Stranger Doesn’t Mean Strange

We spend our lives interacting with people – from close and intimate encounters with our family and friends to even the briefest encounters with a person at the coffee shop. As life moves faster and faster we tend to veer away from what we might assume to be a trifle encounter with someone we don’t know. We prefer to eave our headphones in and continue, disengaged, from the world around us.
The invitation to chat may be as simple as a passing smile from someone in the street and yet, we so very rarely stop and take the time. Stranger doesn’t mean Strange attempts to break down this barrier of engaging with “strangers” by making a conscious effort to engage with everyday people and photograph their portrait. The body of work is part of a large collection of images from all around the world.
With an $80,000 prize pool, it represents a global selection of the best work from emerging and established photographers.
The Head On Photo Festival 2025 is back this November, transforming Sydney into a photography haven with major exhibitions