#515 Strangers when we meet

Strangers When We Meet is a street portrait project built as much on conversation as photography. In it, Tim Allen approaches people he has never met, talks with them, and then makes their portrait. Beneath that simple exchange sits a longer story about family influence and a decision to move his life to the town where he now photographs its people. The family thread isn't about cameras being passed down, but about a father who could talk to anyone, and how that way of meeting the world found its way into the work.

We talk about Tim's book, Strangers When We Meet, published to raise funds for St Michael's Hospice, and his return to Artisans, a project documenting people who make things for a living.

From the mailbag: Glenn Sowerby has been making street pictures at big-city football matches. Chris Hughes reckons he may already have made his one big picture for 2026, just days into the year, and Jeff Smeraldo is deep into proper family photographic history. Also today Valérie Jardin returns for the first of our monthly TEACH ME STREET features and she shares news about We are Minnesota, plus there's an invitation to come to Scotland in 2026 and further afield to India, Mongolia and Venice.

Read more about our photographic adventures on our photography travel website, The Journey Beyond.

Links to all guests and features will be on the show page, my sincere thanks to our Extra Milers, without whom we wouldn't be walking each week and Arthelper.ai, giving photographers smart tools to plan, promote, and manage your creative projects more easily.

WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.