"The 46 photographs in this book are culled from over 300 individual portraits of complete strangers in New York City. They were made by photographing on one day a year, Ash Wednesday, over a span of two decades. The subjects are people whom I will likely never see again. I thank those who trusted me enough to pause for a few minutes in a busy -- and possibly contemplative -- day, long enough to be photographed." -- from colophon