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This interesting guy is Volky. A friendly and affable man of many skills and talents.
In past lives he has worked as a Computer Engineer, a Horticulturist and now as a muso with his own 2 piece blues band, aptly named Volky.
He was more than happy to partake in the project and was genuinely interested in the “art factor” in creating the portrait..
I was really taken by his approachable face, cool hat and long beard which all tied in nicely with his relaxed demeanor. We lamented about life’s trials and tribulations and during our brief conversation he said something that really struck a chord with me. He said, “ever since I've stopped chasing the almighty dollar I’m happier, I smile a lot more and my back doesn't ache”. His sincerity was palpable and it aligned well with his down to earth personality. To tell you the truth I was kind of a little jealous and wondered how he got to such a wonderful place of being “in the present” without being taunted by the past or the future.
We took a few frames and he thanked me for offering the images to him for his personal or business use, but it was me who was really grateful meeting him and making me think long and hard about the way I see my life and what’s really important.
Thanks Volky for your time, your patience and serendipitous wisdom that you imparted.
**For the technical geeks out there, this my first portrait shot with the new Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens and I'm pretty impressed overall. (Eqiv to 50mm on a 35mm format)
The wider focal distance means that I no longer need to stand on the road to get a half body or full length shot.
This picture is #253 in my 3rd round of The 100 Strangers Project.
You can see my 1st round of 100 Strangers photos here
Round 2 is here
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
I met Louise at a wool festival recently. For the last 5 years Louise has run her own business selling wool spinners. Anything from small drop spinners (which I succumbed to) to the larger more traditional spinners. She also sells a wonderful array of wools to spin. Before setting up her business Louise studied textiles at university. Louise was happy to take part in the strangers project. It's pure coincidence that 3 of my last 5 strangers have been called Louise!
This picture is #67 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
Minolta 58mm 1.2 @1.2
This picture is #004 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
Two friends are taking photos at the Blob in Eindhoven. I stand quietly at a distance and watch. It's all very meticulous. After about 30 photos, they were done, and I asked if I could take a photo. Sure! That would be nice!
One together and one of each of them separately.
I also have the Blob as a background, but you cann't see it on this picture. The ladies were delighted with the photos. Have a nice vacation, ladies.
I met Alice on St. Laurent Boulevard in downtown Montreal. She and her boyfriend Nick were visiting Montreal for the first time and had arrived less than four hours before I met them.
Alice is 24 years old and was born in Brooklyn, NY. She received her Bachelor of Art degree at the University of Rochester, NY.
Alice works as an Information Technology Recruiter in Albany, New York. Her job is very rewarding, especially when she calls successful applicants to let them know that they have been offered employment. She now lives in Troy, NY, a few miles North of Albany.
In her spare time Alice loves painting and watching TV. She also enjoys cooking and experimenting with new recipes. Lately she has been trying to learn some of her family's recipes for Chinese food so that they don't get lost with the generation gap.
This picture is #99 in my 100 Strangers Project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
Stranger #68 – Mateusz – the last stranger of the three photographed in a row during my last encounter (take a look at the description of stranger #66 for more details). He seems to be quite serious here but the whole situation created a lot of joy and laughter :)
This picture is #68 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
This picture is #46 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
I was having dinner with some friends in an Italian restaurant. I spotted the chef coming in-and-out of the kitchen. When she was at the counter I approached her. She fuzzed about her dirty uniform but I felt like she was a kind spirit and would agree to have her photo taken. After explaining my purpose, she relented. I took quick shots.
Right when I saw a “perfect” stranger I didn't have my DSLR so I had to do with my cellphone. But I really wanted to capture the moment. The lesson here is obvious, have your heavy DSLR ready at all times...
Thanks to Princess for helping me get this project going again. She took a 1-year course on culinary arts and has been working in this restaurant for 6 months. She is due for regularization. She shuttles back and forth to the city in order to get more training. She enjoys her work, manifested by her cheerful spirit at the end of a long week.
This picture is #51 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
I saw Mike a few hours after taking Stranger #8's photo. Both of us were heading towards the Oceanside Pier. The pier was unusually busy because of a body surfing competition. I didn't approach him at the time because I wanted him to get set up. By the time I made it to the end of the pier and back he was gone. I'm not sure how much time had passed before I found him again a few blocks away strumming his guitar and singing. I crouched down and pointed to my camera and he gave me a nod. Had I not captured his contact info in the photo he would've been an unnamed stranger. Fortunately I was able to send him this photo.
