99% Digital

#20 Howay to Hollywood!!!, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

Despite the fact that one of the things that first jumped out at me about Jez was the splash of colour he always boasts on his head, I have nonetheless decided to post this in Black & White so that everyone sees it exactly the way that Jez does. For the record – his beanie is bright blue!

Jez works just down the road from my office and I regularly see him but have never spoken to him although it has been in my mind to photograph him for this project for longer than I care to admit (although I’m about to) and in fact it goes back further than my #1 but until fairly recently it has nagged at me that if he says “no, don’t be weird” then I still have to walk past him regularly for the foreseeable future. Some time ago I overcame that but other factors have got in the way: weather, time, he was talking to someone else etc etc. Until today … weather was good, I was on the way out for lunch so had plenty of time and he was sat on his own puffing away as normal!

After the usual question, which received a positive answer but with a “why” tagged on, I gave him my card and explained about the project and he was quite happy with that. I chatted to him for a bit before taking any photos and afterwards and even had the wherewithal to take another couple specifically because the sun popped behind a cloud.

Jez works for Le Prevo Ltd, a small leather merchants in a back street of Newcastle – quite unassuming and quite small (4-5 employees) but you have almost certainly seen their work. I couldn’t quite believe it as Jez was telling me this but this little shop has supplied props to some of the biggest Hollywood films around – it all started with Gladiators (yes, the Russell Crowe one) and spiralled from there taking in blockbusters like Pirates of the Caribbean, the Harry Potter films plus many others. Read all about it in Newcastle’s local rag here.

Jez’s job is just part of his overall lifestyle though – he also has his own business supplying leather goods to role playing events and such like as well as making special effects and as if that isn’t enough he is also a professional storyteller – Tall Tales and Short Stories. He works with burlesque performers (now there’s a photo opportunity) through to schoolkids – does it get any more diverse than that?

This lifestyle keeps him busy and he reeled off his itinerary for the next few days and it was sufficiently busy that he’d lost me by the time he reached Penrith on Saturday. His girlfriend is very supportive though but less enthused about some of the movie work which can be very demanding as these jobs can last 3 months and involve 18 hour days. Still, not so bad when you love your job I guess!

Whilst probing for anything he wanted me to write we got onto the subject of music and what he likes and he reported anything involving natural instruments … plus other stuff not involving natural instruments ;). I settled for the following fact though … he loves painting but sees entirely in black, white & grey as he has achromatic colour blindness. With a smile and a laugh he says that he buys a lot of labelled paint ;).

Other than the usual thanks our meeting finished with a simple question “Is it fair to say that you enjoy life?” – I don’t think I need to tell you the answer.

Jez, thanks very much for helping me with my project – it was a real pleasure and one of those encounters that make a mockery of my sometimes shy & retiring approach to this project.
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This picture is #20 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

#19 George, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

George accosted me today and soon persuaded me to send a text message which will fund the planting of trees for their ‘Save the Tiger’ campaign. I have been in this area so often recently that I’m amazed nobody had picked on me before!

Comically, I couldn’t remember how to send a text message (I work in computers – duh!) and he made a joke about smart phones but I bet he was thinking I was trying to wriggle out of it – I wasn’t, I just never send text messages to anyone that’s not in my phonebook. Anyway, my brain eventually kicked in and I remembered how to do it and got the job done!

Once we were done with that I then asked if I could take his photograph and he readily agreed although if I remember correctly he did ask why after saying yes. I handed him my card and explained briefly about the project then took a series of quick shots trying not to keep him away from his task for too long. I almost forgot to ask his name – glad I didn’t as he would have been my first and I would have felt compelled to keep going back to the same area until I found him again ;).

Thanks for taking part in my project George!
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This picture is #19 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

#18 Ronnie, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

This is Ronnie – a very striking appearance I think, but he seemed totally gobsmacked when I asked if I could take his photograph and he did not stop walking until I had managed to explain the purpose and he finally agreed. He sits nicely in my Reluctant Acceptance category.

The first thing that I discovered about Ronnie is that he dresses like this every day – very smart I reckon but he did not seem to share my view that it was in any way notable (it is for Newcastle at least).

Ronnie is recently retired and doesn’t really know what to do with himself – he’s been working since he was 6 when he helped his Mum out in her shop and he went on to run his own Fish & Chip shop. He says that he feels guilty now that he is not doing anything. After I’d taken two or three photos he asked if I was done, I said yes and with a quick handshake and “Thank you” from me he was off.

