Canadian Portraitist
083.100 Justine
After the 30 degree weather the past few weeks, today felt quite chilly when I headed out the door during lunch. Likely I have said this before but, one of the upsides to this project is that it gets me outside and I look forward to getting out of the office to clear my head. I walked slowly down the pedestrian mall observing the goings on, mostly people rushing to their lunch appointments a few tourists but because the weather was not great the street was noticeably less busy. Today I made it all the way into the plaza at the end of the street and meandered through watching workers clean the splash pool. At the edge of a seating area I noticed a streak of red hair on a women sitting by herself. I wanted to approach but something held me back so I paused then passed by, circled around and came back to my previous spot and continued watching the workers power-wash the pool. Out of the corner of my eye I could still see the woman sitting there alone, she looked peaceful, obviously enjoying the respite from her labours. Eventually I told myself to go talk to her and moved in her direction.
Meet Justine.
When I introduced myself to Justine and explained what I was up to she quickly gave me a warm welcoming smile and invited me to sit with her. Part of what caught my eye with Justine were her clothes, she was wearing Carhartt pants and work boots. So when I asked her about them she said that she is an apprentice electrician, awesome another woman in the trades. We talked about that and why she chose this path and I mentioned that I too had been an electrical apprentice in another life, giving us something in common. As we talked further I discovered Justine is also an artist and she likes to paint. She pulled out her phone and showed me a picture of her beautiful painting. As she recently moved to Calgary she had decided to paint a picture of the seasons as a way to adjust to being here on her own, a worthy endeavor. We had a great conversation and in fact at some point while we were talking she paused and says to me “I am so glad that you stopped and talked”.
I have said this before but, those are the things that make this project so rewarding, you just never know what will happen.
Recognizing that time was slipping away I suggested that we do the photo, as I do not want to make her late returning to work. The light was challenging as clouds were fairly quickly passing in front of the sun causing varying degrees of shade to full sun.
Thank you Justine for chatting with me it was a great pleasure to meet you. All the best.
*** Constructive Critiques Welcome***
_______________ _ _ _ _
Find out more about the project and see
pictures taken by other photographers
at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.
_______________ _ _ _ _
083.100 Justine
After the 30 degree weather the past few weeks, today felt quite chilly when I headed out the door during lunch. Likely I have said this before but, one of the upsides to this project is that it gets me outside and I look forward to getting out of the office to clear my head. I walked slowly down the pedestrian mall observing the goings on, mostly people rushing to their lunch appointments a few tourists but because the weather was not great the street was noticeably less busy. Today I made it all the way into the plaza at the end of the street and meandered through watching workers clean the splash pool. At the edge of a seating area I noticed a streak of red hair on a women sitting by herself. I wanted to approach but something held me back so I paused then passed by, circled around and came back to my previous spot and continued watching the workers power-wash the pool. Out of the corner of my eye I could still see the woman sitting there alone, she looked peaceful, obviously enjoying the respite from her labours. Eventually I told myself to go talk to her and moved in her direction.
Meet Justine.
When I introduced myself to Justine and explained what I was up to she quickly gave me a warm welcoming smile and invited me to sit with her. Part of what caught my eye with Justine were her clothes, she was wearing Carhartt pants and work boots. So when I asked her about them she said that she is an apprentice electrician, awesome another woman in the trades. We talked about that and why she chose this path and I mentioned that I too had been an electrical apprentice in another life, giving us something in common. As we talked further I discovered Justine is also an artist and she likes to paint. She pulled out her phone and showed me a picture of her beautiful painting. As she recently moved to Calgary she had decided to paint a picture of the seasons as a way to adjust to being here on her own, a worthy endeavor. We had a great conversation and in fact at some point while we were talking she paused and says to me “I am so glad that you stopped and talked”.
I have said this before but, those are the things that make this project so rewarding, you just never know what will happen.
Recognizing that time was slipping away I suggested that we do the photo, as I do not want to make her late returning to work. The light was challenging as clouds were fairly quickly passing in front of the sun causing varying degrees of shade to full sun.
Thank you Justine for chatting with me it was a great pleasure to meet you. All the best.
*** Constructive Critiques Welcome***
_______________ _ _ _ _
Find out more about the project and see
pictures taken by other photographers
at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.
_______________ _ _ _ _