Khalid
"there's no crying in ice skating"
Today the light was dwindling as I headed out for my daily photo adventure, as I found my way to the middle of a now frozen Tenny Pond I saw a plethora of skaters. Some appeared to be veteran and some just rookies out on the ice for the first time. Without skates, I was at a disadvantage for speed but I found myself focused on the man in the black vest. I was shy at first (which is something new for me with a stranger) but as he looked to be quite inexperienced on the skates I didn't want to startle him. As he came to a stop a few feet from me he nearly fell, I took it in stride and caught up to him. He smiled as he got up from the ice, and asked me if I was a "professional" photographer: alas I am a working photographer not professional by any means.
I introduced myself as Chris, the everyday Madison photographer. He introduced himself as Khalid, a student of English (as a second language) transplanted from Saudi Arabia. He has called the isthmus home for the last year and half while doing his studying, once his English courses are completed he plans on taking up computer engineering in the fall. I asked him how long he had been skating (although I've never full learned myself) and was happy to find he had only been skating for the last 30 minutes. Skating on the ice is an opportunity he never had while living in Saudi Arabia, and Khalid told me that he hopes to perfect the skill during his time in Madison. A very honorable skill to have, given the way this winter is going I'm sure he will get lot's of practice. I decided to a include everything in frame as I was making an environmental portrait, ice skates and all. As his friends called him over to continue his skating I got Khelids' email address so that I could share this photo with him. I'm sure his family and friends back home will enjoy it as much as I did in learning his story. If you find this story interesting and wish to find more, I suggest you check out the 100 strangers group here on flickr, also feel free to gander through either my 100 more strangers set here. When I was leaving the park I overheard a small child crying, her father or grandfather (I'm not sure which) exclaimed to her "there's no crying in ice skating," I found this phrase to best fit with my write-up for Khalid. Best wishes for a happy new year to all the followers of my pictures and adventures!
038/100
Khalid
"there's no crying in ice skating"
Today the light was dwindling as I headed out for my daily photo adventure, as I found my way to the middle of a now frozen Tenny Pond I saw a plethora of skaters. Some appeared to be veteran and some just rookies out on the ice for the first time. Without skates, I was at a disadvantage for speed but I found myself focused on the man in the black vest. I was shy at first (which is something new for me with a stranger) but as he looked to be quite inexperienced on the skates I didn't want to startle him. As he came to a stop a few feet from me he nearly fell, I took it in stride and caught up to him. He smiled as he got up from the ice, and asked me if I was a "professional" photographer: alas I am a working photographer not professional by any means.
I introduced myself as Chris, the everyday Madison photographer. He introduced himself as Khalid, a student of English (as a second language) transplanted from Saudi Arabia. He has called the isthmus home for the last year and half while doing his studying, once his English courses are completed he plans on taking up computer engineering in the fall. I asked him how long he had been skating (although I've never full learned myself) and was happy to find he had only been skating for the last 30 minutes. Skating on the ice is an opportunity he never had while living in Saudi Arabia, and Khalid told me that he hopes to perfect the skill during his time in Madison. A very honorable skill to have, given the way this winter is going I'm sure he will get lot's of practice. I decided to a include everything in frame as I was making an environmental portrait, ice skates and all. As his friends called him over to continue his skating I got Khelids' email address so that I could share this photo with him. I'm sure his family and friends back home will enjoy it as much as I did in learning his story. If you find this story interesting and wish to find more, I suggest you check out the 100 strangers group here on flickr, also feel free to gander through either my 100 more strangers set here. When I was leaving the park I overheard a small child crying, her father or grandfather (I'm not sure which) exclaimed to her "there's no crying in ice skating," I found this phrase to best fit with my write-up for Khalid. Best wishes for a happy new year to all the followers of my pictures and adventures!
038/100