This is my second Elaine in a row. Stranger number 116 was an Elaine.
I met Elaine today on my lunch time walk. I don't normally take my camera to work, but as the office is still pretty quiet "post Christmas and New Year" I took it with me.
Elaine was exercising her dog, Cassie on an urban green space close to Saint Leodegarius Church in Basford. I think the green space may actually belong to the church as there are a couple of old graves in the area.
I took some pictures from the park as it gives quite lofted views of the surrounding area.
I'd seen Elaine when I walked into the park and decided if she was still in the park when I got to the top of the hill I would ask her to be a stranger.
The intro was easy as I struck up a conversation about Elaine's dog. Her dog, Cassie is a Staffy (Staffordshire Bull Terrier) and is a rescue dog that she has had for three years.
We then had a chat about dogs, comparing the temperament of whippets (my dog) to Staffy's.
All this time Cassie was chasing her ball and rolling around on the wet grass .
I then introduced the concept of 100 strangers to Elaine.
"It is funny you asked me that, my son does something similar in Edinburgh.
He loves photography and asks random people in the street for photos. He has a barbers shop and uses the space to exhibit local photographers works.
He has a social conscious in his photography, trying to show were politicians have exploited people. He had his own exhibition in a gallery. It cost him £3000-00 to exhibit, it was all about highlighting political and social injustice. He will be interested in this"
"I will have to look your son up on google" I tell Elaine.
"So is that a yes?" I ask.
"Yes" say Elaine
I then ask Elaine what her name is and Elaine tells me it is Elaine and also gave me a biblical name (which I didn't take a note of)
i then explore Elaine's religious name, asking her if she is a member of Saint Leodegarius Church.
Elaine tells me that her church is quite a small one, so I ask her the name of the church.
It is a "Oneness" church and they meet in The Sherwood Community Centre , Sherwood Nottingham.
The size of the congregation is four , but they do a Skype broadcast to other members of the church. We then had a conversation about various faiths. I told her that one of my former work colleagues was a Bahia and he was a really kind man and a credit to his religion.
Elaine told me that her ex husband used to live with a member of the Bahia faith and he spoke very highly of the religion.
Are you still reading this. I haven't yet discussed the technique. It was a sunny afternoon so I asked Elaine to stand in a shaded area and glance over her shoulder towards me. Some of the photos I discarded because the background had blown out highlights.
I gave Elaine a contact card and asked her to contact me if she wanted a copy of the shot. We shook hands and I patted Cassie goodbye.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
https://www.flickr.com/groups/100strangers/
My own strangers can be seen here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/57144254@N08/albums/72157657822400168
@judithg thanks Judith, there are quite a few 100 strangers photographers in London who have the pick of some superb locations.. Soho, Brick Lane, various events ..fashion week, tattoo conventions, etc. Having said that Nottingham is quite a Diverse city and has provided me with some fabulous strangers
@quietpurplehaze thanks haze, I rarely print my images, at camera club we have digital competition and print competition, but I haven't printed for quite a few years as I find mounting the images to faffy (and I'm not very good at it !!)
@sangwann Dione, thanks for that, I am quite experienced at approaching people now, but it is still quite a nervous moment when you ask the question.
@bizziebeeme thanks Laura, the glane over the right shoulder is a classic pose for a female :)
@beryl thanks beryl, I am pleased how this stranger meeting went, Elaine was a nice lady to talk to
@kwind thanks for those nice words and the glance over the shoulder always works well as a portrait stance
My sentiments exactly re printing. Nothing ever seems to fit anything!