99% Digital

#60 Sean, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

For 4 weeks now my #1 hit list "stranger" has been someone sporting a Movember, in short – a moustache grown throughout the month of November to raise awareness of men’s health issues (and commonly to raise money as well). I’ve seen umpteen potential movembers whilst out on the prowl but never quite plucked up the courage to ask someone in the early stages on the basis that the question could be somewhat offensive if the fluff they were sporting on their upper lip was actually a lifetime’s achievement. Then, as the month progressed, it got harder and harder to tell what was likely to be a movember and what wasn’t.

When I saw Sean’s moustache I suspected it was a movember but I liked his style anyway and he carried himself with a confidence that promised an interesting encounter either way. As I caught up with him though he had just approached a street vendor to buy a crepe so I wandered around a bit keeping my eyes open for other strangers but also keeping rough tabs on where he was.

When he finished his crepe and I first approached Sean I asked him for a photo the same as anyone else, making no reference to his moustache and he quickly agreed before I had even mentioned the project. I dug out my camera and whilst checking a couple of settings on it I popped the movember question and was relieved to hear my suspicions confirmed. So Sean ticks off my Mr Movember quest with only a couple of days to spare.

Movember, as far as I understand it, is first and foremost about awareness of the issues but most people raise money for charity as well and Sean has raised around £300. Apparently there was a Movember party in Newcastle yesterday and he informed me that a group of students that managed to raise £2000 last year have managed £40 this year … a definite sign of the times.

As Sean seemed more than happy to stand and talk to me for a while I took care to ensure that I had good focus on his eyes through his glasses … and moreover was rewarded with a pretty cool jovial smile/laugh in the third and final shot. I failed to take the time to spot the great big monument sticking out of his head though – Ahhhh!!!

After I put my camera away I asked Sean what he did for a living and he answered with quite a glint in his eye – it was really obvious at that point that he loves his job and is very proud of it … Sean works in the film industry writing film scripts and he is currently working on the life story of Larry Grayson – an entertainer to whom he has a very tentative link as his father knew the nephew of Larry Grayson. I enjoy my job on the whole but I think Sean is one of the lucky ones in life that is truly passionate about his job … you make your own luck of course!

Sean used to work in Finance but left his job and as part of his escape from the sector he did a bit of performance poetry as well. We had a bit of a joke about the Finance thing as well as we were just down the road from Newcastle’s Occupy movement and whilst I work in IT rather than Finance my current project is for a Hedge Fund. Sean seemed happy that his current disguise would protect him though ;).

By the way, for anyone considering growing a movember next year – yes he does have an “other half” and she hates it!

Sean, thanks very much for taking part in my project – I hope that you like the permanent testimony to your achievement this month.
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Please feel free to provide constructive critique on the technical aspects of this photograph.

This picture is #60 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

#59 Fiona, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

“I’m not very photogenic” … I’ve read that so many times on here but Fiona is the first person that has said it to me. I beg to differ and told her as much which in itself elicited a nice smile!

When I first walked past Fiona she was wandering about clutching a microphone for a local radio station but as she was also having her lunch she obviously wasn’t working right at this minute. When I asked her if I could take her photograph she looked slightly bemused and answered “Really?” but she soon agreed after I explained about the project and handed her one of my cards.

At this point we were standing quite close to a street vendor’s awning and the light seemed a little dull so we moved over a bit and I took several photographs because her expression was changing quite a lot as she was animated and talking and smiling all at the same time.

Fiona was on the street to interview people in the light of the imminent public sector strikes to ask if they could afford to take a day off work – she then asked me if I could and after I answered she decided that her lunch break was over and asked if I would repeat my answer into her microphone, pointing out that she had helped me and now I could help her. I think she was just after soundbites and that’s certainly all that she asked for and got from me before she turned her microphone off and we went back to talking about her.

I asked Fiona what she likes to do outside work and she replied that she lives in Hexham and loves walking (making Hexham a fantastic base) but says that her job is her life at the moment. Whilst mulling over her answer a bit more Fiona commented that she is used to being on the other side of the questions! Something possessed me to try my “craziest thing you’ve ever done” question again and it certainly moved the conversation in a different direction …

Whilst neither of us were convinced that this actually amounted to crazy, Fiona did live in a convent in India for a while as part of her gap year whilst she was teaching English as a foreign language. This then led onto the nugget of information that she fell off the back of a motorcycle whilst over there – there were three of them on it at the time and the rider was stoned. She asked me not to mention the latter part but when I asked if she was serious she thought about it then relented. As much as anything else I like the way that this ties in with Lester’s “craziest thing” answer – there’s a bit of a common theme appearing here ;).

