Kan
He was walking across campus with a friend. His hair stood out and I could tell immediately that he would make an excellent street portrait subject. He seemed interested but “on the fence” regarding my request that he participate in my Human Family project and said they were somewhat short on time. He politely deferred to his friend regarding my request and she seemed quite interested in the project and told him it was entirely up to him but she would be willing to wait. He asked if it was just a snap I was asking for and I said “It’s a bit more than that. I will take a few quick photos to make sure I get a good one and will ask you a bit about yourself for a story to go with the photo but I will be very quick.” He agreed. Meet Kan.
I explained that I like to take the photos very close to the spot where we met, so I would take the photos within a few steps, under the covered sidewalk outside the campus bookstore. Reasonably enough, Kan was concerned about blocking the sidewalk but I told him that people would flow around us and were always good-natured about it. Keeping to my word, I did four quick photos and then we chatted. As usual, I said I would ask a few questions to learn a bit about him for the story I would write and that if I asked anything he did not want to answer, that is his right.
Kan is 20 and is a Sociology student at the university. I told him that I took my share of Sociology courses at university a long time ago and that it is an interesting field. His interests outside of school work are fashion and cosmetics. I said this was in keeping with his well put-together look and attention to presentation. When I asked him to share a challenge he has faced in life he pondered the question. He turned to Vani , a good friend and she suggested something about his move. Kan elaborated that he was born and raised in Vietnam and moved to Canada at age 14 on his own and faced getting used to early independence and a new culture without family support. I found this remarkable and told him I had met a 16 year old Nigerian student just a week or two ago in Arizona who impressed me with his maturity. When I asked what helped Kan adjust he said “I’ve always wanted to live abroad and I’ve always been adventurous.” I commented that being highly motivated to face the challenges must have helped but I still think his story is one of remarkable accomplishment.
I asked Vani to describe what kind of person Kan is. She gave a nervous laugh and I admitted I was putting her on the spot but said it would give me some insight into Kan. She collected her thoughts and said “Well, he is very direct and honest. He will always tell you the truth.” They met in class last year and are clearly good friends. I commented that such truthfulness is a valuable quality but wondered if it sometimes hurt. She said “I feel very lucky to have a friend who will always tell you the truth.” Kan had been listening closely and said with a very slight smile “I can be pretty blunt.”
I finished by asking Kan to share a message with the project. He asked for clarification about the project and I told him a bit more about it and gave him my contact card. He thought for a moment and said “My message is that life opens up when you do.” I commented that it’s a perfect message for this particular project. He said “I can’t take full credit for it but I truly believe it. There is a lot to be learned from opening yourself up to contact with people who may be different from you.” I told him that my Human Family project has emphasized the truth in what he was saying.
As an afterthought, I suggested taking a double-portrait since Kan and Vani are such good friends and in a sense, both had supported my project request. Vani waved off the suggestion with nervous laughter. “No way. He’s so beautiful and so perfect, I don’t belong in the photo.” Kan and I ganged up in her with a dissenting opinion and she gave in. “Ok, I will do it for Kan.” I took a couple of joint portraits and we were all pleased with the result. Kan was kind enough to type in his email on my phone to spare me the risk of typos. We parted wishing one another well and it seemed clear that Kan and Vani were as glad as I was to have had this chance meeting. In parting Vani said she really liked the Human Family project.
This is my 799th submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.
You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.
Kan
He was walking across campus with a friend. His hair stood out and I could tell immediately that he would make an excellent street portrait subject. He seemed interested but “on the fence” regarding my request that he participate in my Human Family project and said they were somewhat short on time. He politely deferred to his friend regarding my request and she seemed quite interested in the project and told him it was entirely up to him but she would be willing to wait. He asked if it was just a snap I was asking for and I said “It’s a bit more than that. I will take a few quick photos to make sure I get a good one and will ask you a bit about yourself for a story to go with the photo but I will be very quick.” He agreed. Meet Kan.
I explained that I like to take the photos very close to the spot where we met, so I would take the photos within a few steps, under the covered sidewalk outside the campus bookstore. Reasonably enough, Kan was concerned about blocking the sidewalk but I told him that people would flow around us and were always good-natured about it. Keeping to my word, I did four quick photos and then we chatted. As usual, I said I would ask a few questions to learn a bit about him for the story I would write and that if I asked anything he did not want to answer, that is his right.
Kan is 20 and is a Sociology student at the university. I told him that I took my share of Sociology courses at university a long time ago and that it is an interesting field. His interests outside of school work are fashion and cosmetics. I said this was in keeping with his well put-together look and attention to presentation. When I asked him to share a challenge he has faced in life he pondered the question. He turned to Vani , a good friend and she suggested something about his move. Kan elaborated that he was born and raised in Vietnam and moved to Canada at age 14 on his own and faced getting used to early independence and a new culture without family support. I found this remarkable and told him I had met a 16 year old Nigerian student just a week or two ago in Arizona who impressed me with his maturity. When I asked what helped Kan adjust he said “I’ve always wanted to live abroad and I’ve always been adventurous.” I commented that being highly motivated to face the challenges must have helped but I still think his story is one of remarkable accomplishment.
I asked Vani to describe what kind of person Kan is. She gave a nervous laugh and I admitted I was putting her on the spot but said it would give me some insight into Kan. She collected her thoughts and said “Well, he is very direct and honest. He will always tell you the truth.” They met in class last year and are clearly good friends. I commented that such truthfulness is a valuable quality but wondered if it sometimes hurt. She said “I feel very lucky to have a friend who will always tell you the truth.” Kan had been listening closely and said with a very slight smile “I can be pretty blunt.”
I finished by asking Kan to share a message with the project. He asked for clarification about the project and I told him a bit more about it and gave him my contact card. He thought for a moment and said “My message is that life opens up when you do.” I commented that it’s a perfect message for this particular project. He said “I can’t take full credit for it but I truly believe it. There is a lot to be learned from opening yourself up to contact with people who may be different from you.” I told him that my Human Family project has emphasized the truth in what he was saying.
As an afterthought, I suggested taking a double-portrait since Kan and Vani are such good friends and in a sense, both had supported my project request. Vani waved off the suggestion with nervous laughter. “No way. He’s so beautiful and so perfect, I don’t belong in the photo.” Kan and I ganged up in her with a dissenting opinion and she gave in. “Ok, I will do it for Kan.” I took a couple of joint portraits and we were all pleased with the result. Kan was kind enough to type in his email on my phone to spare me the risk of typos. We parted wishing one another well and it seemed clear that Kan and Vani were as glad as I was to have had this chance meeting. In parting Vani said she really liked the Human Family project.
This is my 799th submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.
You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.