99% Digital

#30 Becca, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

Earlier today I decided that my next stranger absolutely had to be an attractive girl but I bombed out – my detour back to work had produced nobody and I found myself in my local sandwich shop 100 yards from work discussing football with the owner as normal …

… and then Becca walked in. Now, with no offence to the local clientele, it is not every day that someone as beautiful as Becca walks into Tony & Frankie’s and I’m pretty sure that Tony will back me up on this tomorrow. I immediately knew that I was not going to pass up on this opportunity but I waited until I was ready to go before I asked her – it is always in my mind that rejections could be awkward for both parties (although this has never proved the case so far) so I wanted to make sure that I could say “thanks anyway, have a good day” and then leave.

Rejection proved to be an unfounded concern though as she was more than happy to take part – the only issue being her car which was illegally parked and she wanted to be able to keep an eye on it. At first I misunderstood and thought she was concerned about time and wanted me to take the photo there and then in the sandwich shop but this was not the case, she just wanted to be able to see her car so we went outside once she was ready and I used a nearby roller shutter as the backdrop (thanks to the McConnochies of the world for the inspiration).

The photo itself I am really pleased with but there was a large amount of bumbling in this encounter – I had a jacket with me which I wasn’t wearing and I dropped it at least twice (Becca offered to hold it for me which was sweet) but moreover my camera stopped working properly and I couldn’t change the focus point which was fixed centrally and useless for a portrait. This turned out to be operator stupidity beyond belief[1] but it had a fortuitous side effect as it led me to manually focus some of the shots and although not the ones that I ultimately used I am quite pleased with them as well.

Between my various apologies for the technical (ahem) issues I managed to glean that Becca is a medical rep specialising in the diabetes field and that she travels “all over”; she has a boyfriend and that’s about all I gathered. Becca was really nice and very easy to talk to and I wish that this encounter had gone a bit more smoothly but all the faffing and distractions were entirely my own doing.

Becca thank you very much for taking part in my project – it was desperately in need of an “attractiveness” boost and you definitely helped with that. I hope you like the images.

[1] For those that haven’t guessed I simply managed to lock the focus point on my camera – a feature I am fully aware of and used to use quite often but never use any more. My belief that it was the camera is not without foundation though as I have previously had auto focusing problems due to bad contact between the lens and camera.
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This picture is #30 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

#29 Guy, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

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

#28 Woody Harrelson, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

OK, everyone can see that this isn’t Woody Harrelson … what AM I talking about!!!

What I am talking about is the fact that the demographics of my project sucks – almost all white, almost all British, almost all younger than myself and mostly blokes.

So when I spotted Lamar with a basketball tucked under his arm I reckoned there was a good shot to be had … “Hi, can I just ask … can you spin that ball on your finger?”, I asked. “No, but he can” replied Lamar pointing at Jack. Well, so much for demographics – welcome to my latest stranger … white, British, young & male ;). Still … everyone knows that White Men Can’t Jump!

I double checked with Lamar that he really couldn’t spin the basketball then asked Jack if I could take his photo in action and he had no problem with this – which is hardly surprising since he and Lamar are apparently part of the Newcastle Eagles Academy team (and known to score a few baskets from the reports that I read afterwards).

The photo doesn’t show it but Jack is TALL – I’m 6ft and I actually joked that I wasn’t tall enough to photograph him – I wish I’d asked him how tall he was but I’d guess around 7ft – if Clayton hadn’t already taxed our Maths brains I’d be measuring distances and angles and offering prizes for people to work it out. But I reckon I’m in the right ballpark, give or take!

As I’d been approaching Lamar and Jack it became obvious that something had caught their attention just as I got close but it was too late to change my mind and as I was explaining what I was after we got interrupted by some of their mates. In fairness though Jack kept talking to me even though his mates were trying to talk to him – I did ask if I needed to get a move on but he said no I was fine and he continued to give me his undivided attention – his smile in the photo I’ve submitted was pretty representative of the encounter so thanks for that Jack 😉

I took a couple of shots of Jack with a “normal” wide open aperture then stopped everything down to try and capture the spin of the ball. This had somewhat mixed results so I’ve gone with the shot that makes me smile but with a nod to his spinning prowess included.