Ronnie is the first person that I have photographed and not left with details of how to find his photograph but thank you for taking part anyway Ronnie – just in case life’s weird twists somehow bring you here.
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This picture is #18 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

#17 Tim, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

Earlier today I set out thinking it was about time that I started to work on the demographics of my 100 Strangers project which is rather heavily weighted towards people (much) younger than myself. That became laughable as I then found myself photographing a sixth former.

Minutes later though, Tim addressed those demographics a bit and moreover rocketed himself to the top of my project in terms of ‘interestingness’. For one thing he posed and larked about whilst I was trying to take his photograph and we also talked for easily 15 minutes – mostly about Newcastle and photography (personally I could have talked for longer but I’d already used up my hour for lunch pretty much when I first spoke to him).

When I first asked Tim if I could photograph him I think his answer was along the lines of “Who? ME? Why?” – easily the most incredulous response I’ve ever had but I could immediately sense this was going to be a good encounter because he sounded intrigued rather than suspicious. Moreover, as I was explaining about the project he stepped back and took a photo of me – he didn’t ask he just did it – “good response” I commented ;). And that was it – he said yes and off I went, snapping away.

After a very brief spell of posing normally, Tim then started larking about, putting on expressions, tilting his head, pointing, raising his eyebrows etc and the end result is I ended up with several photos unable to decide which one to use – ultimately I went for the straight pose because it was the one that I liked best but I couldn’t not include a selection of the others in the comments – they all work together to sum up the encounter.

Tim is also on Flickr (one of 3 Hairy Hippy’s) and he got his first camera when he was 6 – a Brownie 127 which he still has. He doesn’t recall taking his very first photo but he does believe that he knows which one it is – a photograph of his Dad walking along the beach at Barrow-in-Furness – and he confirms proudly that it WAS in focus! He had a 35 year old Pentax draped around his neck and he also has an Olympus DSLR – I wish I’d asked him how many cameras he owns and looking at one of his Flickr sets I suspect that it is a fair number.

Tim likes to photograph people and architecture but he was out today photographing some new electric hybrid buses and at this point I learned that he is a bus driver and was photographing them largely out of occupational interest – looking through his Flickr stream he has very varied photographic interests suggesting that his love is quite simply with photography itself.

Tim is from London originally but moved to Newcastle in the 70s and can’t see himself ever leaving – we talked a lot about Newcastle and how the area around us had changed, some of which I remembered and some of which was before my time.

Ironically after a recent comment I made about not doing much PP for this project I did end up adding a bit of fill light in PS to bring out the detail of his beard. Had I had a reflector with me I have little doubt that Tim would have embraced it – 110 cm or not!

Tim, thank you very much for your time today and for taking part in my project – you were a lot of fun and I enjoyed our encounter immensely.
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This picture is #17 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

#16 Tamim, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

100 Strangers has delivered quite a day for me. First #15 Rachel agreed to model for me on location (to help me with an online course I’m doing). Then I bag two more “strangers” at lunchtime.

First was Tamim. In all honesty I’m not quite sure what grabbed my attention but something did so I turned around and walked after him – I asked if I could take his photo and was greeted with the usual surprise and “why”. I explained about the project and showed him my card and he shrugged and said yes so I asked him to move into the light a bit. At this point he hadn’t taken my card so I asked him if he would want to see the photo and offered him my card again when he said yes – this time he did take it.

I took several shots of Tamim but learned relatively little about him. He was however a lot younger than I had realised and I was surprised when I learned that he is a sixth former. He asked how old I thought he was but I couldn’t answer that as I hadn’t given it enough thought before I knew the answer. Instead I turned the tables on him and he guessed that I was about 25 – he was equally surprised when I told him that I was 40 ;).

About the only other thing that I learned about Tamim is that he intends to do a double degree in Business Studies and IT, so all the best with that Tamim and thank you very much for taking part in my project.
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This picture is #16 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

#15 Rachel, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

On the back of two rejections in a row (most recently a bride-to-be on a hen party dressed as Marilyn Monroe) I struck very lucky today …

Rachel was sat on the steps of Grey’s Monument in Newcastle talking to her Mum when I approached and asked if I could take her photograph. I already had my card ready so when she asked why, I handed it over and explained about the project. As ever “why” is a very promising response and has always turned into a “yes” – on this occasion it turns out that Rachel is anything but shy and retiring and is pursuing a career in the performing arts (my second such stranger) and moreover her Dad is a keen photographer and currently building up a portfolio for her to use. With a quick “what do you think” to her Mum she agreed quite happily.

