View allAll Photos Tagged Strangers
Leonard Cohen: The Stranger Song
Created for 19th MMM Challenge
tree with thanks to Anosmia
and own resources
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Meet Cristina.
I was just heading home after a couple of hours of strolling late afternoon- when I saw Cristina just starting lunch on a outdoor bench and I instinctively knew she would make a great stranger portrait. Elegant and sharp with a "focused" look about her she could very well be a martial arts instructor (my wife said that and I agree). But as she looked young I was a little hesitant but then decided to at least ask. As has happened many a times, Cristina was not only open to doing these pictures but actually very friendly. I sat by chatting to know her a little better while she finished lunch - honestly it almost felt like I knew her for a while.
Cristina is from Texas where she works with Universities - obtaining and ensuring federal funds are distributed as appropriate (a Lobbyist for lack of a better term). She loves the outdoors - trekking and being with nature which is one of the reason she loves Maryland due to amount of green spaces even in urban settings. She loves visiting the museums as well as reading. A very confident person I was especially impressed with her ability to express herself and the ease of conversation, even with a person she had just met - a real pleasure. A family oriented individual her favorite memory is of a family cookout a few months ago in Washington DC.
Her favorite quality of herself was her compassion- which I learned was in large part to her life experiences and challenges that she encountered which molded her. She had experienced Spinal fusion in her childhood when she was 9 and for 3 years she was pretty much immobile, in a cast from neck to knees, struggling through the basic functions of life. As much of a painful struggle it was, she was not deterred or bitter, In fact she wouldn't change a thing since it taught her a lot and gave her the ability to empathize with others. Besides her work, she does want to do more to help people and society instead of being absorbed with herself. I was truly blown away by her thinking - humbled really and really glad to make her acquaintance. She also mentioned she didn't really do a lot of pictures but said yes to me to try something different since it was a unique experience - just another facet of her personality I felt. Of course she was just great on camera - she knew exactly what to do and pretty much rocked the pictures.
It was wonderful making your acquaintance Cristina - and hearing your thoughts. Wish you all the very best for your future
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
For my other pictures on this project: 100 Strangers - Round 2.
For pictures from my prior attempt at 100 Strangers: 100 Strangers - Round 1.
Stranger portrait - RIP, Amy passed away from an overdose a few months after I took this portrait of her.
Hi, I met Marieon recently as part of this project at the Galleries Pavilion in a clothing store. We had a fun conversation about her upbringing, her ancestry, her likes and dislikes etc.
If you are interested about the whole episode, please head over to my website following this link as it contains much more information and many more images.
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(Constructive) Criticism is welcome as usual
This picture is #44 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
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I'm going to start doing things I normally don't do but would want to try eventually to keep my interests in photography fired up and still strong.
I met Emily in Nottingham. She was with a friend, Issy (who you can see as my next stranger), and both were quick to say yes to being photographed for my project.
I asked Emily to stand next to a pillar supporting the building we had met by. This position kept her out of the harsh sunlight and allowed the brightly light ground to act as a reflector and lighten the shadows beneath her chin, nose and eyes. Emily asked if it was ok to smile and I said yes, although we did some non-smiling photographs too. My only problem was trying to time my shots so passers-by weren’t reflected in the windows behind Emily.
Emily is a marketing student. She told me her dream job would be to have her own clothing business specializing in swimsuits in her home country of Dubai. She had come to England to attend university.
When not studying, Emily likes to hang out with her friends and go shopping.
I asked Emily to describe herself with a single word and she said bubbly. Issy totally agreed with that.
The one thing Emily couldn’t live without would be her mum.
If I could grant Emily a single wish it would be to get married and have a cute baby girl and for her family to live happily ever-after.
Thank-you Emily for saying yes to me photographing you for my project. I hope you like your portrait.
This picture is number 508 in my 100 Strangers project, yes, I’ve decided to do a sixth round. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
This is my 470th submission to the Human Family Group. To view more street portraits and stories visit www.flickr.com/groups/thehumanfamily/
Just outside Paddington Station is a new clock, and trapped inside is a man who has to perpetually keep cleaning the face and drawing new hands on the glass.
It is of course art, and the man is a video performance of a person, created by the Dutch artist, Maarten Baas, who was commissioned to make the latest in his series of Real Time clocks for the office building it hangs from.
The clock can be found at 50 Eastbourne Terrace, London next to Paddington Station.