This is probably the first encounter for a long time where I’ve walked away unsure that I’ve got a usable shot – the combination of Jack moving whilst spinning the ball, his mates being around meaning I didn’t take the time to check the LCD closely to see what I had captured, a fairly slow shutter speed (1/20) for many of the shots coupled with my naturally shaky hands and the fact that a gust of wind seemed to catch the ball every time my camera locked focus 😉 all added up to a bit of a lottery. I’m quite happy with what I got though – the focus is well off but I think the shot sums up the encounter quite nicely and that’s what is important to me for my project.

From my perspective, it’s a shame his mates turned up – I’d have loved to talk to him about how their season was going and as an academy player what his hopes and aspirations for the future were but I reckon sometimes you need to know when it is time to walk away even if your “stranger” seems quite happy – and this was one of those occasions.

Jack, thanks very much for taking part in my project – it was a fun if slightly “through other” meeting – good luck with the rest of the season.
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This picture is #28 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

#27 Andy, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

In the beginning there was a tattoo parlour, and that tattoo parlour was called Hype …

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

#26 Jordan, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

Today I started off walking past Hype tattoo parlour (one of my “targets”) but there was a joiner working in the doorway so even if I had plucked up the courage to venture into the unknown then I wouldn’t have been able to get the shot I wanted anyway – strike #1. Next I approached an elderly gentleman sat on a park bench – at 85ish he was a definite change of direction for me but alas he listened politely before courteously saying “I don’t think so” – strike #2. Ah well …

… and so I found myself reverting to type with another bloke younger than myself – but the encounter was no less enjoyable for this.

Jordan was sat on part of the old Roman Wall finishing his lunch when I walked past and spotted a camera draped round his neck – this was enough for me so I approached and with very little discussion he agreed. Early on I asked what his camera was and he held it up – a Fujifilm bridge camera which I think he said he got for his 21st birthday as he wanted to buy something meaningful – this was his first proper camera other than compacts. Timing being everything I then took my camera out of its bag and he commented something along the lines of it being a real camera and that he felt “emasculated” – ouch!!! Not a bit of it – I’ve seen iPhone shots and “handbagcam” shots that prove it’s what you do with it that counts! We talked a bit about the project and whether Jordan liked photographing people and although he said yes it’s really urbex photography that appeals to him at the moment but as a newcomer to the art he’s still quite open-minded about what he likes.

It turns out that Jordan and I also share a passion (or curse) in that we are both avid Newcastle United fans and we talked quite a bit about that. He asked me my thoughts on the upcoming derby but we got side-tracked onto how the new signings were fitting in so I’ll put it on record that we’ll win 3-1 … you heard it here first ;). Jordan is not a season ticket holder but still gets to see about a quarter of the games a year and hopes that will increase now that he’s living back in Newcastle.

Jordan, similar to my previous stranger, is an English Lit graduate from Manchester (I think) but hasn’t quite worked out what his vocation is going to be so he’s working on a fill-in job at the moment and has recently been doing night shifts – sooner him than me!

I gave Jordan my camera to flick through the shots and he seemed to like the shots but technically I don’t think he pops out from the background enough and I reckon I missed a trick here – he was in no hurry, easy to talk to because of our shared interests and being into photography might well have been happy to entertain a little technical endeavour and I wish I’d tried using a little flash to light him whilst stopping everything down to shut out the ambient light and try and get a bit of contrast between him and the background – but this didn’t occur to me at the time and instead I was simply quite pleased that I noticed that the first couple of shots were underexposed and took the time to dial in a bit of exposure compensation (manual exposure would be way too much for me to cope with here). Of course I didn’t use those as I preferred the composition of the one posted – so photoshop to the rescue again ;).

Jordan, thanks very much for helping me with my project – it was fun talking to you.

TOON TOON!!!
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This picture is #26 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

#25 Cal, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

Following on from Jonathan and still in a buoyant mood I set off on my latest detour from Monument back to work, taking in my newly discovered abstract backgrounds. Determined to use “the other one” sooner rather than later and coupled with the fact that today was a good day it came as no surprise when things panned out well.

