Via Flickr:
In the beginning there was a tattoo parlour, and that tattoo parlour was called Hype …
… and at first it would appear that you couldn’t see inside but this turned out to be the case only in bright sunlight and so haggisandchips walked past Hype several times – at first deciding this was a great unknown and therefore intimidating. On a later passing it became clear that one could see inside but on that day the parlour was very busy. On the next there was a joiner (carpenter perhaps) working in the doorway but on the final day there was nothing – no excuses, nothing to justify further delay. And so haggisandchips paused and wondered if today was the day that he should walk into a doorway and ask a favour from whomsoever he should find.
But it was not to be … for a man walked out, lit a cigarette and suddenly, the background that has been in the back of his mind for several days pushed itself to the front and screamed NOW!!!
And that is how I met Andy – perhaps not quite how I intended “Hype” to pan out but the background was always what I was after and when presented with a tattooed bloke to stand in front of it the opportunity was too good to pass up – so I guess I need to find another dark hole to walk into and see what it offers up.
Andy has worked at Hype for a year and was previously a probation officer but moved from Carlisle to Blythe to be with his girlfriend – as someone that has tried this we were both agreed that long distance relationships are hard work but thankfully for both of us it was the distance that suffered and the relationships continued ;).
I asked Andy what he likes to do outside work and the answer was quite simple – he likes to “hit the gym”.
It was a relatively brief encounter and although Andy smiled several times I failed to capture one properly and the half smile that you see above is the nearest I got – he was quite happy to be photographed though, agreeing before I had a chance to explain what it was all about. Inexplicably, I handed him my card anyway … but took it back – I don’t really remember doing this but when he asked me if I had a card and it turned out to be in my pocket there was no denying the fact I had handed it to him but then somehow taken it back again – this was not deliberate and I’m really not sure what I was thinking about. On the plus side though I think Andy will check out the link as he did seem slightly intrigued by the project.
On a parting note I enquired if there were any of his tattoos that had special significance to him and he had no hesitation saying it was the one on his neck – the entire reason he now lives in Blythe so that gets a special place in his portrait.
Andy, thanks very much for taking part in my project.
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This picture is #27 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 