Fiona, it was lovely talking to you and thank you very much for taking time out to help me with my project. I think that you are very “photogenic” and I hope that you like the photo when you see it.
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This story continues and may or may not finish with Jaclyn.
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Please feel free to provide constructive critique on the technical aspects of this photograph.

This picture is #59 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

#58 Ann, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

I spotted Ann sitting on a bench just outside Fenwicks as her nice bright coat and hat caught my eye so I went and sat down beside her and asked if she would mind if I took her photograph – she was fairly non-committal at this stage but agreed once I had explained what the project was about.

Before I took any photos I learned that Ann was in town today shopping with her daughter and granddaughter and this is a weekly ritual of which a large part comprises a nice lunch – quite right too ;). She was on her own at the time whilst her daughter and granddaughter popped into a nearby shop, which is just as well for me as if she had been part of a group it is unlikely that I would have asked her.

I took two photos of Ann – the first was cropped a bit tighter than I intended so I took a second but I left it at that as I wasn’t confident that Ann was comfortable with the situation as she spent quite a bit of time not looking at the camera. When I checked the photos later I was a bit concerned that the first shot was unacceptably soft but thankfully the focus was much better on the second one which is also the better composition.

After I had photographed Ann I sat down beside her again and learned that she used to be a resident warden in a home for the elderly. Ann used a specific phrase that I committed to memory as I wanted to use it verbatim but unfortunately it escapes me now but the gist of it was that she tried to make each of the resident’s lives just that little bit better – especially the unhappy ones. The bit that I do remember is that she tried to “make them smile every day”. I can’t think of a better way to end my story about Ann so …

… thank you very much for taking a little time out to help me with my project Ann. I hope that you like the photo when you see it.
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Please feel free to provide constructive critique on the technical aspects of this photograph.

This picture is #58 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

#57 Kamal, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

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! 😉
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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

#56 Lauren, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

If you can’t photograph a charity volunteer on Children in Need night then I don’t know when you can. So with this in mind I set off along Northumberland Street today dodging the WWF and Amnesty International people (no offence to either organisation but they have been around forever and hassled me once or twice too often now). As an added bonus the Christmas lights had been switched on which is something that I have been waiting for to get a bit of bokeh into my shots.

Once I saw Lauren with her face painted I decided that I was going to ask her but after a bit of a slow down in my project it took me a minute or two to pluck up the courage (especially after a rejection earlier today). She was collecting along with another student and they both looked somewhat surprised when I asked and immediately asked why but seemed quite happy when I explained. Her friend added the proviso that I donate to their charity (I expected nothing less) but said that I had to put the money in his tin because Lauren was way ahead of him today. I popped £1 into his tin but (with an apology to her friend) immediately evened things up by doing the same to Lauren’s tin. Nonetheless I did help him out by keeping Lauren occupied for the next few minutes – apologies Barnardo’s … although you are getting some free publicity ;).

Lauren is a 1st year Psychology student but was torn between that and a Law degree but eventually decided to pursue the former although she may well undertake a conversion course later to pursue a career in Law.

When I was ready to photograph Lauren I asked her to step into the middle of the street to get a cleaner background and took a couple of shots of her but she didn’t particularly like the one that I was happy with so I took one more and got a bit more of a smile and more importantly one that Lauren was content with – although she still didn’t seem overly happy with it :(.

At this point I was about to thank her and say goodbye when she volunteered that today is her “Birthday Eve” as she is going to be 19 tomorrow. She will be doing a bit more collecting for Barnardo’s and her parents are coming up to see her but she has no real plans other than to chill and enjoy the day. Saturday birthdays – you can’t beat ‘em ;). So with that I thanked Lauren, wished her a good day for tomorrow and left her to rattle her tin a bit more.

Lauren, thank you very much for taking the time to help me with my project – if you do look it up then I hope that you like the shot more on your computer than you did on my camera.

On to the boring stuff (Lauren and others may want to ignore this bit) …

Technically there was a bit more effort in this shot than others – when I first arrived at Northumberland Street I switched my camera to manual metering and focus – focused at 0.6m (which with hindsight was ridiculously close) and photographed the Christmas lights using a range of fast shutter speeds and wide apertures to see how much the lights blurred and ensure they weren’t too bright. After a few shots and photographing my hand (using the popup flash only) I eventually settled on 1/200s and also opened up to f/1.8 which is a bit beyond my usual f/2.2 comfort zone. Amazingly for me I even remembered to switch back to autofocus before setting off to find a “stranger”.

