On Friday afternoon it was sunny (and very cold) but it was ideal conditions to shoot with my Olympus OM20 film camera, loaded with Cine Still ISO 50 colour film.
I was shooting the lake at the Duck Park and noticed two young ladies taking pictures with what looked like a film camera. So I had a film camera and they had a film camera, so it was easy to strike up a conversation about cameras. Tania (right hand side of the frame) was taking some pictures of Daria.
They were actually using a Lomography Lomo Instant Automat Glass, which gets good reviews in the world of instant camera. It uses Fujifilm Instax Mini film formats. Tania noticed my OM20 and was impressed with the camera. I told her it was my camera from the 1980’s and in impeccable condition. She asked me if it was expensive to buy film. I told her film was quite pricey and so was the processing, although if I shot in black and white film I had a friend who could develop the film for me.
The printing process of the instant film was taking some time due to the cold weather, but I did get to see the photo of Daria.
I asked where Tania got the film for her camera and to her and my surprise she’d found some in ASDA Arnold !
Both girls spoke with Eastern European accents, so I asked where they came from. They said Ukraine. Both were refugees, having fled the country due to the Russian invasion. I asked if they wanted to return to Ukraine and both said they did. I told them I was sorry for the plight of their country and wished them well.
I told them about my strangers project and asked if I could take their photo. Both agreed, so I got my digital Sony RX100VII out of my bag and I shot them were they were standing. There was no real shade in the area of the park we were in, so I shot them in direct sunlight, which isn’t always best for portraits , but the photo did turn out OK.
I gave them a contact card, Daria said they only needed one card as they lived in the same house.
After the shoot, I felt a little sad, that these two young ladies had fled the Ukraine and found themselves in Arnold, Nottingham. Not that Arnold is a bad place to live, it’s just it must have been a major upheaval and stressful time in their lives to flee their homeland due to war.
Fav. What a pity that these young girls and thousands more having to flee their country because a war started in the 21st century when everybody thought wars in civilised countries were over. It must have been a big trauma for them. Anyway, this is such a lovely capture of them and thank you for sharing their story.
@carole_sandford Carole, thanks , everyone has a story , thanks for your continued support :)
@stowgarden thanks cherrill, nice comment :)
@pdulis thank you Peter
@caddick cheers mike
@sangwann thanks Dione, it is always good to meet people on the street and listen to their story
@jamibann thanks Issi, that's a lovely comment and observation
@kjarn I think everyone wished them the very best wished Kathy
@allie912 I do hope so Allison
@maggiemae thanks Maggie for your words and support
@beryl thanks beryl , I meet some fabulous people on the street
@busylady thanks Judith , everyone has a story , Daria and Tania's were two very nice young ladies
Hi everyone, there's a lovely addition to the meeting with Tania , I posted it in the discussions forum here...
https://365project.org/discuss/general/47511/a-lovely-extra-story-to-my-100-strangers-number-345#comment-950179