, I began to photograph her, initially in a separate and private body of work. However, in the process of documenting Alison’s growth, I developed a passionate interest in human relationships and capturing intimate moments in the lives of family and friends. This affected my photography in a profound way. Rather than the isolated subjects of my earlier work, I became interested in the strength of relationships, oftentimes using personal environments to amplify those conditions.