When I photographed Lauren I used my SB-800 Speedlight on camera and angled one click from vertical and with the bounce card extended – I was quite surprised how well this lit Lauren and on reviewing the shot on the computer it actually blew the highlights on her forehead a tiny bit which I had to recover in Photoshop. Next stop … manual flash … haven’t a clue what power to start experimenting with!
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Please feel free to provide constructive critique on the technical aspects of this photograph.

This picture is #56 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

#55 Paul, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

I almost passed up a great encounter today …

… I wasn’t in the best of moods when I first saw Paul – my 3 year old son had been playing up for the last 2 and a bit hours and we had finally given up on the rest of our plans for the day and decided to go home instead. My wife was the one that pointed Paul out to me whilst we were waiting for a metro (Newcastle underground) and another day I might well have walked straight up to him but today I just wasn’t in the mood.

20 minutes later however, after a quiet relaxed journey I had calmed down and felt much happier and when Paul (and the person he was with – Christine) got off the train I took the fairly sudden decision to ask him and had to run to make sure I got off the train before the doors closed. A short jog to catch him up and as soon as I asked him he agreed, laughing because he had already been asked for a photograph today. At this point Christine suggested that I take a shot of him in the hearse or the coffin saying that they were just a couple of minutes away – this sounded like a cool idea so I agreed and off we went. The hearse is the family run-around, for no reason other than that Christine has always wanted one and whilst trying to haggle the seller down the deal was eventually made when he offered to chuck in a coffin as a sweetener ;).

When we got back to their house Paul invited me in and offered me a beer (Guinness, excellent) which was unbelievably friendly of them given they didn’t know me from Adam and then he disappeared for a minute to put on some black lipstick and complete the look. He then stepped into the coffin and held the pose while I took a photo. This was great for my story but not the shot that I was after so we stepped outside so I could take a cleaner shot. Just as Paul was about to step outside though Christine pointed out that he wasn’t fully dressed and held out the studded collar for him to really complete the look.

Paul repairs cars by trade and informed his employer right from the off that the piercings stay and that if he had any accidents as a result then that was his problem.

With hindsight I now massively regret not asking Christine to be in my project as well – I stuck to my guns at the time by only photographing Paul (being my original target) but the encounter right from the off went in a direction that I could never have imagined and Christine was an equally important part of the whole thing. Paul and Christine attend (and host I think) many events raising funds for the Cats Protection League and as part of her line of work (Fiendish Fusion and Bellydance From The Darkside) she moves in a circle of Zompires – a cross between Zombies and Vampires. She gave me a business card with her facebook page but I never thought to ask permission to post it here – if Christine gets in touch though and agrees then I will include it later as it includes many photographs of both Christine and Paul and the Happy Hearse.

The obvious question given Paul’s style was what his music interests were (although I did ask if his style was music based or simply his fashion) and he listed a few artists that I’d never heard of but did include The Cult so some common ground there and checking out Rob Zombie he’s perhaps not that far removed from my tastes either.

Christine and Paul live with two rescue cats Pansy and Gummy – the first was very friendly and wandered over for a stroke almost immediately but Gummy was more cautious, probably justifiably so as she is sadly called gummy for the obvious reason and is missing her teeth.

Paul told me a great story about a time that they were dressed as Jesus and Satan and a little old lady with a walking stick walked up to them, said “you look fantastic” and carried on her merry way. He contrasted that with the *******s late at night that “can’t hold their beer” and sometimes make unpleasant comments. In his own words “we’re not doing anybody any harm” and indeed looking at the photos on Chrtistine’s facebook page they are certainly outlandish on a frequent basis but it’s all harmless fun.

Paul, Christine – thank you very much for taking part in my project. You went further than any other “stranger” that I have approached – you invited me into your home, plied me with beer, gave me my first insight into the world of zompires, and you were so friendly – equally happy to talk about your interests and mine.

PS: I keep banging on about this but yet again some strong links formed between my strangers. Paul and Christine know my #20 Jez who has compered some of their events and they also have visited the tiny micro brewery that I visited last Thursday and vaguely recognised my 54th stranger Lizzie.
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This picture is #55 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

#54 Lizzies Dimples, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

I’m really not sure where to start with this one but Lizzie has undoubtebly rocketed into my list of favourite encounters. First of all she has a beer named after her and secondly, um … she has a beer named after her!

