This is Salvatore , well that is what I thought he said when I asked him his name.
Salvatore, cleans the beach at Playa de Jandia in Fuerteventura, Spain.
I'd seen him the day before cleaning the beach. When I say he cleans the beach, the beach stretches for miles and miles, so Salvatore only has a small stretch to monitor. He has a little fishing net that he sieves sand through and then puts the filtered bits into his black plastic bag. He's employed by the local council (beach officials wear bright orange t-shirts / sweatshirts etc.)
"I'm going to ask the beach cleaner for a photo" I tell my wife
"Wait a minute I'm going to disappear while you do it"
"Where are you gong to disappear to, we are in the middle of a beach with no one near us ?"
"Well let me walk away then"
So I approach Salvatore
"Hola, Can I take your photo please" ...I point to my camera and Salvatore.
He points at himself.
"Si?" I ask
"Si" say Salvatore
"Si" say I
(The conversation is going well so far)
I click a few shots.
I show Salvatore the pics on the back of the camera.
He sees the hat I am wearing.
"Ahhhh FC Barcelona"
He then points to his rucksack which is an FC Barcelona rucksack.
I then realise he supports Barcelona
So I decide to see if he knows about my club. "Bolton Wanderers is my club" ...I realise Spanish people pronounce Bolton with a U !
"BULTUN" "
"Ivan Campo, Fernando Hierro" (two Galácticos who played for us when we were good).
Salvatore shakes his head !
How we have fallen. Once upon a time everyone in Spain recognised Bolton Wanderers as a premiership team. A couple of days before I shot this we were relegated to the third tier of English Football. Mind you Salvatore would have been upset as FC Barcelona were dumped out of the champions league by Atlético Madrid.
While on the subject of Atlético Madrid, it is only 8 years ago that Bolton Wanderers were beating Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Cup and drawing with Bayern Munich (another European super club). How we have fallen !
I pointed at my camera and his picture and said world wide web / internet to Salvatore. He nodded and I shook his hand and thanked him for his time.
This picture is number 22 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
My own strangers can be seen here:
www.flickr.com/photos/57144254@N08/albums/72157657822400168