This is Batul, a college student. She is a student of Psychology in a prominent college in Mumbai , but has an interest in Political Studies. I noticed her because of her lovely hair and since it was one of those rare sunny days, thought of doing a nice backlit portrait.She was very cooperative and we had a nice session.
This picture is #11 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
A Stranger - 30 Seconds Project
All about the idea of this project can be read here:
Carl Zeiss Interview - English
f4.0 − 1/60 - ISO200 - No Flash - Nikon D800 - Nikon 105mm F2 D DC
My first 'stranger'. It takes some courage and confidence to approach a complete stranger and ask to take their picture. So in the spirit of improving my photography AND social skills I've decided to take up the challenge.
It’s been a long time since I’ve provided any narrative for a stranger portrait, but I thought this picture of Stranger # 237 Doug deserved a bit of an explanation.
I typically avoid approaching potential stranger models in costume because I prefer/try to catch a person’s true nature (as opposed to a character they are portraying). Therefore, the first time I spotted Doug I decided to take a pass although I was admittedly intrigued by his unusual face paint. An hour later, I passed by him again. There seemed to be an authenticity to his aura, so this second time I couldn’t resist asking him for a portrait. My hunch was correct.
I wasted no time in asking him about his face paint. He proceeded to explain to me that the make-up was a result of an extensive genealogical search that he had performed on his family tree. He told me that he was able to trace his roots back nearly a thousand years to Scandinavian origins. His face paint signifies that heritage. The markings on his face are an ancient Nordic design that warriors (Vikings?) might have donned when going into battle. Doug told me that he almost always wears his face paint when he goes out in public (but not when he goes to work…they disapprove there). He was clearly proud of his heritage as we chatted for a considerable time about how he commemorates his family origins in his everyday life.
The world inside him is beautiful as this moment,
The world inside him is empty as this land of nowhere,
The world inside him is fragile as this sand,
deep as this sea,
quiete as this air...
The world inside him is a kingdom where he has no place,
In this world inside him,
he'll ever be a stranger.
One of my first strangers - shot in 2010. Did a re-edit on this one because of the 30-seconds-exhibition next year ;-)
A Stranger - 30 Seconds Project
All about the idea of this project can be read here:
Carl Zeiss Interview - English
f5 − 1/50 - ISO200 - No Flash - Nikon D300
I had to wait my turn to capture her portrait.
When I arrived at the street fair this past weekend, I had high hopes of capturing a stranger portrait from the large pool of potential stranger candidates. However, it just didn’t seem to be working for me. Maybe it was because it was too crowded, or maybe the brilliant sunlight directly overhead wasn’t inspiring my lighting sensibilities, or maybe it was simply that no compelling characters were popping out from the crowd. Whatever the reason, after nearly two hours of wandering without pulling my camera from the bag, I began to doubt that I would find success. That is until I finally discovered the lovely Dashaunae. The moment I first saw her, there was no doubt in my mind that she was the one. I don’t know exactly what triggers this reaction inside of me, but when that gem model finally surfaces from the multitudes, I am entirely committed (to the point of obsessive) toward making a portrait happen.
I had to wait though because when I first spotted her, she was actually having her picture taken with two other girls. Initially it was as a common selfie, but then one of the girls stopped a passer-byer to assist with capturing a proper group portrait. This certainly isn’t unusual, so I just waited on the sidelines until the girls had finished their shoot. Once completed, the group of girls wished each other well and headed their separate ways. They did so in a manner that indicated that they were not friends or even acquaintances at all. How strange. As it turned out, immediately after the shoot the object of my desire made herself temporarily indisposed by retreating to the restroom. Therefore, I approached one of the other girls who was in the shot and asked her about the picture they had just taken. I was actually curious if my prospective stranger was some sort of celebrity. The young lady told me that she had simply been intrigued by the girl’s look and her sense of fashion, and she felt compelled to ask her for a photograph. How crazy is that…her motivation was exactly the same as mine. The fact that I now knew that my stranger candidate was deemed highly photogenic by another only served to fuel my desire even more.
A few minutes later, my would-be stranger re-emerged back into the festival crowd, I wasted no time in approaching her. I wasn’t sure how she would react to being asked for a portrait a second time. Fortunately, she was as sweet as could be and readily agreed (it made me wonder if being asked for a picture was common-place for her). Her name was Dashaunae, and she was actually quite interested in photography as she told me that she is pursuing a major in graphic arts. Although the fair was still packed with people, I noticed a tall ivy covered wall across the way that might provide a clean backdrop away from the throngs as well as furnish a little bit of shade. We headed over to the wall, and a few minutes later we walked away with this portrait.
