On Tuesday, I went to Lincoln to watch my football team, Bolton Wanderers, play Lincoln City, kick off time 19.45.
I decided to make an afternoon of it, so I arrived in Lincoln after lunch and had a wanderer around the picturesque and historical city.
I was hoping I would be able to photograph some strangers, but it was a grey and dull afternoon, with poor light, so not ideal for street portraits.
I started off in the Cathedral district, made my way down the hill to the shopping centre and ended walking around the Brayford Waterfront, home to Lincoln University, a shed load of pubs and restaurants and the Brayford pool, which attracts quite a bit of urban wildlife (that’s not students, I mean ducks, swans, birds etc.)
It was at the Brayford pool, where I saw Anne, she was feeding the birds. I shouted to her was it OK to take a photo of her feeding them. Yes she said, so I took a few photos of her giving the geese and swans some food.
I then walked over to her and started asking her about the birds. She feeds them most days, she’s watched them grow from little babies. She said they all have their own personalities and their was a pecking order about who got fed first. The swans rule the food chain she told me. She buys seed at a farm shop, but today she had none, so had bought a loaf of bread in the city to give them.
I then asked her if I could do a portrait of her for my 100 strangers project, she agreed straight away, saying she did not look her best as she had lost her Mum and had been crying for a week. I said she looked fine and the portrait would show that. She also added that the ear muffs were not a fashion accessory, they were a necessity as she had an ear infection.
I told her I was in the city to watch Bolton Wanderers play Lincoln City. She then showed me her key ring, which was a Lincoln City Imp. She often took her grandson to the football on Saturday afternoon, but would not be going tonight as it was a school day tomorrow.
I asked her if she knew of any good parking spots for the ground, she told me if I got there early enough I would be able to street park around the ground. I told her a friend of mine had told me a street to park on but she did not know the street, but knew the area and said it would be fine.
All the time I was chatting to her, we were surrounded by geese, ducks and swans.
When she had finished distributing the bread, I thanked her for the photo, we shook hands and she walked off by the University waterfront to meet her son, who worked at the Uni’
Oh and the football.... awful, dreadful, we are still a club in crisis ... Lincoln City 5 Bolton Wanderers 1
Thanks for being stranger 202 in my third round of 100 strangers Anne. I am sure your birds enjoy your daily visits.
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
