al
Posed photo of Al, a stranger I met while walking along Enmore road earlier in the week.
I decided to post this photo for two reasons. Firstly, for myself to allow me to reflect on my feelings around approaching strangers for photos. Secondly, to keep myself familiar and relatively comfortable in approaching strangers for their portraits in a street setting.
I always like to start my outings with a positive mindset. I may reflect on photos that I’ve seen or song lyrics that I’ve heard to try to stimulate any creative thoughts. I’ll decide on a location and dress in my smart casual gear with comfy shoes and my favourite trilby hat. (I like the trilby as it has a narrow brim that shields the bright light yet doesn’t bump into my viewfinder).
When I start my outing, I’m conscious of slowing myself down so that I’m able to notice opportunities. Of course, I’ll also make sure my camera settings are in the correct ballpark. But slowing down to get into my zone mentally is a critical element for me.
It wasn’t long into my outing that I met Al. This was in fact my first shot of the day. He was standing at the door of an old barber shop with the classic red and blue barber’s pole spinning as it does. I said hello and he seemed interested in my camera and initially thought I may have been a photo journalist hahah (maybe it was the hat). So I told him that I grew up in the area and that I was working on a street photography project documenting sights of the everyday as I see them. After some banter, I told him that he would make a terrific subject next to the barber’s pole, or even better within the shop but got the impression that he didn’t seem too keen. He didn’t pass up on the opportunity for a portrait though, so I took this. Al was genuinely interested in photography and more broadly in my hobby in general. I’ll fondly remember this encounter as it’s a reminder to me that in this day and age of heightened privacy concerns, photography can still bring people together and that strangers are really not that scary.
PS. I sent the photos I took of Al to him which he appreciated.
Enmore Road, Enmore
October, 2022
al
Posed photo of Al, a stranger I met while walking along Enmore road earlier in the week.
I decided to post this photo for two reasons. Firstly, for myself to allow me to reflect on my feelings around approaching strangers for photos. Secondly, to keep myself familiar and relatively comfortable in approaching strangers for their portraits in a street setting.
I always like to start my outings with a positive mindset. I may reflect on photos that I’ve seen or song lyrics that I’ve heard to try to stimulate any creative thoughts. I’ll decide on a location and dress in my smart casual gear with comfy shoes and my favourite trilby hat. (I like the trilby as it has a narrow brim that shields the bright light yet doesn’t bump into my viewfinder).
When I start my outing, I’m conscious of slowing myself down so that I’m able to notice opportunities. Of course, I’ll also make sure my camera settings are in the correct ballpark. But slowing down to get into my zone mentally is a critical element for me.
It wasn’t long into my outing that I met Al. This was in fact my first shot of the day. He was standing at the door of an old barber shop with the classic red and blue barber’s pole spinning as it does. I said hello and he seemed interested in my camera and initially thought I may have been a photo journalist hahah (maybe it was the hat). So I told him that I grew up in the area and that I was working on a street photography project documenting sights of the everyday as I see them. After some banter, I told him that he would make a terrific subject next to the barber’s pole, or even better within the shop but got the impression that he didn’t seem too keen. He didn’t pass up on the opportunity for a portrait though, so I took this. Al was genuinely interested in photography and more broadly in my hobby in general. I’ll fondly remember this encounter as it’s a reminder to me that in this day and age of heightened privacy concerns, photography can still bring people together and that strangers are really not that scary.
PS. I sent the photos I took of Al to him which he appreciated.
Enmore Road, Enmore
October, 2022