I always say that street portraiture requires a little bit of planning and a whole lot of patience. It took nearly the entire afternoon for this opportunity to present itself (and even then I had to wait my turn), but I feel that in the end the wait was worth it as my patience was so richly rewarded.
Check out the rest of the stranger street portraits in my project at Paco's 100 Strangers Project and find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.
Meet Bridgitte.
I first saw her sitting at her computer. She was a new face for me and she had to take our photos for badges. She greeted us with warmth and smiles. After noticing her enthusiasm, I noticed the electric blue in her dress and noticed how it blended with her lipstick color. It’s been awhile since I thought about my stranger project but I figured she would make a beautiful candidate. One thing though, I had to use my iPhone because I did not have my camera.
I asked her if she wanted to participate and she gave a big smile, “Yes!”
We went outside and took a few shots. I told her that her smile, her hair and outfit reminded me of the many early 1900 pinup posters. I also asked her to tell me about three things she wanted me to know about her. Without hesitation, her eyes lit up, “I love to sew!”
“Did you make your dress?” I asked her.
“No, not this one.” She gave me a little background on the dress and talked about her passion to sew.
“What else?” I asked. She reflected for a few seconds and then told me that she loves customer service and working with people.
“I met my husband working with people,” she said.
Getting the third answer was a little difficult so I asked her what makes her happy. For a moment, she was serious. “I love my job,” she said in a quiet voice. “I love working with the people and interacting with them. I waited for a long time before they called me for the position. I was without work for 10 months so I am really grateful to be here.”
I am grateful that I had a chance to meet Bridgitte and talk with her. Her one year anniversary is a week away. I am hoping to do something nice with her photo and present it to her. She is worth celebrating.
This picture is #77 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at www.flickr.com/groups/100strangers/
The fist time asking a complete stranger if you can take their photo is pretty scary, because you start thinking stuff like 'what if they say no' 'what if they think I'm weird.' etc.
While today In the city I saw that there was a massive crowd, so I went over to see what it was, turns out, they were all watching this guy doing freestyle basketball, And man, he was good! After he was finished doing his act, I waited for everyone to leave, them I went up to him and and said something along the lines of "hey, you were really good, I'm a photographer, do you mind if i can take you portrait" He immediately said 'Sure".
Didn't get much from him other than that he's from New York, USA. He was a really nice guy. So this is probably my favorite shot from the couple I took of him. Let me know what you think?
Sometimes I visit a place with my 100 Strangers project and get the feeling its going to be "a tough nut to crack". Southend-on-Sea felt like just such a place. Its difficult to put into words, I just get a sense of the difficulties (perceived or otherwise) in making a portrait for my project.
I found a background I wished to use and then waited for an interesting stranger to come along. This is where the sense of difficulty began. Perhaps I'm reading too much into people but so many walked past me that I thought "they're bound to say no, they just won't get the project."
I had actually decided to admit defeat and was walking back to my car when I noticed Jenny walking along towards me. I headed back towards my chosen background where I asked Jenny to be part of my project.
Jenny is from Lincolnshire but has lived in Southend-On-Sea for around a year where she is studying dance.
"I'm not up to anything in particular today, just having a wander around town."
"I'm hoping my dancing will take me into music videos but hopefully it'll take me further. To the West End (London) and dancing in a musical production!"
I thought our encounter would be over before I'd even taken one frame to make Jenny's portrait. Whilst I was setting up my lighting equipment, this drew the attention of a local homeless man. Clearly the worse for wear with alcohol, he asked Jenny if she was famous. I thought this unwanted attention may put Jenny off but obviously not. Perhaps this was something of a premonition on the guys behalf. Hopefully one day you will be famous? Good luck for your future and thanks for being part of my project.
This is included in the group 100 strangers:
www.flickr.com/groups/100strangers/pool/
This is included in the Human Family Group. To view more street portraits and stories visit
Tom and Emily (my stranger 572) were so positive and upbeat when I met them. It was a good thing as I had been feeling a little nervous. It had been two years since my last entry to my project. There were plenty of folk about at the top of Glastonbury Tor but I found that my mind was questioning how would a stranger react to my request for a photo.
