726/800 - Madeline
After class today I had lunch with my friend Jason. Afterward we decided to cross the street and tour the dramatic new Student Learning Centre building at Ryerson University. The building just opened last week but students have already taken to this remarkable gathering place and resource centre and shaped it to their own needs as had been the intention of the architect. (ryersonbuilds.ryerson.ca/student-learning-centre/)
As we walked through the eight floors I spotted this young woman being photographed by a friend. Both had cameras. I couldn’t resist and my friend Jason said to “go for it” so I took a page from Neil Featherstone’s book and more or less “crashed” their photo shoot. I explained my project and said I thought she would make a great participant for my project. She said “Sure” and we were off to the races. Meet Madeline.
I dropped my coat and hat on the floor next to theirs and pulled my camera out of my bag and posed her pretty much where her friend had been posing her because of the nice quality of the light coming through the windows. Madeline was very confident and comfortable in front of my lens and I think it shows in the photos.
She is 19 and came to Toronto from Edmonton to study photography at Ryerson where she and her friend are first year students. I asked her what her interests are outside of photography and she said “Pretty much anything involving the outdoors.” “What would you say is your greatest challenge in life right now?” “Well” she said, “Finances. That’s always an issue for students. That and self-confidence.” I said that surprised me because she came across as supremely confident in our brief exchange. “Well, it’s a work in progress” she said with a shrug and a smile. “What advice would you share with the project photographers?” “Follow your bliss.”
I asked her friend (who was patiently waiting) how she would describe Madeline. “She’s the Super-Optimist. She can find something positive in ANY situation.” I commented on what a great quality that is. Jason and I had been talking over lunch about how we cannot always control events in our lives but we can exercise control over how we respond to them.
Choosing the main submission turned in to a coin toss but I would have been happy with either. The other is posted as a comment photo.
Thank you Madeline for allowing me to jump into your photo shoot and meet and photograph you for my project. You are #726 in Round 8 of my project. Good luck in your studies and photography career!
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by the other photographers in our group at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.
726/800 - Madeline
After class today I had lunch with my friend Jason. Afterward we decided to cross the street and tour the dramatic new Student Learning Centre building at Ryerson University. The building just opened last week but students have already taken to this remarkable gathering place and resource centre and shaped it to their own needs as had been the intention of the architect. (ryersonbuilds.ryerson.ca/student-learning-centre/)
As we walked through the eight floors I spotted this young woman being photographed by a friend. Both had cameras. I couldn’t resist and my friend Jason said to “go for it” so I took a page from Neil Featherstone’s book and more or less “crashed” their photo shoot. I explained my project and said I thought she would make a great participant for my project. She said “Sure” and we were off to the races. Meet Madeline.
I dropped my coat and hat on the floor next to theirs and pulled my camera out of my bag and posed her pretty much where her friend had been posing her because of the nice quality of the light coming through the windows. Madeline was very confident and comfortable in front of my lens and I think it shows in the photos.
She is 19 and came to Toronto from Edmonton to study photography at Ryerson where she and her friend are first year students. I asked her what her interests are outside of photography and she said “Pretty much anything involving the outdoors.” “What would you say is your greatest challenge in life right now?” “Well” she said, “Finances. That’s always an issue for students. That and self-confidence.” I said that surprised me because she came across as supremely confident in our brief exchange. “Well, it’s a work in progress” she said with a shrug and a smile. “What advice would you share with the project photographers?” “Follow your bliss.”
I asked her friend (who was patiently waiting) how she would describe Madeline. “She’s the Super-Optimist. She can find something positive in ANY situation.” I commented on what a great quality that is. Jason and I had been talking over lunch about how we cannot always control events in our lives but we can exercise control over how we respond to them.
Choosing the main submission turned in to a coin toss but I would have been happy with either. The other is posted as a comment photo.
Thank you Madeline for allowing me to jump into your photo shoot and meet and photograph you for my project. You are #726 in Round 8 of my project. Good luck in your studies and photography career!
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by the other photographers in our group at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.