Via Flickr:
I was wandering about aimlessly today not necessarily bothered about taking a 100 Strangers shot until I happened across this background and decided that I HAD to use it. It is very close to where I work and I regularly wander past either end of the alley but had never noticed the artwork before even though it is clearly visible from one end (I would almost always have my back to it though). I took a couple of shots just to get a feel for the colours and framing then decided I needed a stranger so I wandered off to the end of the alley for a look and along came Anthony … and moreover he was taking a shortcut through the alley – perfect!
I took a slightly different approach today and asked if he “had a few minutes” because he was walking quite purposefully and he replied that he did need to get back to work but asked what I was after anyway. I went through my spiel quite quickly and he seemed happy with the reason for the photo and agreed so we walked down to the art and I took a couple of shots but didn’t spin things out too much.
As I put the camera down he commented “D300S” so I asked if he was interested in photography and it turns out he is keen to get involved but hasn’t done so yet (he has his eye on a Canon EOS 60D). A lot of his friends are keen photographers (mostly Canon users) and one still uses something called “film”?
We walked to the end of the alley which was in the right direction for both of us but at the end he turned to go down the hill and I needed to go up so I thanked him for his help and said goodbye. On the way though I learned that he is a computer developer (like myself) working on both websites and desktop software.
Anthony, thanks for helping me with my project today – hope you get that camera soon.
PS: Expect to see this background again and its neighbour which is even more colourful. There’s not a huge amount of room in this alleyway but if I ever do try a more complex setup then this may well be the location.
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This picture is #23 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
99% Digital 