The couple were so welcoming and agreed to my request with smiles.
Tom took a picture of my card and gave me their email address.
I had Tom sit at the base of Saint Michael’s Tower as I got my reflector he said “You’ve got all the kit!” and he asked if I had a ring flash. Later I asked if Tom had modelled. He hadn’t but Emily and I agreed that he could have.
I photographed Emily and thanked them for their time; they reminded me that I promised to photograph them together. How could I have forgotten! I was so pleased for the reminder as sitting together they seem most relaxed.
Thank you Tom for being part of my project. It was great to meet you today.
You can view more portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family
Stranger #118’s portrait was a pane….literally (spelling correct).
I was at the Cleveland Museum of Art walking through a glass encased corridor from one section of the building to another. Looking out the window, I saw Stranger #118 across a small courtyard and herself inside of a glass encased gallery of sculptures. It was her hat that initially grabbed my attention, but through the multiple glass barriers I thought she looked like a potentially compelling subject. The first challenge was to find her. I had to make my way through a maze of an ancient Asian gallery before I finally found the entrance to the secret sculpture gallery.
Along with my potential model, there was one other woman in the room (who I thought might be with her although I was not certain) and a museum worker. The museum worker concerned me as there was no discreet way to approach a stranger in this relatively small echo chamber. I feared he might take issue with turning the gallery into an impromptu portrait studio, so I decided to bide my time and hope that the worker exited the room before my stranger. It was my lucky day. About two minutes later he casually strolled out leaving me alone with the ladies.
I wasted no time and made my approach. My inclination was correct…the two ladies were together. The other woman was my stranger’s mother. This made for a little bit of a new (and slightly awkward) situation for me, but it turned out that I think the mother was more intrigued by my project than my model. Her name was Maya, and although I had eyed her up through the refraction of several layers of glass, now that I was face to face with her I could see that as a stranger model she was all that I could have hoped for. Everyone was on board for the portrait and we still had this unique room to ourselves, so we got straight to work.
There was a slight temptation to incorporate the sculptures into the portrait (they were ancient Indian works). If I had time to think about a composition I am sure I could have dreamed up something cool and unique, but working on the fly I was concerned that a sculpture might appear to be a forced and out-of-place prop. So instead, I decided to simply incorporate all of the glass walls that were already integral to this encounter. We went to the corner of the gallery, and I positioned Maya so that not only was she backed by the glass walls of our gallery, but also behind that was the glass corridor from which I had initially spied her. I thought the vertical lines from the seams between the myriad of glass panels would make for a decent backdrop. What I did not anticipate was the fantastic turquoise color. It did not appear particularly blue when we were standing there. I did do some minor tweaking of the cyan levels in pp, but clearly my camera sensor was picking up color through all of that refracted glass that we could not see with our eyes. What a pleasant surprise.
Check out the rest of the stranger street portraits in my project at Paco's 100 Strangers Project and find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.
Hi, I recently met Sophie at Darling Harbour as she was walking around. She recently came to Sydney from Perth on a short trip.
We talked about her trip, her experience in Sydney, about the project and many more.
If you are interested about the whole episode, please head over to my website following this link as it contains much more information and many more images.
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(Constructive) Criticism is welcome as usual
This picture is #52 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
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I wish I had been able to take some stranger shots during my trip to Asia last month, but not speaking the language left me feeling very hesitant about approaching anyone. So missing the project, I jumped back in last week. The irony is, my first stranger didn't speak English :) - Meg and I were on a date in Little Tokyo, and we spotted Koda with his unique and cool look. Deciding it was time to get back on the stranger wagon, I walked over and jumped into my stranger spiel. Only to get a blank response. He looked at his friends, who explained what I was saying, and thankfully he was more than happy to partake.
Thanks Koda! Here is a link to my 100 Strangers Project
... here's is my first set of 100 Strangers
Also you can find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
Las Vegas, Nevada, 2011.
-There is a stranger in town.
-So what? Strangers are not interesting any more.
I was already going home later than I planned because of stopping to photograph April and Nathan. As I came out of the abbey grounds I saw Tilly. I crossed the road and asked if I might take her photo.
Tilly asked what my project was about and happily agreed to participate. I asked if she would be happy to sit on the wall next to where we were standing. I said that the project was social as well as photographic and asked if she was OK chatting for a few minutes before I took the photographs. “Oh.... you want to take the photos now....” Tilly said. Perhaps because my camera was in my back pack, she imagined that we might be meeting up at another time for the photos. “Yes, do you have a few minutes?” I answered.
