Via Flickr:
Earlier today saw me striding up to a middle aged Chinese gentleman, a definite demographic buster for my project, determined to approach him (and generally when I get to this point I DO ask) but before I got close some people came and sat beside him on the park bench crowding him so much he had to move slightly so at this point I changed my mind. I got little inspiration elsewhere though and after a time started to head back to work intending to pass through the same park …
… at which point a distinctive gentleman walked past me – this is Guy, and that’s all I know about him!
I approached Guy just as he was disappearing into a shopping mall and asked him if I could take his photo – he seemed slightly reluctant but indulged me whilst I explained about the project but I obviously didn’t explain it well enough as he was left wondering what the point of it was from my perspective so I added that it was to encourage social interaction and push people out of their comfort zones to do something that they would not normally do. Guy seemed happy with this.
Guy was unfortunately on his way back to work and at the wrong end of his lunch break so he did not have much time so it really was a case of “could you stand against this wall please” – click, click, click and that was it. Cool smile though – I’m pretty happy with the shot.
As I set off back to work again I resolved that my next stranger was going to be an attractive girl, Rachel was a long time ago and there are very few girls in my project, but you will need to wait until tomorrow to see if I succeeded. OK here’s a clue … YES!
Guy, thanks very much for helping me with my project – you were obviously in a hurry so I really appreciate you taking a few minutes to help me.
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This picture is #29 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 