Mary Ellen Mark

Usually my ideas for work have revolved around my interest in people, especially people that live on the edges of society.

I'm a street photographer, but I'm interested in any ironic, whimsical images, and there's something very romantic about a circus.

During prom season, I travel around the country with a 20-by-24 camera - which is logistically complicated - and photograph proms. My husband made a film of it.

I knew from the first moment I picked up a camera, on my first school assignment, what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was going to find a way to travel the world and tell the stories of the people I met through photographs.

I wanted to travel from the beginning. As a kid, I used to dream about airplanes, before I ever flew in one.

I work in colour sometimes, but I guess the images I most connect to, historically speaking, are in black and white. I see more in black and white - I like the abstraction of it.

Nowadays shots are created in post-production, on computers. It's not really photography.

I've always been interested in photographing traditions and customs - especially in America. The prom is an American tradition, a rite of passage that has always been one of the most important rituals of American youth. It is a day in our lives that we never forget - a day full of hopes and dreams for our future.