As I walked up the street I could see someone loitering on the corner near “my” backgrounds so that was pretty promising to start with but I walked past him nonetheless so that I could look up the alley. This is no slight on Cal and I should point out that for several days I had it in my head that I wanted to photograph someone in a sharp suit against this background – no particular reason for this, it’s just a concept that looks good in my head. Mr(s) Sharp Suit will have to wait a while though as none were to be had.

So after walking a few metres past Cal I turned back and approached him confidently. He had no problem with the concept and readily agreed once he understood why but I didn’t have a card to give him as I’ve managed to lose one somewhere and I was already running low. Nonetheless I wrote down my Flickr account name (which made him smile) and my email address so hopefully he’ll have a look sometime.

I asked Cal if he would pose in front of the background but … uh oh!!! … he was waiting for a friend and didn’t want to move. This was important to me though so I pointed out that he could see them and they were only 50 yards away and he relented so we quickly wandered down and I took a few shots then we returned to his original spot where we stood and chatted for a while. En route to the background he asked how many strangers I had photographed and at that point it occurred to me that Cal was my 25th stranger … one quarter of the way … a minor milestone! I think he liked the fact that he was a "minor milestone" ;).

Cal is an English Literature student at Cambridge and is on holiday in Newcastle for a couple of weeks before going to stay with family in France for a bit. He tells me that even the holidays require a lot of reading but when your homework is something you love anyway that’s not so bad is it! We talked a fair bit about literature (from his perspective) and when I asked if he mainly read the classics he reported that he reads all sorts from medieval through to modern stuff. On holiday his authors of choice would be Vladimir Nabokov and Emily Bronte – I’ve read a couple of Nabokov novels (Despair and Lolita) but I didn’t mention this lest he tried to have an intelligent conversation with me about them – it was a very long time ago! I asked if he would ever read the likes of Jeffrey Deaver (for example) and was left in no doubt that the very thought made him want to “throw up” (his words). He found it sad that the beautiful works of bygone eras had been replaced with the formulaic “airport rack” rubbish (partly his words, partly mine but that was definitely the gist). He also picked on Dan Brown and I’m definitely with him on that!

In Cal’s 3rd year he will get more choice what he studies and will be focusing on TS Eliot (a work which I must and did confess that I have never heard of and now cannot remember).

After a bit and with my lunch break rapidly running out things seemed to come to a natural conclusion so we said our goodbyes – he wished me luck with my project and I him with his studies and off I went. Thanks for a great encounter Cal – I can’t believe that I’m now ¼ through this project but it’s good that it was a fun one!
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This picture is #25 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

#24 Jonathan, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

After several days of not being in the mood I went out today in the right frame of mind and I was pretty confident that I would grab at least another one stranger today, Jonathan was the first and I think it is possible that some of you might recognise him …

Wandering around Newcastle Monument (where else) I spotted Jonathan photographing a very stylish gentleman while a girl hovered about beside him with a notepad. Curious I stopped close by to watch and decided that I wanted to photograph Jonathan if I got the chance – with this in mind I started to swap lenses to a 18-200mm zoom so that I could grab a candid of the scene to include in my comments if he accepted but before I had done much more than open my bag he thanked the gentleman and started walking in my direction so instead I walked straight up to him and asked if I could take his photo. He and the girl both smiled and laughed slightly but he immediately said yes then asked what I was doing to which I replied “possibly the same as you … 100 Strangers?”. That was not what he was doing though and he handed me his card which explained that he is an accomplished street photographer (Les Garçons De Glasgow) and Cruise have enlisted his help for a marketing campaign.

Jonathan was happy to stand wherever I wanted him to and I almost made a schoolboy error by framing him with a dumper truck prominent in the background but thankfully spotted that (OK it wasn’t difficult to spot the big yellow thing dominating the scene) and moved around to take the shot you see above. Sunglasses have cropped up a fair bit recently and I immediately asked him if he would mind removing them but in retrospect I wish I’d also taken a shot with them on – he is a very stylish gentleman himself and it would have been good to get the full effect as well.