This picture is #9 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
I went to a sports store to check out a stationary bike. I noticed the lady at the cashier counter. She looked new so I approached her about the project. She was hesitant. I showed her some pictures. She agreed with some reservation and told me not to post it in Facebook. She jokingly said she might find her photo in some "wanted list". I assured her that I wouldn't have gotten so many "stranger" pictures if there was some bad intention behind it.
It turns out the "Meanne" is not new in the store. She worked for another branch that just closed down so she just transferred to this branch after taking a couple of month's break. She is a friendly enough person but awfully shy. She said she will just do a sideview pose with a hint of smile.
Thanks for the shoot Meanne. Hope to see you again when I buy from your shop. It might not be a stationary bike though since I found cheaper alternatives online, but I will surely be back; maybe to take her picture again and hopefully she will be more cooperative ;)
This picture is #90 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
Well, it's been a while since i was out shooting fo this. The most recent will bring me near to the 100 so there's plenty new faces too look forward to!
It was nice being out in the sun shine shooting along carnaby street, it's such a vibrant little area; it makes for a great back drop.
I've tried to get back to my old style street shooting, the coffee shops and observation/people watching style. It's worked out okay, i just would rather have a 50mm or 85mm to do it with.
Stranger #25 - Kuba - I stopped him in the centre of Wroclaw, Poland. He was very friendly and quickly agreed to have his portrait taken after I told him about the project :)
This picture is #25 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
I would like to take more photos of strangers. This man was outside the train station asking passerby very politely for any spare change. He agreed that I could take a photo ...
Stranger #15 - Staszek - I met him in the centre of Wroclaw, Poland. He seemed quite busy yet he agreed to have his photo taken when I explained the project. I quickly shot four frames and was positive that at least one will be good. A short but very nice encounter :)
This picture is #15 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
While I was taking Shima's photo, she said "I am going to give you a gift.." and she let her hair down - which had been tied up before.
In this photo she is in the corner of the tower. Sheltering from the wind.
Pepe brought Hank to an open house at a dog-training facility in Hutto, Texas. There pooches got to compete and have fun jumping into a large swimming pool. Pepe and Hank rode together on motorcycles recently to Sturges, both wearing their leather jackets.
They are collectively my 229th stranger in the Flickr challenge to shoot photos of 100 strangers: www.flickr.com/groups/100strangers/. I'm going veeerrryy slowly this third round.
You can see my full set of Stranger photos (so far) here: www.flickr.com/photos/joemoconnell/sets/72157627547511612...
"Stranger than kindness
Bottled light from hotels
Spilling everything
Wet hand from the volcano
Sobers your skin
Stranger than Kindness
You caress yourself
And grind my soft cold bones below
Your map of desire
Burned in your flesh
Even a fool can come
A strange lit stair
And find a rope hanging there
Stranger than kindness"
Stranger Portrait - Amy's been on the streets for many years and is a regular sight downtown. I always stop for a chat (when she's not under the influence) and today she was very bright and chatty. She was telling me how bad its become on the streets just lately especially for the young ones. The main issue and danger is human trafficking she said.
I was In front of the " Ma3gazin wall " in Tangier , a photographer approached to me, we started talking and after a while, he said : " You are a Muslim but your clothes looks like infidels clothes, you should be dressed as Muslims." I replied him : "These clothes promoted me, raised my place in this country and boost my pocket, I do not need to steal or beg because I collect money with my clothes, and it saved me from several positions, but religion, let it aside because God don't looks to our appearance, but to our hearts."
2Pac ft. Sierra Deaton - Little Do You Know (NodaMixMusic Mashup)
🎵🎧✈️🗻💝
I always had the power of seeing something different in people. I had the idea of creating this project in 2014 when I realize I’m shooting a lot of portraits for my friends, clients, people on the street… So I transformed this passion into an artistic project where my goal wasn’t take just average pictures of strangers, but make portraits of them that reveals something.
It’s an on-going project which I want to take 100 portraits stories.
David, his wife and another couple were visiting Glastonbury, from Seattle. When he told me I had to smile. My previous stranger had come to Europe from Seattle and a couple days earlier I had met and photographed another young woman from Seattle. It is strange how sometimes I seem to meet lots of people from the same area. I had a spell of meeting people from Spain and another period of time I met a number of Australians.
