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Beautiful Strangers: Photographer documents the beauty and diversity of London

In his ongoing series Beautiful Strangers, American portrait and documentary photographer Peter Zelewski loves to capture people on the streets of London from a diverse range of ethnicities, cultures and styles. His aim? To challenge the concept of traditional beauty by bringing out the uniqueness, personality and true individuality of the people he photographs.

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Portrait of a woman with long black hair wearing a cream turtleneck, looking directly at the camera against a blurred urban background

Over the past 12 months, Zelewski – who is based in the capital – has snapped over 100 people for the project and one of his portraits, Nyaueth (see main picture), won third place in this year's prestigious Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Born in Detroit, America, he moved to London in the late '80s and studied graphic design and photography at North London University. Through his fascination and love of the city, he was drawn to the streets of London to take photographs of its citizens which has resulted in two award-winning projects ’The People of Soho’ and ‘Beautiful Strangers'. He divides his time between graphic design, commercial photography and his self-initiated personal street portraiture projects.

Woman wearing a black beanie and brown patterned scarf standing on a London street lined with period buildings
Man with a long grey beard wearing a dark shirt, photographed indoors against a blurred background
Woman with dark braided hair styled with a colourful patterned wrap, red lipstick and gold chain necklace, looking directly at camera on a London street
Person with grey hair and red lipstick wearing a black beret and white shirt, looking toward camera with a blurred urban background
Woman with long copper-red hair wearing a dark textured top, standing in a narrow urban alley between brick buildings
Portrait of a woman with an afro hairstyle wearing a blue and red patterned top, looking directly at the camera
Older man with white hair and grey beard wearing a light blue hoodie, looking directly at the camera with a blurred urban background
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