258/300 - Josh
At the conclusion of my Astronomy class this noon I couldn’t resist passing by Dundas Square since it was only a few steps away. Dundas Square is in the heart of Downtown Toronto and is usually a hub of activity. I’ve met several of my past Strangers here so I thought I’d check it out before going home.
Sure enough, the Square was mostly fenced off while a number of delivery trucks and workmen were busily engaged in setting up for some kind of event. I asked a security guard and was told I was witnessing preparations for a videogame release party. The new videogame “Call of Duty – Ghost” was to be released at midnight tonight to an eagerly-awaiting audience of gamers. I thanked the guard for filling me in and upon turning away I was struck by this young man standing by the security fence, chatting with his friend. It was his colourful, high-altitude Mohawk hairstyle that first caught my eye but then I noticed the piercings decorating his face which appeared friendly and expressive. I tried waiting for a break in the conversation but his friend was a real talker and finally I just had to apologize for interrupting and commented on his impressive hairstyle and told him about my photo project. Meet Josh.
We shook hands and Josh agreed to participate in 100 Strangers almost before I had explained it to him. He had to have seen my camera and said he’s used to people wanting to take his photo, so “Sure.” Finding a decent background nearby was not easy and I was a bit concerned about the bright overcast light, but wasn’t going to miss photographing this interesting young man. I decided to simply pose him alongside the security fence he was standing near and he willingly shifted his body position as I requested in my effort to minimize background distractions and get some light reaching his eyes.
Josh will be 22 in 2 weeks and was born and raised in Toronto. He works as a body piercer and has the appropriate qualification for the work. He is also an apprentice tattoo artist, still working under supervision while he gains the experience to complete his qualification as a tattoo artist. He is between jobs and will be starting work at a new studio in a week or so. I found out that the Call of Duty game is something he has been waiting for with great anticipation – enough anticipation that he came down to Dundas Square at 4:00 this morning to become the first person standing in line for the midnight release! When I asked Josh how he would describe himself he said “I’m not as unusual as I look. Basically I’m just easy-going and down-to-earth.” We talked about the fact that I have a son with the same name (but not the same hair). I asked how he deals with his hair at night and he said he just washes out the gel and spray he uses each morning to spike it up into a Mohawk. As for the dye, he said it lasts months so he doesn’t have to reapply it very often at all.
I found Josh to have a very gentle and friendly manner and it was fun meeting him. He was very tolerant of my questions and happy to answer them. It was abundantly clear that he and I, though far apart in age and lifestyle, were quite similar in what really counts: respect, openness, and good-will. Our brief acquaintance on Dundas Square today proved that.
I decided to use the Mohawk photo as the main submission since this is the feature that first attracted me to Josh. I'm including the close-up as a comment photo because without the hair, it seems to open a different window into his personality.
Thank you Josh for participating in 100 Strangers. You are now Stranger #258 in Round 3 of my project. It was a pleasure getting to meet you and I hope the game proves worth your long, cold wait.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
To browse Round 1 of my 100 Strangers project click here: www.flickr.com/photos/jeffcbowen/sets/72157633145986224/
To browse Round 2 of my 100 Strangers project click here:www.flickr.com/photos/jeffcbowen/sets/72157634422850489/
258/300 - Josh
At the conclusion of my Astronomy class this noon I couldn’t resist passing by Dundas Square since it was only a few steps away. Dundas Square is in the heart of Downtown Toronto and is usually a hub of activity. I’ve met several of my past Strangers here so I thought I’d check it out before going home.
Sure enough, the Square was mostly fenced off while a number of delivery trucks and workmen were busily engaged in setting up for some kind of event. I asked a security guard and was told I was witnessing preparations for a videogame release party. The new videogame “Call of Duty – Ghost” was to be released at midnight tonight to an eagerly-awaiting audience of gamers. I thanked the guard for filling me in and upon turning away I was struck by this young man standing by the security fence, chatting with his friend. It was his colourful, high-altitude Mohawk hairstyle that first caught my eye but then I noticed the piercings decorating his face which appeared friendly and expressive. I tried waiting for a break in the conversation but his friend was a real talker and finally I just had to apologize for interrupting and commented on his impressive hairstyle and told him about my photo project. Meet Josh.
We shook hands and Josh agreed to participate in 100 Strangers almost before I had explained it to him. He had to have seen my camera and said he’s used to people wanting to take his photo, so “Sure.” Finding a decent background nearby was not easy and I was a bit concerned about the bright overcast light, but wasn’t going to miss photographing this interesting young man. I decided to simply pose him alongside the security fence he was standing near and he willingly shifted his body position as I requested in my effort to minimize background distractions and get some light reaching his eyes.
Josh will be 22 in 2 weeks and was born and raised in Toronto. He works as a body piercer and has the appropriate qualification for the work. He is also an apprentice tattoo artist, still working under supervision while he gains the experience to complete his qualification as a tattoo artist. He is between jobs and will be starting work at a new studio in a week or so. I found out that the Call of Duty game is something he has been waiting for with great anticipation – enough anticipation that he came down to Dundas Square at 4:00 this morning to become the first person standing in line for the midnight release! When I asked Josh how he would describe himself he said “I’m not as unusual as I look. Basically I’m just easy-going and down-to-earth.” We talked about the fact that I have a son with the same name (but not the same hair). I asked how he deals with his hair at night and he said he just washes out the gel and spray he uses each morning to spike it up into a Mohawk. As for the dye, he said it lasts months so he doesn’t have to reapply it very often at all.
I found Josh to have a very gentle and friendly manner and it was fun meeting him. He was very tolerant of my questions and happy to answer them. It was abundantly clear that he and I, though far apart in age and lifestyle, were quite similar in what really counts: respect, openness, and good-will. Our brief acquaintance on Dundas Square today proved that.
I decided to use the Mohawk photo as the main submission since this is the feature that first attracted me to Josh. I'm including the close-up as a comment photo because without the hair, it seems to open a different window into his personality.
Thank you Josh for participating in 100 Strangers. You are now Stranger #258 in Round 3 of my project. It was a pleasure getting to meet you and I hope the game proves worth your long, cold wait.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
To browse Round 1 of my 100 Strangers project click here: www.flickr.com/photos/jeffcbowen/sets/72157633145986224/
To browse Round 2 of my 100 Strangers project click here:www.flickr.com/photos/jeffcbowen/sets/72157634422850489/