Like the others that I had met, David and his group were very friendly. They all work at a children's home, which David manages. It keeps him very busy but he likes to travel and also enjoys the countryside around where he lives. He has a good team looking after the place while he is away. He enjoys snow tracking. I asked if this is where you walk in snow with things that look like tennis rackets on your feet. I think that he may also have said that he enjoys skiing. He definitely told me that he enjoys fly fishing!
Another activity is roasting coffee. They do this to raise money for charity. Coffee is important to David; he met his wife, Tamara, in a coffee shop – their meeting had been set up by mutual friends. Tamara will be my stranger 303.
David and Tamara were great subjects. They were happy to chat with me individually and take separate portraits, then we got together and I photographed the couple. I thought that it would be nice to photograph both couples and was going to ask about this when David asked me if I would photograph their friends. Of course I agreed. I photographed the other couple and then all four together.
I could easily have included both couples in my project but I didn't have time today to have proper conversations with all four. David gave me his email address and will forward the photos to his friends.
Thank you David for agreeing to be in my project today. It was good to meet you. I hope that you enjoy the rest of your holiday and wish you well in your work back home.
You can view more portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family
Rebecca caught my eye, who would have guessed otherwise, because of her bright red hair which just look stunning. She was walking with her boyfriend, I think, and was immediately up for the portrait. After he took the bag which she was carrying, I positioned her in the alley that I used four times now. I also asked her to tilt her head a little and in my opinion it worked out so well, especially in combination with that expression she gave me. Wonderful!
I only asked for Rebecca's name, so I don't know what they were up to, but it seemed as if they were just enjoying the perfect weather.
By the way, while I was shooting, I heard some people behind me loudly say "Oh what amazing hair". I would have thought people were a bit more discrete. At least, it's a big compliment, right? :)
A personal sidenote: I don't know why, but my hands were shaking a bit more than usual and I noticed it. Maybe it was because it has been a while since I approached a couple. I probably have to do that more often :) Anyway, good that the lens has a stabilizer.
Rebecca, thank you very much! I hope you find your shot here and like it as well. I'll be happy to send you the full image if you want to have it.
This picture is #46 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.
I made a >Facebook page<, so please check it out, leave feedback and like if you like :)
Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated!
This picture is #24 in my 4th round of the 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
I always find it amusing approaching people on Rupert Street. Rupert street leads into London's very small 'Red Light' district. It's quite touristy during the day but still has it's fair share of people trying to husstle. Which is why I always expect people to be more wary of me than they are.
Still on my quest for bobble hats, looking to show them at their cute, playful best, I spotted a couple standing right by the entrance to the dodgy but who definitely weren't locals. I wish I could remember her name. I'm sure I recorded it and my notes on the encounter on my phone but when I look for the recorded file, it's not there. Tech fail!
If you like my work, please take a look at my Facebook page and my website.
I saw Nikol chatting with two friends outside a store and immediately knew I could get some great pictures. I went ahead and asked and luckily she agreed. It turns out she works as a makeup consultant. I had nothing but my reflector and it was quite dark so I asked on of her friends to hold the reflector against a small billboard. It was quite hard to get the WB right after that. I got some nice pictures at the end so it was worth it.
Thank you Nikol for being a part of my 100 strangers project.
This picture is #36 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
In a sea of strangers you've longed to know me
Your life spent sailing to my shores
The arms that yearn to someday hold me
Will ache beneath the heavy oars.
Please take your time and take it slowly
As all you do will run its course
And nothing else can take what only
Was always meant as solely yours.
Lang Leav
After a good six month since my last strangers session, I had a nice after-work walk with camera and noticed the beautiful Beatrice talking with her friends: it was not that hard taking the courage to approach and ask for a few shots after all.
We moved a few meters away looking for a better spot and we were done in just a few minutes.
Beatrice is a student and will be finished this year with high school
Good luck with your plans and thank you for your time
______
This picture is #116 in my second round of the 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the100 Strangers Flickr Group page
This portrait is included in the The Human Family Group. To view more street portraits and stories visit The Human Family www.flickr.com/groups/thehumanfamily/
Alternative shot to my stranger portrait of Jack. For the full story check out the original submission:
www.flickr.com/photos/arnabkghosal/21976334126/in/datepos...
This is Marie, whom I met whilst photographing at the Slottsfjell music festival in Tønsberg.
