Via Flickr:
Part way through my stranger hunt today I gave up because I was cold – another day, another jacket was called for – so I turned and walked back to the office …
… at which point I spotted Kamal. I didn’t notice him until he was only 10 yards away by which time I was heading off in a slightly different direction but I had no hesitation turning back to head him off at a corner and ask him to be part of my project. This was great because it showed the level of confidence that I had before my project slowed down a couple of months ago (mainly because I turned my attention to a different project throughout October).
Kamal kept walking at first but slowed then stopped as I progressed through my spiel – he seemed happy to be involved but asked how long it would take as he didn’t have much time. My stock response to this is “as long as you like but only a couple of minutes if you want” – so he agreed but it was clear that he did not have much time.
I asked him to step into the middle of the pavement and surprised myself by having the wherewithal to adjust my position to avoid placing him in front of a La Senza advert (sorry guys). I then metered the shot in my head [1] and fired off a couple of shots portrait and landscape plus one tightly framed then realised I’d gone a bit too close so asked for one more which I backed of very slightly for. Happy with that I was about to thank him for his time then suddenly realised that I didn’t know his name so rectified that then thanked him and said goodbye.
I didn’t have much time to speak to him gleaning only that he works in “Retail” and has an office just round the corner but I can honestly say that in the few minutes I spent with him he seemed a very amenable and friendly bloke – he certainly gave me a few minutes of his time today with a happy smile.
Kamal, thanks very much for taking time out of your day to help me with my project – it was brief but nonetheless a pleasure to meet you.
[1] Some cynics might say that my camera happened to be on manual metering with settings appropriate for flash dialled in and that I simply forgot to check and therefore got lucky [2] that those settings appeared to be correct for the ambient light anyway.
[2] I refute this and claim technical genius! 😉
_____________________________
Please feel free to provide constructive critique on the technical aspects of this photograph.
This picture is #57 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 