Meri - Stranger # 405 / 500
Do you know the feeling when you're intending to make a photo, waiting for a person to step into your frame, and then somebody arrives, sees your camera and out of consideration, he/she waits for you to be done shooting in order to move on?
Well, I am sure you know what I am talking about, right?
I saw her walking toward the place I was standing. I had composed the shot in my mind and was just waiting for her, but she saw me, too, and stopped. I looked up from behind my camera and smiled to her.
"Anteeksi, rouva... " I started in Finnish. "Excuse me, madame, please go ahead, I was waiting for you to step into my photograph," I said.
"All right," she replied amused and looked around at the huge posters behind her while I made pictures. A moment later I introduced myself and so did she.
"Do you know, I am 96 y/o," the Stranger said with a sense of pride in her voice.
I was truly astonished.
She was obviously on a shopping errand, pulling behind her a shopping trolley bag. She looked energetic and curious to know what I was doing.
I explained and she was willing to cooperate.
Meri is a MD by profession. In the Winter War she had been an anesthesiologist in the Finnish army. While we were talking, she pointed out a nearby building and said that it was bombed by the Russians. She reminisced her life decades ago.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_War
Meri was married to Kaarlo (1909-2001), they became parents to three children. Kaarlo was a diplomatic ambassador to Finland in many countries.
"We spent the four first years with my husband as the official envoy of Finland in Brazil...
"The last place my husband was stationed in was Romania. It was at the time of Nicolae Ceaușescu when the revolution began and his regime collapsed..."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Ceau%C8%99escu
Meri and I conversed in three languages; Finnish, Swedish and English. When I asked if she spoke French, too, she said :" Only the compulsory French we had to learn in school."
She would have certainly told me many more stories, however it seemed that she was on a schedule. I thanked her so much. It was such a pleasure to hear a bit of old history from a lady of almost a hundred years of age.
I am sure that Meri is a beloved and appreciated matriarch in her family.
# 32 Antique
Meri - Stranger # 405 / 500
Do you know the feeling when you're intending to make a photo, waiting for a person to step into your frame, and then somebody arrives, sees your camera and out of consideration, he/she waits for you to be done shooting in order to move on?
Well, I am sure you know what I am talking about, right?
I saw her walking toward the place I was standing. I had composed the shot in my mind and was just waiting for her, but she saw me, too, and stopped. I looked up from behind my camera and smiled to her.
"Anteeksi, rouva... " I started in Finnish. "Excuse me, madame, please go ahead, I was waiting for you to step into my photograph," I said.
"All right," she replied amused and looked around at the huge posters behind her while I made pictures. A moment later I introduced myself and so did she.
"Do you know, I am 96 y/o," the Stranger said with a sense of pride in her voice.
I was truly astonished.
She was obviously on a shopping errand, pulling behind her a shopping trolley bag. She looked energetic and curious to know what I was doing.
I explained and she was willing to cooperate.
Meri is a MD by profession. In the Winter War she had been an anesthesiologist in the Finnish army. While we were talking, she pointed out a nearby building and said that it was bombed by the Russians. She reminisced her life decades ago.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_War
Meri was married to Kaarlo (1909-2001), they became parents to three children. Kaarlo was a diplomatic ambassador to Finland in many countries.
"We spent the four first years with my husband as the official envoy of Finland in Brazil...
"The last place my husband was stationed in was Romania. It was at the time of Nicolae Ceaușescu when the revolution began and his regime collapsed..."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Ceau%C8%99escu
Meri and I conversed in three languages; Finnish, Swedish and English. When I asked if she spoke French, too, she said :" Only the compulsory French we had to learn in school."
She would have certainly told me many more stories, however it seemed that she was on a schedule. I thanked her so much. It was such a pleasure to hear a bit of old history from a lady of almost a hundred years of age.
I am sure that Meri is a beloved and appreciated matriarch in her family.
# 32 Antique