Tilly enjoys music and clothes. She makes clothes and costumes, including most of what she was wearing today. Tilly has a hand held harp that she plays; enjoying making music for others, she sometimes busks. I asked if she would like a full sized harp. She would but they are very expensive.
I asked if Tilly had been stopped for photographs before, she said that she had been “at Beltane”. This was the same event where Morgan and Steve, strangers that I met last week, had been photographed by someone else.
Tilly has been in touch, thanking me for sending her copies of the photos and letting me know her preferences for my upload. She had also visited my project, said that it's great. Tilly was amused because she recognised several of the subjects as people that she had spoken to. Tilly also reminded me that she likes dancing.
Thank you Tilly for agreeing to be in my project. It was good to meet you. Best wishes as you make music and clothing.
You can view more portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family
This picture is number 17 of 100 in my 100 Strangers Project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the flickr.com/groups/100strangers/ Flickr Group page
It was Damaris's quiet elegance that caught my eye as I cycled past. I quickly turned around to catch up with her, as I have finally got over my nerves about asking people. No hesitations, just ask, it really doesn't matter if they say no.
21 year old Damaris is Romanian born, but has lived here almost all her life. Her family are all here, and she works in domestic house keeping. She is a softly spoken, perhaps reserved person, and although friendly, the noisy place we were in didn't really do much to help us in conversation.
Damaris started out being a little uncomfortable in front of the camera. It took a little coaching to get a nice eye expression, and it was rewarding to see how this, combined with seeing where her beauty lies, produced better and better photos as we went.
I told Kieran that it was Willow, his girlfriend, that I had spotted first. I said that I wasn’t brilliant at picking out good looking guys but figured anyone with such a pretty girlfriend had to be worth photographing. Kieran agreed about Willow’s looks, while Willow said “I’m blushing”.
Kieran was happy to be photographed first. He thought that photographing strangers was a great way to meet people. Kieran works in Rainbow’s End cafe in Glastonbury, so he knows Zak, my stranger #107.
After Kieran and I had made a few portraits, I turned to Willow. She told me that she found it hard being photographed. I had Kieran stand behind me, out of shot. This must have helped Willow to relax as she smiled while I took the photos. I wondered if Willow would be more composed, with Kieran standing to the side while Willow looked at me. With this arrangement Willow was more serious looking, so I had Kieran move back behind me again.
Thank you Kieran for being part of my project. It was great to meet you and Willow.
You can view more portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family
Ulrich Müther (1934-2007), Binz, Rügen
A german engineer, he lived and worked on Rügen
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCgen)
www.muether-archiv.org/de/bauten/detail/d/rettungsturm_1_...
This picture is #33 in the 100 Strangers Project - Round 3
Meet Isabella
Was lucky to meet Isabella on the streets of Bethesda as me and my wife picked dinner and I after using the opportunity to stroll around hoping to find someone amazing was about to close shop. I sighted Isabella with another lady (learned later that it was her mom) and though her face was partially covered with the mask - was stuck by her personality and her unique features especially her eyes. However before I could make my request she entered a restaurant to order some food while her mom waited outside. Since it was taking a few minutes and I was losing light - I made my way in and made my request. To my pleasant surprise the young lady happily agreed with the most courteous tone. Once she picked her food and handed it over to her mom we headed across the street to get a few good shots in desirable light as I also took a few minutes to know the stunning stranger. She asked if I would prefer hair open - something that I would have requested anyways and am happy we did since she just looked like a completely different person and turned on her enthusiastic model vibe literally letting her hair down.
Isabella is of Colombian descent - and although her parents stay in the USA she lives in Europe. She was initially hoping to do journalism but candidly revealed that she went through some down times trying to find her own skin. However she went back to Colombia after a lot of self care found her way back. Now she is working to be a lawyer - turns out her dad too is a lawyer, Her main intent is to try and help as many people as she can - especially in dealing with depression. She talked about the stigma associated with mental health and her wanting to use her experiences that have taught her a lot and now she wants to leverage the same for others, What I found most refreshing was the free flowing nature of the conversation - and her candor and honesty. She also revealed her experiences being bullied at school and how it left a dent on her confidence and made her self conscious about her looks.
