David
I was making my way across downtown Toronto on King Street when I saw him dressed in black from head to toe. He made a visual impression and his floppy black hat was hard to ignore. I stopped my bicycle and approached him to introduce myself on the sidewalk and invite him to participate in my Human Family project. After the briefest hesitation he said he would be glad to. I suggested we take a few steps so I could lean my bicycle against a fence. Meet David.
We were conveniently on the corner of a downtown side street with hardly any traffic so I suggested we do the photos in the middle of the street with me checking for traffic behind David and he checking for traffic behind me. Of course, as soon as I had explained the plan, two vehicles appeared from behind him. Go figure. After that, we were undisturbed, save for a psychotic man who appeared behind me, making noises and gesticulating. We went ahead with our photos and I did the full-length photo when I shifted my attention from his impressive hat to his feet. I had a feeling that these might do well as monochrome photos and my impression was confirmed later when I got home. Color did not contribute much to the images and I thought the black and white versions had a more graphic look.
David was a bit self-conscious about the hat which he feels has” gone a bit wonky.” “A few too many rainstorms and windstorms have given it a more floppy look than it used to have. It didn’t start out as a cowboy hat, believe me, but it’s got that kind of look now.” I told him it was actually the hat which I first noticed as I approached from behind and I quite liked it.
David is 46 and told me that St. Albans is a very old city not far from London. It was built on the ruins of a Roman city which was rather prominent centuries ago. It is known for its Cathedral which I think he told me was built in part from reclaimed stones from the town’s Roman past. Today St. Albans is a bedroom suburb of London. David works as a computer programmer which he said is a convenient skill set since computer programmers can get work just about anywhere. I gathered that he likes to travel but we did not pursue that thread. He was very friendly and explained that his accent is a bit of a mishmash based on the different places he has lived.
I asked “What advice would you give to your younger self?” His reply was “Maintain your friendships.” We chatted a bit about the way modern mobility has made it difficult for many of us to maintain friendships over the years which is a shame. When I asked about a challenge he has faced in life he thought for a moment and said “I’m drawing a blank on that one. Sorry.” His message for the project: “Being exposed to a wide variety of people different from yourself is tremendously valuable. No matter where people are from, I you can always uncover commonalities. It’s enriching. It’s democratizing. I find it quite encouraging.” His message reflected my own experience and was a perfect fit for the Human Family theme. I told him so. He said he had been viewing and enjoying the work of a Japanese photographer who has spent 40 years photographing strangers as they leave a local temple. He and I were both intrigued by the relationship between that project and my own strangers project.
With that, it was time to say goodbye. Thank you David for the friendly chat and for taking part in my project.
This is my 739th submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.
You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.
David
I was making my way across downtown Toronto on King Street when I saw him dressed in black from head to toe. He made a visual impression and his floppy black hat was hard to ignore. I stopped my bicycle and approached him to introduce myself on the sidewalk and invite him to participate in my Human Family project. After the briefest hesitation he said he would be glad to. I suggested we take a few steps so I could lean my bicycle against a fence. Meet David.
We were conveniently on the corner of a downtown side street with hardly any traffic so I suggested we do the photos in the middle of the street with me checking for traffic behind David and he checking for traffic behind me. Of course, as soon as I had explained the plan, two vehicles appeared from behind him. Go figure. After that, we were undisturbed, save for a psychotic man who appeared behind me, making noises and gesticulating. We went ahead with our photos and I did the full-length photo when I shifted my attention from his impressive hat to his feet. I had a feeling that these might do well as monochrome photos and my impression was confirmed later when I got home. Color did not contribute much to the images and I thought the black and white versions had a more graphic look.
David was a bit self-conscious about the hat which he feels has” gone a bit wonky.” “A few too many rainstorms and windstorms have given it a more floppy look than it used to have. It didn’t start out as a cowboy hat, believe me, but it’s got that kind of look now.” I told him it was actually the hat which I first noticed as I approached from behind and I quite liked it.
David is 46 and told me that St. Albans is a very old city not far from London. It was built on the ruins of a Roman city which was rather prominent centuries ago. It is known for its Cathedral which I think he told me was built in part from reclaimed stones from the town’s Roman past. Today St. Albans is a bedroom suburb of London. David works as a computer programmer which he said is a convenient skill set since computer programmers can get work just about anywhere. I gathered that he likes to travel but we did not pursue that thread. He was very friendly and explained that his accent is a bit of a mishmash based on the different places he has lived.
I asked “What advice would you give to your younger self?” His reply was “Maintain your friendships.” We chatted a bit about the way modern mobility has made it difficult for many of us to maintain friendships over the years which is a shame. When I asked about a challenge he has faced in life he thought for a moment and said “I’m drawing a blank on that one. Sorry.” His message for the project: “Being exposed to a wide variety of people different from yourself is tremendously valuable. No matter where people are from, I you can always uncover commonalities. It’s enriching. It’s democratizing. I find it quite encouraging.” His message reflected my own experience and was a perfect fit for the Human Family theme. I told him so. He said he had been viewing and enjoying the work of a Japanese photographer who has spent 40 years photographing strangers as they leave a local temple. He and I were both intrigued by the relationship between that project and my own strangers project.
With that, it was time to say goodbye. Thank you David for the friendly chat and for taking part in my project.
This is my 739th submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.
You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.