Paco_X
Stranger 164 : Art
There were so many things about Stranger #164 that I found photographically desirable that I knew the moment I spotted him that I wanted to include him in my project. However, I must admit I felt a little trepidation at the thought of approaching him. He was standing on the sidewalk clearly promoting a political movement. He had set up signage and literature, but his purpose seemed to be more focused on targeting potential candidates to join the movement rather than indiscriminately campaigning his cause to all passing pedestrians. I parked myself about ten feet away from him in hopes of getting his attention as a way to commence our encounter. This tactic did not appear to be working as he seemed to be entirely disinterested in my presence. My guess is that he had sized me up as someone who was not sympathetic toward his movement… and he would have been correct in that thinking as I do not agree with the ideology that he was representing. In fact, I was a little concerned that a portrait request might be met with a severe rebuff. That said, I was determined and I stood my ground. Finally our eyes met. I jumped right in with a smile and a cheery “Can I take your picture?”
It seemed that I had successfully deflated our stand-off as he returned the smile and replied “Sure.”
So began our encounter. I explained my project to Art as we were setting up the shot. I also used the project as a means to address the obvious political divide between the two of us. I mentioned to him that one year prior I had photographed a political rally/protest/march that was part of his movement, and that I had obtained a few stranger portraits from that event. He expressed interest, so using my phone, I showed him some of the shots from that protest. He immediately recognized the subject of one of my most memorable stranger encounters; Stranger #144- Sergeant-Major Herbert from the Black Man Army (of which I think Art was a member as well). I believe sharing those images served to legitimize my standing as a photojournalist in Art’s mind, and we wound up having a very cordial and successful photo shoot. We wrapped up and wished each other well. I am entirely pleased with how the portrait and the meeting turned out. Once again, a potential stranger encounter that had me full of anxiety and trepidation turned out to be a pleasant experience. It was simply two men, albeit from opposite sides of the spectrum, sharing a few minutes of respect and good will on a cold December day. This project never ceases to amaze me.
Check out the rest of the stranger street portraits in my project at Paco's 100 Strangers Project and find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.
Stranger 164 : Art
There were so many things about Stranger #164 that I found photographically desirable that I knew the moment I spotted him that I wanted to include him in my project. However, I must admit I felt a little trepidation at the thought of approaching him. He was standing on the sidewalk clearly promoting a political movement. He had set up signage and literature, but his purpose seemed to be more focused on targeting potential candidates to join the movement rather than indiscriminately campaigning his cause to all passing pedestrians. I parked myself about ten feet away from him in hopes of getting his attention as a way to commence our encounter. This tactic did not appear to be working as he seemed to be entirely disinterested in my presence. My guess is that he had sized me up as someone who was not sympathetic toward his movement… and he would have been correct in that thinking as I do not agree with the ideology that he was representing. In fact, I was a little concerned that a portrait request might be met with a severe rebuff. That said, I was determined and I stood my ground. Finally our eyes met. I jumped right in with a smile and a cheery “Can I take your picture?”
It seemed that I had successfully deflated our stand-off as he returned the smile and replied “Sure.”
So began our encounter. I explained my project to Art as we were setting up the shot. I also used the project as a means to address the obvious political divide between the two of us. I mentioned to him that one year prior I had photographed a political rally/protest/march that was part of his movement, and that I had obtained a few stranger portraits from that event. He expressed interest, so using my phone, I showed him some of the shots from that protest. He immediately recognized the subject of one of my most memorable stranger encounters; Stranger #144- Sergeant-Major Herbert from the Black Man Army (of which I think Art was a member as well). I believe sharing those images served to legitimize my standing as a photojournalist in Art’s mind, and we wound up having a very cordial and successful photo shoot. We wrapped up and wished each other well. I am entirely pleased with how the portrait and the meeting turned out. Once again, a potential stranger encounter that had me full of anxiety and trepidation turned out to be a pleasant experience. It was simply two men, albeit from opposite sides of the spectrum, sharing a few minutes of respect and good will on a cold December day. This project never ceases to amaze me.
Check out the rest of the stranger street portraits in my project at Paco's 100 Strangers Project and find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.