Waterloo Region photographer takes a photo a day for the last decade

A Waterloo Region photographer has made it his mission to snap photos of strangers.

Al Doerksen is a 75-year-old retiree who has made photography his full-time hobby.

"Out on the street every day with my camera and looking for people to photograph," said Doerksen, who explained he has done so for the last 10 years.

"Excuse me" is how he politely interjects as people pass by, always starting the conversation with "Where are you from?"

He is obsessed with learning a stranger's personal story.

CTV News followed him around on Thursday as he jumped from person to person. He prefers taking pictures of pairs because he says they are usually more comfortable that way.

The toughest part of his daily journey is choosing which picture to post online.

"Post one picture a day, taken on that day," he said.

He's turned his passion project into a book as well.

"I called my project Engaging Strangers," said Doerksen.

He was inspired by other projects like Humans of New York – the popular photoblog of street portraits and interviews.

Doerksen liked the idea so much that he decided to highlight the people of Waterloo Region, a challenge he has enjoyed.

"He didn't want me to photograph him," he said, pointing to the picture of one man in his book. "Took me three times, then I had to buy him a mickey [to convince him]."

He's learned a lot about his community along the way. He often sheds light on life on the streets by meeting people experiencing homelessness.

"Try to build that idea that all of the people we have in the community are worthwhile," he said. "Strangers are just friends who haven't met yet."

So although many people grew up being told 'don't talk to strangers,' Doerksen sees value in growing old while doing the opposite.

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