Rachel was in Newcastle today shopping for some ballet gear but I got the impression that her real passion and ambition lies with her singing. She mentioned that she had recently posted a video of her singing on YouTube so I offered to include a link with the photo if she wanted me to so she wrote down her website address so that I could find the address. The video quality is quite (actually very) poor unfortunately but Rachel does indeed appear to be a very talented singer – Chasing Pavements by Adele. I’m fairly sure she wouldn’t mind me posting her website address but as I did not actually get permission to do so I won’t (she wrote it down specifically so that I could find the video). If the photographs on her website were taken by her Dad though then he is doing an excellent job that I would love to be able to match. With hindsight I didn’t catch whether her Dad is a professional photographer or amateur but he appears to have access to a studio so he at least takes it seriously.

For the second time I was interrupted during a “100 Strangers” encounter but this time I hadn’t even really got started so after a couple of non-committal responses I had to politely (I hope) explain that I was in the middle of something and the man (a fellow photographer who was admiring my camera) took his leave apologetically.

I asked Rachel to stand up and took one shot with the street as the background then asked her to stand against the monument to get a less cluttered background – I took two profile shots there then another with her looking at me smiling but on review the image pretty much picked itself – you just couldn’t ignore a lovely smile like that! The focus is a bit soft but I still like this shot and the little things like the upturned collar make it a better pose than the other candidate which is nice and sharp (I’ll post it in the comments).

Thank you very much Rachel (and to your Mum) for taking the time to talk to me today and taking part in my project, our meeting was quite short but it felt relaxed throughout and I enjoyed it. Good luck with your career, perhaps I will see you again someday ;).
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This picture is #15 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

#14 Patrick, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

Today saw another fun encounter … and a rejection.

I’m now pretty much at ease with this project now – I walked straight up to Patrick, chatted throughout and took some photos whilst he continued talking. Like others recently he offered to pose or at least move elsewhere so I decided on a shot with him smoking his cigarette and I like the one I got – makes him look very chilled and at ease with the world which is pretty much the impression I got of him.

Patrick is studying Japanese and Cultural Studies at Newcastle University (he started doing Chinese but switched) and next year he is going to Hiroshima for his gap year. He seemed quite confident he would get what he needed and he reckons he’ll probably go on to do a Masters after he graduates. And the best bit … he doesn’t even think that he is good at languages!!!

We talked a bit about approaching people, comfort zones and the 100 Strangers project and he thinks it’s a really cool idea – so here’s one “stranger” that I know is going to follow up and check out the image and the project as a whole. He seemed vaguely surprised that anyone would have a problem walking up to a complete stranger and asking to take their photo even though he appreciated it is not a common thing to do. He was also the second person in two days to shrug and say sure when I asked to take their photo without caring what the reason was.

Random comment – he’s still not convinced he likes his hair and not entirely sure why he did it.

Given my new found comfort zone I’m probably not going to talk about the approach much from now on unless there is something specific to say – such as getting rejected …

… which happened a few minutes later. Pretty girl with deep red hair and huge blue earrings (think Pat Butcher style but twice the size and really nice). She did stop long enough for me to explain the whole project but nonetheless I don’t think I’ve ever been eyed quite so suspiciously and she simply said “not looking the way I do” (talking about herself not me) but I suspect this was just her polite way of saying “get lost weirdo”. I thanked her anyway and left and I can honestly say it didn’t faze me one bit – I’m amazed I got so far before getting my first rejection. Onwards and upwards!

Thanks for taking part Patrick – it was fun chatting with you and I wish you all the best with your studies and especially enjoy your gap year!
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This picture is #14 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

#13 Alex, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

So, after finishing my Lewis encounter I wandered over to say “Hi” to Rob. He was mid song when I got there but nodded in my direction when he spotted me, whilst waiting for him to finish someone else walked up to him and stood right beside him. As Rob finished his song he thanked everyone and was obviously finished his set but then the guy beside him spoke to him very briefly before retreating to sit on the monument steps at which point Rob picked up his guitar again and sang Happy Birthday to … Alex.

There was no visual hook with Alex in the way there has been with my other strangers (distinctive earings, colourful tats, pink hair etc) but the synergy in terms of Rob singing Happy Birthday to him was too good an opportunity to miss so again, I walked up to him without any hesitation.

Like most of my encounters, his first question was "why" but he was cool with the idea and readily agreed. He asked if he needed to pose or just smile so I went the “just smile” route (although I am beginning to think that when people ask this question I need to start thinking if there is a look that I would like to go for – the casual lean against a wall or whatever that other photographers on here seem to get regularly). I took a few shots with and without his sunglasses on and the shot above was by far the best one – I’m not sure if his mates did something or other but from a slight smile throughout he suddenly broke into this smile and I snapped away at just the right moment.

