Throughout the 1980s, Californian photographer Janet Delaney made many trips to New York City, travelling with her favourite camera to try and capture the spirit of Manhattan. Thirty years later, she has revisited the subsequent images and is now happy to share her memories with the world.

She explained: "Having grown up on a quiet street in the young suburbs of Los Angeles, I longed for the unexpected, haphazard encounters Manhattan had to offer. I travelled with my twin-lens Rolleiflex, a camera that allowed me to make photographs unannounced. I spent my days trolling the streets, delighting in the close contact I had with strangers. I brought these stolen observations back to California, printed them, and put them in a box on the shelf.

"Thirty years later, as I revisit these images, I see that they allow me to travel once again, now back to another era. These split seconds silently frame my view of the past, a past full of incidental moments that combined together to form a very personal record of shared memory."

Discover more of her beautiful work at www.janetdelaney.com.

© Janet Delaney

© Janet Delaney

© Janet Delaney

© Janet Delaney

© Janet Delaney

© Janet Delaney

© Janet Delaney

© Janet Delaney

© Janet Delaney

© Janet Delaney

© Janet Delaney

© Janet Delaney

© Janet Delaney

© Janet Delaney

© Janet Delaney