Her hobbies include writing - she enjoys writing poems but has not shown it to anyone in the fear of being judged. Her favorite quality of herself - being able to interact with people across any age and diverse groups. Also she enjoys asking a lot of questions. Isabella, besides being a very beautiful young lady also came across as someone who really enjoyed the experience of being on the camera with a lot of positivity and was extremely appreciative of what I was doing. As you can see despite being through what she has - she still was open to being photographed and did a fab job.
Thank you Isabella for your time and trust - I realize the 5 minutes I promised turned to 15 - special thanks to your mom for her patience. It was wonderful doing these pictures - I hope you do find the will to share your work as well on the writing front, All the very best in all that you do a- was indeed great making your acquaintance. If you stop by and like your pics please feel free to contact me for hi resolution copies of the same.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
For my other pictures on this project: 100 Strangers - Round 2.
Troy owns and runs a bike repair shop and loves to build his customized bikes. He also runs a local cycle club which meets up several times a year to cruise around the city.
I met Rose, along with her cousin Laurel (see my previous stranger), in Nottingham. Both of them were celebrating Rose finishing her three-year university course in sociology. Rose said she’d like to get a job where she would be helping people perhaps as a social worker but Rose’s immediate plans were to go travelling with Thailand, Bali, Vietnam and Malaysia being the places she most wanted to visit.
Rose told me her hobbies included fitness; going to the gym, swimming and running. Rose also enjoys reading crime fiction.
I asked Rose to describe herself in one word and she said outgoing. The word Laurel used to describe Rose was funny.
Rose said her guilty pleasure was listening to One Direction.
If I could grant Rose a wish, what would it be for? “To be happy,” she said.
Thank-you Rose for saying yes to being photographed for my stranger project. I hope you like your portrait.
This picture is number 439 in my 100 Strangers project, yes, I’ve decided to do a fifth round. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
This is my 401st submission to the Human Family Group. To view more street portraits and stories visit www.flickr.com/groups/thehumanfamily/
I must admit that I had ulterior motives when I approached Wayne, my 166th stranger, for a portrait. Sure, I thought he had a cool urban vibe and I knew that his hair would add interest to any portrait, but my desires went beyond style. Let me explain.
My last stranger outing was about a month ago. During that time it seemed that I was having problems with my Nikon’s autofocus feature. The problem is best illustrated in the portrait of my 161st Stranger, Devin ( www.flickr.com/photos/chriscamino/23921005261/in/photostr... ). For this shot, although my focal point was definitely on his left eye, the focus on his eye was unmistakably soft. However, the focus on his sideburns (farther back from his eyes) was perfectly sharp. Someone suggested that I check my lens/camera calibration in order to determine if my lens was ‘back focusing’.
I turned to my camera manual as well as browsed a few web sites to figure out how to check calibration as this was uncharted territory for me. The method I ended up using is as follows: Firstly, I mounted my camera on a tripod to eliminate motion blur. Then, about ten feet away I placed a household measuring stick that had bold marks and numbers along its length. I set up the stick at a 45 degree angle going away from my camera…essentially giving me a way to measure my depth of field. Using my portrait lens opened to a wide aperture, I then focused on a specific point on the measuring stick and captured the image. Sure enough, the point on which I focused was barely readable in the resulting image, but the numbers 2 – 3 inches behind my focal point were tack sharp. My camera/lens was back focusing! Recalibrating a lens is accomplished via one of the camera’s menu functions. It wasn’t difficult to do, but it required a little bit of trial and error by testing the DOF on the measuring stick multiple time. I finally got the depth of field where I thought it was correct. Two things concerned me. Firstly, I essentially had to max out the allowable calibration to get my lens to focus at the proper point. Therefore it just wasn’t just a little bit off….it was totally out of whack. Secondly, I checked my other two go-to lenses (you need to calibrate each lens separately) and it turned out that they required the same degree of calibration. It seems the issue is inherent to my camera (as opposed to an individual lens). A friend suggested that he had had similar issues with his Nikon D600, and suggested I might want to send my camera back to Nikon to be checked out. I am tempted to take his advice, but before incurring the cost and inconvenience of such a move, I figured I would see if this calibration exercise would suffice to solve my problem.
