By 2015, I was doing a lot of street photography. I realized I had photographed many fathers alone with their kid(s) rather than what was familiar not that long ago - a mother out with the kids or both parents with them. There seemed to have been a sea change of men feeling comfortable pushing a stroller or doing the shopping while accompanied by their kids. I found them irresistible. I made a point to document them. 

On two occasions, when I approached the fathers and explained my project and asked if they would participate, they said: “You were my teacher at Berkeley High!” One was in the Target parking lot and the other in the Trader Joe’s lot. It had been some 25 years since we had seen one another. They are both included in this project.

Most of these fathers were total strangers who I encountered while walking or shopping. I am forever grateful to the fathers who let me interrupt their precious time with their children, who shared their stories and their feelings with a stranger and her camera. The interactions I had with them were heart-warming and always left me feeling hopeful.