So … I was on a works trip visiting a brewery (High House Farm Brewery, Matfen). The format of these trips is basically to learn about the process, sample the product then socialise with your mates over a buffet. So I happily followed the tour hearing about beers such as Auld Hemp, Lizzies Dimples, Red Shap & Matfen Magic. Skipping on a bit the sampling came next and at this point I asked who "Lizzie" was (as in "Lizzies Dimples") and I was delighted to hear that it was in fact the barmaid that had served us before the tour started – she sort of acknowledged the attention but didn’t make a big deal of it. I don’t need to tell anyone that knows me that the cogs in my head were already turning at this point.

As the tour and sampling closed and my work mates started to move through to the buffet room I asked Lizzie if I could take her photo but didn’t explain why (this is my preferred approach when I think someone is going to say yes) – she smiled coyly and asked why and as with several other encounters I knew with certainty at this point that she was going to say yes and after I explained about the project she did indeed agree.

Taking a photo of Lizzie was fun in itself – I took one shot without flash on aperture priority mode and without even looking I knew it was duff (shutter speed audibly slow) so I told her that I was going to have to blind her and attached my flash on to the camera – I then took a few shots with the flash bounced off the ceiling until I got one I was happy with and showed it to Lizzie but she immediately said it looked like she had "sleep eye" in one eye and when I looked she was right and moreover all the other shots were like that too – so I tried again … and again ;). Each one the same … her eyes were partially closed every time so we reached the point that I actually told her to blink then shot immediately afterwards – I did this once and the result is the photo you see. I have never "instructed" at this level before and if Lizzie hadn’t been so comfortable and fun I doubt I would have had the confidence to do so today either but the whole encounter was just so relaxed it came easily. Writing this now I realise that I was probably experiencing the problem that I have photographing my cats in that their eyes can react quicker than my camera can cope with and the answer is to pre-fire the flash (or use manual) but that didn’t sink in at the time and it’s quite possibly a good thing because the whole eyes closed thing proved to be a fun "issue" that kept the shoot light hearted as the number of near misses racked up. Had I tried to get too technical at this point I’d probably have cocked it up and also possibly changed the rapport that I think we had.

Forsaking my buffet and favouring my project I stopped to talk to Lizzie for quite a long time …

Lizzie is the daughter of the couple that now run the brewery side of High House Farm and has been working in the bar for a week or so having previously been a receptionist. She hopes to train as a nurse but has much more important plans afoot at the moment and come the end of next year she is going to travel to New Zealand and Australia for a couple of years, part holiday and part working. She is going with her friend Louise and leaves behind a boyfriend Jordan but he is welcome to join them if he can and may well do so for the latter half of their trip. Lizzie was incredibly enthusiastic throughout – she is obviously beside herself with excitement in terms of what life holds for her over the next few years but at the same time she seems to have her head screwed on right and misunderstanding my meaning with one comment she acknowledges that not everyone is nice and also they intend to always have sufficient funds available to pay for immediate flights home if things go pear shaped.

And so to "Lizzies Dimples" … this was part of Lizzie’s 21st birthday present last September – having a beer named after her! And she is getting to be quite famous featuring in the High House Farm Brewery pamphlet, Cheers magazine, and also a wedding photographer’s website (who used her photo without asking her – Tut, Tut!!!).

Lizzie, thank you very much for taking part in my project – I really enjoyed talking to you and your lust for life shone throughout. I hope that New Zealand and Australia is everything that you hope it will be and a bit more besides – life’s dull without a few surprises thrown in! Make sure you do that sky dive 😉
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This picture is #54 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

#53 Liam – The Man Behind The Simon Cowell Mask, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

First of all ladies, an apology – when I first approached Liam he wasn’t wearing a shirt but I let him put his shirt back on before taking any photos. You will just have to believe me when I say that he is ripped … but then he would be as he is a finely honed athlete!

Liam is in fact Liam Collins and some of our UK contingent may well recognise him as half of Faces of Disco that reached the finals of Britain’s Got Talent.

Odd!!! So how did a finely honed athlete find himself dancing on Britain’s Got Talent?

When I first saw Liam he was just starting his street act but I ignored him and carried on looking for a stranger but nobody caught my eye so I started walking back to work – and past Liam again but now he was saying something about trying to get to the Olympics as part of the GB bobsleigh team. This piqued my interest so I stopped to watch his act which quickly moved on from the interesting story to the actual act itself which amounted to a rendition of YMCA whilst the duo donned a series of celebrity face masks.