After taking the shots I sat beside him to show him the photograph and to have a chat. Alex is between jobs at the moment having just come out of the 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment based in St Athans, Wales and has not yet started his next job. He did a stint in Afghanistan as well but he is pretty disillusioned with the Paras now – I asked if this was to do with the current swathe of budget cuts but it seems it is wider ranging than that – ‘It’s all gone to sh!t”.

Alex celebrated his birthday with a drink (or two I would imagine) on Saturday and was going out for a meal tonight so I thanked him and left him to enjoy the rest of his birthday.

Alex, thanks very much for taking part.
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This picture is #13 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

#12 Lewis, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

Today was a good day, and Lewis is the first of two encounters today. Taken at Grey’s Monument again I spotted Lewis from a distance and frankly just walked straight up to him and asked to take his photo – he immediately agreed and didn’t appear to be that curious why but I explained anyway. I took a few shots and only one wasn’t acceptably sharp so I’m pretty pleased with that.

Lewis was handing out leaflets for a print shop but it turns out that he doesn’t actually work for them – he has been on the dole for a couple of years but he’s obviously tackling this with a very healthy attitude as he walked into the print shop and offered to hand out leaflets for them – and here he is. It cropped up in the conversation what qualifications Lewis has and they mostly escape me now but he has some sort of photography qualification but doesn’t think he should pick a career just because he enjoys something – he mostly enjoys landscape photography.

Regarding the headdress I asked if it was his or the shops and why he was wearing it and he explained that he had been at Download Festival – this I presume was an explanation why he owned it rather than why he was wearing it which with hindsight I never actually discovered. Anyway, pmcconnochie – apparently you missed one, but I’ve got your back covered ;).

All the time I was doing this Rob (my #9) was playing in the background which was quite cool. At that I thanked Lewis and said goodbye then wandered over to say hello to Rob and as a direct result got my #10 a few minutes later.

Lewis, thanks very much for taking part in my project and good luck with getting yourself sorted out with a job soon.
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This picture is #12 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

#11 Jamie & Ellie, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

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I’m gutted!!!!

This was easily one of my better encounters but the photographs are terrible – I took a few of Jamie individually but have since binned them and the best individual shot of Ellie took a bit of work to approach anything even remotely acceptable.

Jamie, Ellie … look at the other shots in my 100 Strangers set – I’m not a professional but I can take much better photographs than this and if you have any interest in getting better photographs taken then please get in touch – it will cost you nothing more than your time and you can have the originals and some prints to do what you like with.

So what happened? I had a drink (or two) after work … then, on the metro going home afterwards I spotted Jamie’s t-shirt which I think is quite noticeable and the two of them were quite wrapped up in each other but nonetheless I decided to bother them and ask to take their photo.

Jamie seemed suspicious and Ellie intrigued at best but I pushed on and explained about the project and handed Ellie my card and they agreed. I started with a couples shot but including Jamie’s t-shirt, then took some individual shots of Jamie then Ellie but it is clear to see that given I have quite shaky hands to start with (naturally, before nerves kick in), I’d had a couple (ahem) of pints and was on a moving metro train the challenge it would appear was a bit above me.

Whilst taking some individual shots of Jamie I asked him if he thought I was weird and I genuinely can’t remember if he said a little or yes … but either way the answer was definitely yes ;).

After I’d taken several shots I put the camera down and had a proper chat with them and this is why I have included this encounter despite the end result (I’m not sure I’d ever ignore an encounter but I certainly did not consider doing so on this occasion). Jamie is a labourer but clearly is not overly happy with his job so I tried to swing the conversation to Newcastle United instead and he does go to games when he can. He didn’t seem too bothered about the current goings on at the club which to be honest is not a bad approach and probably just about the only way you could get through a season enjoying it at the moment!!!

Ellie works at Triple-S (where Jamie’s t-shirt came from) but she commented that her Dad is a professional photographer (which makes me cringe now I’ve seen the photos) but it seems he didn’t particularly enjoy his job largely because he was taking commercial shots whereas he seems to enjoy it more now he has retired because he can take the photographs he wants to rather than the photographs where there’s money to be had. Perhaps I’m naive but I find it sad that someone could have such a wonderful job and not enjoy it!

Jamie – maybe I should have said this at the time but I’m a season ticket holder at Newcastle and you now have my email address – if there’s a game you want to go to and you can’t get tickets elsewhere – give me a shout, my mates miss games every now and again and you never know!

Thanks very much Jamie & Ellie – it was great fun talking to you, and following my shortest encounter you have probably become my longest encounter (although you were a captive audience;) ) – if I see you at our local metro station again I will have no hesitation saying "Hi".
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This picture is #11 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