Gail
We passed each other in the downtown shopping mall and my eye was drawn to her colorful summer hat and complimented her with “Great hat” as we passed each other. She smiled and thanked me. I got a taste of her sense of humor when she commented on my plain baseball cap. “You could decorate your hat too, you know.” I laughed and said “Perhaps, but it certainly wouldn’t be the same.”
When I turned back and saw her sit down on the ledge surrounding a fountain in the atrium I knew she was not in a rush so I returned and told her that she and her hat would make a very nice addition to my Human Family photo project and I showed her some samples on my contact card. She gave her friendly consent and explained she was just waiting for her daughter. They had arranged a meeting at this spot. I said “Ok, so we’d better move fast if she could come at any moment. Meet Gail.
I suggested we take a few steps into an open space directly below the skylights many floors above us in order to capture some natural light. There was adequate reflected light to nicely illuminate her face, especially after I asked (and received) permission to tip her hat back slightly to prevent her eyes from being in shadow. I didn’t realize it at the time, but with so much of the light coming from directly above, the decorations on her hat were quite bright compared to the rest of the image and required a bit of balancing in post-processing when I got home.
As we chatted, I learned that Gail is 80 and is a born and bred Torontonian. When I asked about her ancestry, she said it is Italian-Irish. What kind of work did she do in her employment years? “Oh, so many things” she replied. When I asked her to share one she said “Well, like you, I worked in the social services. I wasn’t a trained social worker but I worked in a drop-in center and I taught English as a second-language.” She is also musically inclined and plays the soprano and alto sax. (This put an image of this petite woman with a saxophone in my head and gave me a smile.) “Oh, so you’re a musician” I replied. “I didn’t say I’m a musician” she countered with a spark of humor. “Let’s say I like music.” We shared a laugh and I commented that my brother got the music genes in my family, not I.
When I asked her advice to her younger self, she thought for a moment and said “Don’t make hasty decisions.” I invited her to share specifics but respected her wish to keep that to herself. “Just be careful with the decisions you make in life.” Of course I had to ask about the hat. "So tell me the story behind that hat" I said. She smiled and explained.. “I have to be careful about the sun. I got a straw hat for that purpose but it kept blowing off, so I added a flower or two to give it some weight and keep it in place. That was the beginning. Next came another flower or two, then a bird, then another flower, and then another bird. This is the result.”
When I asked Gail for a message she could share with my project she quickly volunteered “We should all think more about our commonalities and less about our differences.” It’s a great message and I told her so.
I could see that Gail was a bit bemused about the whole experience of being asked to participate in a photo project. I said "I guess this wasn't something you were expecting to happen to your day." She gave a slightly mischievous smile and replied "I think it's going to be an interesting day."
It was a fun encounter and I admired her sparkle. I thanked her, saying I hoped she and her daughter would have a nice afternoon together.
This is my 839th submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.
You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.
Gail
We passed each other in the downtown shopping mall and my eye was drawn to her colorful summer hat and complimented her with “Great hat” as we passed each other. She smiled and thanked me. I got a taste of her sense of humor when she commented on my plain baseball cap. “You could decorate your hat too, you know.” I laughed and said “Perhaps, but it certainly wouldn’t be the same.”
When I turned back and saw her sit down on the ledge surrounding a fountain in the atrium I knew she was not in a rush so I returned and told her that she and her hat would make a very nice addition to my Human Family photo project and I showed her some samples on my contact card. She gave her friendly consent and explained she was just waiting for her daughter. They had arranged a meeting at this spot. I said “Ok, so we’d better move fast if she could come at any moment. Meet Gail.
I suggested we take a few steps into an open space directly below the skylights many floors above us in order to capture some natural light. There was adequate reflected light to nicely illuminate her face, especially after I asked (and received) permission to tip her hat back slightly to prevent her eyes from being in shadow. I didn’t realize it at the time, but with so much of the light coming from directly above, the decorations on her hat were quite bright compared to the rest of the image and required a bit of balancing in post-processing when I got home.
As we chatted, I learned that Gail is 80 and is a born and bred Torontonian. When I asked about her ancestry, she said it is Italian-Irish. What kind of work did she do in her employment years? “Oh, so many things” she replied. When I asked her to share one she said “Well, like you, I worked in the social services. I wasn’t a trained social worker but I worked in a drop-in center and I taught English as a second-language.” She is also musically inclined and plays the soprano and alto sax. (This put an image of this petite woman with a saxophone in my head and gave me a smile.) “Oh, so you’re a musician” I replied. “I didn’t say I’m a musician” she countered with a spark of humor. “Let’s say I like music.” We shared a laugh and I commented that my brother got the music genes in my family, not I.
When I asked her advice to her younger self, she thought for a moment and said “Don’t make hasty decisions.” I invited her to share specifics but respected her wish to keep that to herself. “Just be careful with the decisions you make in life.” Of course I had to ask about the hat. "So tell me the story behind that hat" I said. She smiled and explained.. “I have to be careful about the sun. I got a straw hat for that purpose but it kept blowing off, so I added a flower or two to give it some weight and keep it in place. That was the beginning. Next came another flower or two, then a bird, then another flower, and then another bird. This is the result.”
When I asked Gail for a message she could share with my project she quickly volunteered “We should all think more about our commonalities and less about our differences.” It’s a great message and I told her so.
I could see that Gail was a bit bemused about the whole experience of being asked to participate in a photo project. I said "I guess this wasn't something you were expecting to happen to your day." She gave a slightly mischievous smile and replied "I think it's going to be an interesting day."
It was a fun encounter and I admired her sparkle. I thanked her, saying I hoped she and her daughter would have a nice afternoon together.
This is my 839th submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.
You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.