100 Strangers : No. 39 : Javier

On Tuesday we went to Revolución de Cuba, Nottingham for lunchtime tapas.

The restaurant / bar brings the flavour of Havana to the city of Nottingham and is set in an impressive old building.

I took some pictures of the bar and restuarant. While we were eating our waiter Javier came over to us and said "I see you were taking photos of the bar. We have a beautiful small bar upstairs with pictures of Cuba, Castro and Che Guevara . I can open the bar for you and take you up so you can get some photos there if you want."

"That is very kind of you" I replied

"After you finish your meal, I will take you upstairs to see it"

The room was indeed very beautiful. A big window streaming light into the bar and the decoration and style very much what you would imagine an old Cuban bar might look like.

I took some shots of the room and then told Javier about my project and asked him for a photo.

Javier was pleased to pose for me. The light was very difficult as the room was quite dark apart from the light streaming into the bar through the window. I asked Javier to stand behind the bar and the light shone in from the right hand side of the frame lighting Javier from one side and creating a striking portrait.

Javier comes from Barcelona and has worked at the bar for just over 8 months, which is pretty much when it opened it's doors for the first time to the people of Nottingham

Javier enjoys living in Nottingham and enjoys comparing the culture of Catalonia to that of Nottingham !

I have a tendency to ask my strangers what football club they support. As you would expect, Javier supports FC Barcelona.

Thank you for being stranger 39 in my project Javier, I hope you like this photo .

This picture is number 39 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

100 Strangers Flickr Group page

http://www.flickr.com/groups/100strangers/

My own strangers can be seen here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/57144254@N08/albums/72157657822400168

The restaurant / bar web page is here:

http://www.revoluciondecuba.com/bar/nottingham/

[Cherrill]

'I come from Barcelona..........'! Sounds a great place to eat and he makes a great subject. I'll have the meatballs!

[Hazel]

That's an idea, Phil, never thought about asking about football clubs. Like the way Javier is looking directly at the camera and smiling with his eyes. A striking portrait indeed. Fav

[Phil Howcroft]

@quietpurplehaze i really like this Haze, the light from the window has left a little bit of darkness on the left hand side of the frame giving the image a bit of depth and mood , I was worried at first that I had messed up the shot but a little editing and I like the end result

@Cherrill cheers cherrill , the honey roasted veg was really nice :)

[Jen Hudson]

I so like your strangers shots. You capture their expressions so well and the person comes through.

[Hazel]

@phil_howcroft

I get a similar situation when I take shots in the cathedral - except the light comes from the other side - I also thought I'd messed up the first time I took a shot in that situation. I rather like indoor portrait shots when the light is interesting.

[Ivan]

He's nice...

[Lee]

Good shot.

[Kerri]

Awesome shot

[Dione Giorgio]

Another great portrait capture, Phil. Very nice use of the light. You should make a good businessman - you pay for the food and get back the food and a model for your photos, haha.

[Phil Howcroft]

@sangwann thanks dione, i am very pleased with this shot

cheers kerri @kerristephens

thanks lee @gamelee

@ivan thank you ivan

@jennywren jen thank you for all the positive comments you make on my shots :)