By now I had resolved to ask him to take part in my strangers project but when they had finished I simply donated to his cause and wished him luck then stepped back until it was clear they had received all the donations they were going to get. At this point I asked him if I could take his photo and he happily agreed which came as no surprise given his street act and brush with fame on TV as well as the publicity that must accompany his competitive dreams. Nonetheless I explained very briefly about the project.

I had missed most of the story so I asked what the problem with funding is and the gist of the story is that lottery funding would only be granted if the team could reach the top 8 in the world and they are currently 20th. Liam reckons that to get into the top 8 would take £80K for a new bobsleigh and another £200K for the team to cover training, travel & expenses.

Liam is off to join the team this Sunday and will return to the UK on 4 December before jetting off again on the 4 January to compete in the European Championships in Germany.

I took a couple of photos of Liam then he grabbed a mask and held it up so I asked which was his favourite mask but he replied that he “hates them all” so we went with the Simon Cowell mask anyway but I asked him to put it on rather than hold it up. In a way I wanted to use the joke shot as the main portrait or perhaps create a diptych but ultimately I have gone with the straight portrait because behind the fun story there is the serious matter of a man’s dreams and that deserves respect.

Digging about on the internet a bit reveals that Liam was originally an athlete (by which I mean he competed in athletics) and very nearly made it to the 2004 Summer Olympics so Liam I wish you all the best attaining your new dream to make it to the 2014 Winter Olympics and thank you very much for taking time to participate in my project.
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This picture is #53 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

#52 Dave, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

I was having a friendly game of darts with a few work mates when the pub suddenly filled with lots of people dressed up for Halloween and I decided this was a must do stranger opportunity. Dave was the one that caught my eye mainly because he reminded me of Slash so I went and grabbed my camera bag and ploughed into the middle of them. As most of my work mates know that I am doing this project I probably had a bit of an audience behind me but as I kept my back to them the whole time I have no idea if they were watching or not – I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have felt any pressure anyway as I’d been in the pub for a while by now – if you see what I mean.

Dave has recently finished doing a PhD in something to do with genetics and now works at the Centre for Life doing something to do with genetics. A friend of mine works there and has taken on a training role for the last few years so I asked Dave if he knew him which he didn’t but one of his friends did (the girl bottom left in the group shot) – Newcastle’s a lot smaller than it seems.

I tried taking a few shots holding a flash off to the side and triggering it remotely but the flash didn’t fire – not sure why as I’d checked the settings beforehand when I was out at lunchtime and it was working fine then and I’ve since checked again and everything is still setup correctly and I was holding it in my left hand which meant that the sensor was pointing towards my camera so I have no idea what the problem was. Nonetheless the images are just about acceptable sharpness and brightened up OK in Photoshop.

Dave’s friends were milling about showing interest and wandering off throughout so I asked a few of them to group together for another shot and those that were listening at the time obliged but stood some distance apart so I could only see about two and a half of them in the viewfinder given the space that I had to work with. I asked them to huddle up a bit more and the group shot is the result. The four non-Daves (probably) in the shot are notable because they are the first strangers that I have included in my project without knowing their names.

Dave and co, you were all obviously enjoying yourselves so thanks very much for taking a bit of time out to help me with my project.
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This picture is #52 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

#51 Bekie, a photo by haggisandchips on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

When I first passed Bekie she was sitting down having a quick break and talking to someone else but I was aware that the other girl left just after I passed so after a few seconds pause I went back and asked her if I could take her photograph. She seemed hesitant but I got the impression this was because the request was unusual more than anything else and whilst I wasn’t sure which way this one was going to go she agreed.

As I was speaking to her a friend joined her but he stayed out of the way and didn’t get involved until I was taking some photos of Bekie at which point he made her laugh … I don’t know your name “Bekie’s friend” but thanks anyway – I’m beginning to realise that a stranger’s friend is also our friend as they invariably (at least in my experience) help to draw out that smile or laugh!

I didn’t talk to Bekie for long – she’d just been joined by her friend and I’m not sure she’d even said “Hello” to him yet but I did learn that she works for Top Man and doesn’t do much except go out socialising (that may not be quite how she phrased it).

Thanks very much for your time today Bekie – you have a really cool distinctive style and I hope that you like the image.
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This picture is #51 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