I went to Nottingham on Saturday to photograph the Green Hustle Festival, that was taking place in and around Sneinton market. I took my little whippet Ruby with me as she is often an ice breaker for stranger shots.
I saw Khaya behind a table managing a stall. Khaya had an amazing smile and I went over to have a chat with her. Khaya’s stall was “Green Dreams”, a workshop allowing people to draw, write or use poetry to express a pledge / dream to help make Nottingham a green city. We had a little chat and Khaya asked me if I wanted to make a pledge. So I took some crayons and paper (remember I have a whippet and camera with me) and drew a Car / Vehicle and pledged that on my next “change of vehicle” I would buy an electric car. Khaya thought it was a great pledge and asked if she could take my picture holding up my pledge and art. She was going to create an online zine (magazine) of the pledges.
While on the subject of online zines Khaya runs a website “Femme Fatale Gals”. The next couple of sentences are a précis from the website….. Femme Fatale Gals” is a creative empowerment platform and magazine based in Nottingham. It started as a small feminist creative project for Khaya and Nottingham surface print maker Alice (alicesayspalace) in 2018 and has now grown into a platform that widely discusses mental health struggles, love, vulnerability and much more. Femme is very much into self reflection, self compassion and looking at oneself and others in the most proactive and compassionate way.
The website is really cool and a very positive portal in these difficult times we are living in. Take a look at the website …. https://www.femmefatalegals.co.uk/
I was pleased when Khaya said she would sit for my 100 Strangers portrait. It was a hot and sunny day on Saturday and Khaya was sat under a gazebo. It was a red gazebo and I was worried about having a red cast on the photos. When I looked on the display of my camera the cast seemed insignificant, but when I loaded the photos onto my computer the effect was too harsh, so I have converted the shot to mono. I did shoot some shots of Khaya outside the Gazebo, but the sun was quite bright.
Thanks for allowing me to photograph you Khaya, it was lovely to meet you and I wish you well with your website, career and vision. I am sure your positive outlook will lead to great things for you.
Shot with my Sony A7 and Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 Di III RXD, post processed in GIMP
Khaya seems to be doing lots of good stuff in Nottingham....good luck to her & her aspirations.....good thinking in the pledge drawing...I wouldn’t have had such a quick think! She looks very vivacious!
