At Woolbeding Gardens, trying to capture the full beauty of only the second William Pye water sculpture I have ever seen, I was becoming a bit frustrated. I was suddenly aware of a couple not too far from me and remarked what difficulty I was having.
He offered the advice to try a video which I did and the result was marginally better. We did have a little conversation before I introduced myself, mentioned my portrait project and wondered if they would participate. They immediately agreed although she said that she was never very relaxed having her photo taken.
A neutral back ground of a nearby hedge seemed apt and I asked them to stand in front of it and took a couple or so shots. It was obvious that she was not at all relaxed and I put my camera to my eye and was about to ask for a couple more shots when I saw that he was taking the initiative and, theatrically-speaking, Act 1, Scene 1 had suddenly become Act 1, Scene 2. Meet Ann and Peter.
We had a little chat to decide some information to include in the text to accompany the photo and I learnt that Ann and Peter live by the sea in Hampshire and that their garden backs on to a creek. Peter has a small catamaran which does not appeal at all to Ann who refers to it as 'two coffins tied together with a bit of string.' (I carried that round in my head, hopefully verbatim, for the rest of my visit).
Ann prefers a kayak because she feels safer at the level of the water and can dip her hands in the sea if she wants. I am no sailor and mentioned that the only boat I like to travel on is one which is large enough to transport cars as well as people.
Peter works as a programmer and Ann is in admin in the local GP surgery. They like gardening and visiting gardens. Bearing in mind Peter's original advice to me, I asked him if he is a photographer to which he replied that he takes photos but does not consider himself a photographer.
We went our separate ways and Ann took my card to be in contact for photos. Thank you Ann & Peter for a delightful portrait photo.