I showed him the image on my camera and chatted a bit more but as we were doing so he spotted someone that he wanted to photograph so he held out his hand and said goodbye before jogging off to show me how it was done. 20 yards down the road he stopped an attractive girl and a few seconds later he was moving her into the shade to take her photograph – job done. I also spotted him again 10 minutes later photographing another girl – they were down a side street and too far away for me to see if she was pretty or not – but I bet she was ;).

Jonathan had been on the streets since 11am and had shot around 20 Personnes de Newcastle so far and he was hoping to get 50 by the time he was going to call it a day around 3 o’clock. Not much time for chat then but I bet that’s a lot of fun!

Strictly speaking I didn’t actually ask permission to publish his photo for the 100 Strangers project but he took my card, had already heard of the project and moreover someone took his photo for the project in London last week so he knows how it works and I reckon that’s good enough. I also looked him up on Flickr (he is here but doesn’t use it much anymore) and Google because when I discovered his surname from his card I began to think that he sounded familiar (although I failed to discover why that should be). Nonetheless, during my brief research Google revealed that he has a biography on Vogue’s website and I’m fairly sure that Vogue has been mentioned on 100 Strangers recently … so does anyone recognise Jonathan as one of their strangers?

Jonathan – thank you very much for taking time out of your busy day to help me with my project – it was a pleasure meeting you and also a pleasure watching you work for a few minutes.
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This picture is #24 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

#23 Anthony, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

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

#22 Dave, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

It was my son’s birthday today and he wanted an ice-cream which is how I met Dave.

Dave runs a small ice cream kiosk beside the beach below Tynemouth Priory and when we arrived he had just stepped out of his kiosk for a short break but stepped back inside when he saw we were stopping. My 3 year old son then fished 50p out of his wallet (which I later replaced … with 60p – canny lad) and handed it over along with my £1 and he was rewarded with a very friendly “thank you” and an ice cream in return. We then wandered off a short distance and loitered while my son ate his ice cream and my brother-in-law took a few photos of a massive ship sailing into the distance and of the Priory itself.

Dave seized this opportunity and tried his luck for a quick break again but as he drew on his cigarette he kept glancing up at the darkening sky and we briefly commented that his luck might be coming to an end for the day. I then decided to ask him for a photo and he shrugged and said “if you like” without seeming to care why but I explained what it was for anyway and he did seem a bit more interested and asked when the photo would be available so I hope he does have a look.

I only took two shots of Dave but in that short time a young girl approached the kiosk but then walked away again and even though I almost immediately thanked him and went back to my family she did not come back – I sincerely hope that I didn’t cost him a sale but I suspect that I might have.

As we walked away though the sun came out again so hopefully there were plenty more ice creams to be sold that afternoon.

Dave, thanks very much for taking part in my project, and most importantly, my son really enjoyed his ice cream!
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This picture is #22 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

#21 Julie, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

This is Rachel’s (#15) Mum – she was also there when I photographed Rachel a couple of weeks ago but I didn’t speak to her that much and nor did I learn her name. Shortly after photographing Rachel events transpired that I asked her to model for me to help with an online photography course that I’m doing and she agreed and yesterday that took place with her Mum coming along for company. When I met them both I immediately asked her Mum if I could photograph her as well for my project and she agreed. I didn’t take any photographs of her until the end of Rachel’s photo shoot though (I think her Mum thought that I had forgotten)! The one thing I did sort out at the beginning though is that I couldn’t call her "Rachel’s Mum" throughout and at that point I learned that her name was Julie.

Ironically I had just about my entire photography kit at my disposal but ended up taking a shot closer to a snapshot than a portrait – Julie does not share her daughter’s love of being in front of the camera and I eventually decided that I had taken advantage of their generosity enough! Some photos are about the portrait and some are about the encounter and I am probably a slightly different person for meeting Rachel and Julie – it took all my courage to send that first email to Rachel but she and her Mum have been brilliant.

I talked with Julie throughout our meeting but as I was there for Rachel (or more accurately vice-versa) I didn’t want to have any conversations that would exclude her so our chats were largely small talk so I will leave you with the single fact that she has a 12 year old black labrador that barks a lot!

Thank you for joining your daughter in helping me with my project Julie – it has been a pleasure meeting you both.
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This picture is #21 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