She was very outgoing and smiling, and she instantly agreed to being photographed.
Technically I really messed this up, and had to edit the image a lot afterwards. To compensate for the strong light behind her, I tried to give the image an over all "little to bright" feel. Not sure if I succeeded, but at least the image has a summerly and positive feel about it.
This picture is #4 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
Portrait 06
50 Stranger's Portrait Project !
Copyright: TanVeeR A. Mrinmoy
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I briefly sat next to Jacinda as we ate dinner one Saturday afternoon. She was quiet and soft-spoken as we listened to folks talk around us. I finally asked her name and chatted a bit about family, church and the like. We also talked about professions and education. She aspires to be a nurse because she enjoys working with others and the job market seems to be pretty stable.
When I asked her to participate in the 100 Stranger's Project, she agreed. We stepped outside and found a shady spot to take this photo. She naturally placed her hand on the side of the tree and looked at me and then looked away. I liked this portrait the best and I am happy to include Jacinda in this project.
This picture is #66 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at www.flickr.com/groups/100strangers/
I met Vera on the Gateshead side of the Millennium Bridge.
Sitting alone on the steps, she was eating her packed lunch, watching the world go by. I interrupted her quiet contemplation with my usual 'hello' spiel, and, a little wary at first, Vera and I soon started chatting.
Vera had lived in Newcastle for 60 years, working in the NHS. She shared her thoughts on the EU referendum result and told me that she had walked miles around Newcastle that morning on (as she called it) her own 'pilgrimage' - seeking comfort in the hustle and bustle of the town centre, trying to reassure herself that nothing had really changed.
Vera chose to have her photo taken standing on the bridge, admiring the Baltic with the Tyne Bridge in the background. As I took photos, a lone piper played 'Amazing Grace.'
It was a very poignant moment.
From a photography point of view the harsh sunlight caused havoc, but I hope I've done justice to this lovely, gentle lady on her day of pilgrimage.
This picture is #68 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
Amber plays bass, paints and would like to perform hypnotherapy for a living. Amber was on a date with Nick, my stranger 134. Their first date together. They had been for lunch at the Rainbow's End cafe in Glastonbury and had been sitting at the top of the Tor for a while before I approached them.
Actually it was Amber that I had seen first, as she and Nick were coming up the Tor – the sun was reflecting off her hair. I asked Nick if he would be in my project and he could not believe that I was asking him instead of, in his words, the “much better looking” Amber.
This was a photo that I took when I had asked for a serious look and I got Amber to cross her arms.
Thank you Amber for agreeing to be in my project. It was good to spend time with you and Nick. I wish you well.
This picture is 35 in my second round of 100 strangers. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
John was sitting outside the Sandringham Pub ( bar ) enjoying a quite drink when I approached him for a photo. He looked at me slightly bewildered and said, “Why?” So I explained the project briefly and said that I liked his relaxed look.
He asked my name and when I said it was Peter he started on a long story about his brother by the same name and how they didn’t get along because Peter was very religious. It was about then that I thought he would say no, but he didn’t and this is the end result.
John didn’t have a lot to say after I took a few shots despite me trying to ask him some basic questions. So I thanked him for his time and left him to his beer.
Thanks for being part of the Strangers Project.
This picture is #122 in my 2nd round of The100 Strangers Project.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
This picture is #87 in my 3rd round of the 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
We'd finished lunch and headed back to Brick Lane to find some more strangers. It was very crowded and tricky to find a decent background. Arnab and Katya both dealt with this by finding subjects and walking off with them down the side streets. Sylvia and I walked on down the road a bit and I found a shutter with some lovely street art on that I thought would work with the right person so we camped for a bit and waited. Eventually Arnab arrived back looking smug and showed us on the back of his camera a wonderful set of a stylish young lady with cool headphones.
I'd barely glanced at them when I saw Carmen walking up the street towards us, on the phone. Those who've followed me for a while will know that the phone is my natural enemy. As she came closer I was willing her to hang up. I want a phone signal jammer, I really do. Sure enough, as she drew level, she made a face and looked at the phone in such a way as to suggest that she'd been cut off. I figured I had to act fast before the caller called back so I jumped in with both feet.
Carmen told me that she was looking for her friend and was struggling to find her. Honestly I didn't think I was going to have success here but I told her that it would only take a minute and then she'd be able to find her friend. I was probably more pushy than I should have been. But fate was at play and she agreed to pop over to my shutter for a couple of snaps.
