Karina [Stranger #23/100]

This picture is #23 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

 

For my other pictures on this project: www.flickr.com/photos/vijaybrittophotography/sets/7215764...

 

I and my family just finished a sightseeing stop at the Empire State Building and stopped for a quick lunch at the McDonalds across the street. That’s when I spotted Karina while waiting to place my order at the counter. Now it does not take a genius to figure out that the young lady would be an immediate candidate for an interesting stranger. My initial ‘excuse me’ was met with a realization that she was on her phone – so I decided to wait a while. Back at the table, my wife who by now has accustomed to my stranger project, too noticed Karina as a potential for the project. However Karina soon finished her lunch, still on the phone, and began walking out of the store. I was debating just letting it go or following Karina and making my request – and chose the latter (definitely a first time with this kind of approach – but sometimes its just worth it). After catching up with Karina at the light, I interrupted her phone conversation (my apologies ) and made my request. Since she was on the phone I was pretty much expecting a No – moreover a conversation that starts with a ‘I am not a psycho or weirdo’ is not destined for great results. But to my good luck after some initial hesitation she responded with a okay. In my excitement of having found a terrific stranger, I forgot to reset some of the settings that I had used within the Empire State building earlier. The lady was also in a rush to her work, but I do appreciate her taking the time to do a few pictures. Then noticing a red/black backdrop across the street I requested her to walk with me so that we could use that to contrast her hair. At that point I realized (a little late) that Karina still had earphones on – which on my request she took off after asking the person on the other end to hold off for a few minutes. One of the things I realized even as I was speaking to this lady was her sparkling personality and a positive friendly vibe. Yes - the hair color and the accessories was of course the initial attention grabber, but despite the edgy look, she had an extremely warm smile and beautiful kind eyes – and I am sure she would stand out in an crowd even without any frills. In that sense, I feel I did not do her justice – I captured the person but not the personality itself. Karina loves music and is an artist – enjoys painting and sketching. Of course she loves playing with her hair color. Not surprisingly, I learned that Karina has been requested for pictures in the past but indicated that she has usually refused – so in that sense I feel slightly special :-)

 

Thank you Karina for being a part of the project – it was really nice meeting you and wish you a lot of success for your future!!

 

Done