So this brings me to my encounter with Wayne. This was my first stranger outing since I had recalibrated my lens, so I was a little nervous not knowing if my adjustments had done the trick or if they had entirely botched up my autofocus I liked the opportunity that Wayne presented to me. Not only was he a fine looking stranger, but all his hair, both on his face and head, represented a plethora of detail in which to gauge my lens DOF. Wayne’s portrait was to act as the ultimate living test for my lens calibration.
Wayne readily agreed to the portrait. I posed him in front of a statue/monolith that was mirrored, and the blue tone in the BG is the muted reflection of the late afternoon sky. I was shooting slightly below Wayne as he was standing on a small mound. Wayne’s girlfriend was assisting with a reflector left of frame. My focal point was directly on his left eye.
I am pleased with the final result, not only with the focus but especially with the portrait Wayne and I were able to produce together. Regarding the focal point, his left eye is reasonably in focus. Zooming in tight on his eye, his eyelashes are sharp and I can make out a fine blood vessel in the white of his eye. I think the detail in the iris could be a little clearer, but that may be too critical as his eyes are dark. I may have calibrated a little too far and there might be a slight ‘front focus’ occurring now, but overall I am happy with the sharpness and my recalibration efforts.
I do not know how my camera could have been knocked out of calibration. I did have the sensor ‘professionally’ cleaned in December, so I am suspiscious that whatever happened might have occurred then (the timing seems right). I am by no means a wizard when it comes to the inner workings of my camera, so if any of you techies out there have something to add or think I am missing the mark, please feel free to elaborate. I wanted to write this piece as a service to inform my fellow amateur stranger photographers (that shoot with a dslr camera) that if your focus is not all that you think it should be, maybe it would be worthwhile to check your lens calibration.
Check out the rest of the stranger street portraits in my project at Paco's 100 Strangers Project and find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.
Wooop! Les is stranger #1; and what an experience.
So... today is 'Remembrance Day' in Canada (same as Veteran's Day for you Americans), and we attended ceremonies as usual. I took my camera as I usually do not really with the intention of 'finding a stranger'. However, after the ceremonies many people attend the local Canadian Legion. We did as well. Lester was sitting by himself and I saw a great opportunity to meet a stranger and get to know them; so I asked if we could join him, of course he said yes!
Lester (Les) and I had a wonderful chat and he told me about his time in the Canadian Armed Forces (1959-1971). Fascinating stories; fascinating guy!
This was an easy photo request because, I believe, in the context of the Remembrance Day ceremonies people are more open.
See more 'strangers' in my 100 Strangers Album
Les is photo #1 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see photos taken by others at the 100 Strangers Flick Group page
Les is also my 1st submission to the Human Family Group. To view more of humanity and its stories visit www.flickr.com/groups/thehumanfamily/
Model: Stranger Beauty
Photographer: Đăng Thiện (Dolphin Li)
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Discover Kiné, a beautiful French girl I met in Brussels at the end of my trip in Europe.
On last Sunday, she came to Grand Place to shoot a little promo clip for another artist and also enjoy spending time with her girlfriends.
As she was taking selfies with her friend, I quickly noticed her high prestance and her ability to vary poses in a very nice fashion.
I only had to wait for a few minutes for them to finish their selfie shots before asking for my chance to take her photos - which she kindly obliged. :-)
Notes:
- Taken in Grand Place, Brussels.
- If I had given more thoughts about it, I would have noticed that the little staircase where we took the photos was very small and I should have used my 14mm lens instead of 20mm.
- I'm unfortunately not used to shoot black skin tones so it took many attempts before I could get some decent light balance. To be improved!
This picture is stranger #6 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've been working on this coffee since 1986, my name is Abdelah El Ouahabi, I worked four years outside this place and I always back to it, and I have stayed here since 1999. I only serve here, I still remember when this coffee was a post office, then transformed it into a coffee without a door. The famous writer Mohamad Choukri was used to come here, I remember him very well, I used to prepare a coffee for him, Choukri was good financially at this time, but his friends helped him until he meets a foreign who live outside the country. I also met him in the rooftop coffee, which is gone now, he was used to coming to these two coffees. The majority of consumers who used to come here are dead now, he still only one who came from time to another. A Coffee next to us is full of foreigners, Dancer coffee is a local coffee, it visited by Moroccans. People in Tangis coffee, Manara and Central are used to receive foreigners and visitors. This coffee was big, and they started small it until it became like this., 2 meters in the weight and 10 meters in the tales. There is another choice and I don't think about anything else. I'm well-known in this area and all the neighbors know me because I'm old here.
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.