I had a real problem deciding on which photo to chose and will probably get around to posting a few more because this girl is not shy in front of a camera. She kept making all these awesome expressions, she was clearly having a laugh at my expense and I didn't mind a bit. But I got her to do my 'standard' pose which doesn't work for everyone but she knocked it out the park.
So I thanked her for her time, gave her a card and told her I hoped she'd catch up with her friend soon and off she went.
We crowded round for the obligatory flick through the pictures and while we were doing this we saw her coming back up the road, clearly now having met her quarry. Then Arnab realised it was the same girl that he'd just dragged off down a side street for his photo. They were laughing as they went past with one of them saying 'You won't believe what just happened'! Well I can't believe the co-incidence that on such a busy street we managed to prevent two incredibly cool and stylish friends from finding each other, for a while. But I hope they had as big a laugh at it as we did, and it re-enforced to me (as if I'd forgotten) just how cool this kind of photography is because you really never know what's going to happen next.
See Arnab's shot here.
If you like my work, please take a look at my Facebook page and my website.
This picture is #59 in my 3rd round of the 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
I met up with Flatworldsedge this evening to play with flash lights and to make some progress on our Strangers projects.
We set up some strobes in an alley way in China Town on light stands, ran a couple of test shots and I went out into the main drag to look for a stranger. It wasn't long before I saw izzy here waling along with a friend. I jumped into their way and gave them my best 'Hi there' that I had going. Izzy straight away said 'NO' in her best 'putting him off' voice so naturally I carried on with my pitch. Once she'd agreed that it would be fine for me to photograph her, in a very laid back manner, I then broke it to her that she was now required to step into a dark alley way to where our lighting set up was. I told her my friend Matt was waiting there but not to worry, I'd make him behave. To her credit she did look worried for a short while but then worked out that I was clearly no threat to anyone and off we went down the dark alley. Luckily I'm really not a threat unless being shot by a camera is a problem for you.
Now I see all these 'strobist' posts where people post all the settings on all their flashes and I'm sorry to say that I can't remember what they were. There were two flashes pointing at her. There was another flash on my camera pointing at the first flash on a stand. Next time I must remember my wireless triggers. Although I've recently worked out that my flash doesn't sync over 1/125 with the cheepo remote triggers. Using flashes as a slave may not look as cool but actually it's better right up till the point where you decide to move to the other side of the key light.
So yes, I'm still pushing myself to learn about flash lights. It's simpler than it seems in many ways, and yet it's also not as simple as it seems in other ways. But I'm enjoying playing with the kit and Matt is a kindred soul.
Izzy, a real hoot of a gal, is German, despite her French looking hat. She's from somewhere near Dresden (I've read Slaughterhouse 5 so I feel bad about that) and has been working for nearly a year in West London as an Au-pair but is going home soon.
It's funny how the first encounter of a session can have an influence on the rest of it. This one started so well (Thanks Izzy!!) and it carried on in that light.
If you like my work, please take a look at my Facebook page and my website at Colin Strain Photography.
Mike let me take his photo in the same alley that I already used for another of my strangers (Moran - #29). He caught my eye earlier, but when he walked by the second time I just had to ask him. His blue suit, vest and tie really stood out of the usual crowd and I am glad that I could convince him to say yes. He was a lot taller than me which led to the slightly low perspective. In my opinion, it looks great with him.
I included a shot from further back as well in the comments since I wanted to show more of the suit.
He wouldn't give me any more information as his name and that he was working right now - which I totally understand and respect.
By the way, it was the first time that I used my new Sigma 105mm Macro Lens and it works great :)
So, thank you, Mike, for letting me put my new lens to the test! I hope you like the outcome and as I said, I will be happy to provide you with the full files.
This picture is #38 in my 100 strangers project.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.
I made a Facebook page, so please check it out and like if you like :)
This picture is #30 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
"I like how all your portraits have deep penetrating eyes." - Ertränken in Licht
you really shouldn't miss this large on black
‘Strangers’ it’s an ongoing series about capturing love between 2 people who don’t know each other at all. The only thing they have common is the relationshipwith the photographer, me , because it are my friends and I put them together for my lens. Posing in front of camera is a very intimate moment and it’s really interesting to capture this intimacy between two strangers. While shooting you really see an evolution starting from shyness but it always ends in a kind of love.After posing a half day together it always seems they know each other for years.