On Saturday, I went to Bolton watch my football team, Bolton Wanderers, play Portsmouth.
I always take my camera to the football, but have not really captured many strangers this football season.
I always go a walk around the stadium looking for strangers. Today there was a big “oneagencymediabus” (that’s a double decker luxury media bus) outside the club shop. Bolton FM, a community radio station based in the heart of Bolton was hosting a publicity event and the DJ / compare was announcing to passing football supporters that actress “Jazz from Hollyoakes” was making an appearance in the bus.
I said to my mate Bill, shall I ask her for a stranger portrait and Bill said yes go for it.
So I walked over to the bus and asked the man at the front if I could get a photo. “She’s here to meet people so yes go upstairs and meet her”
As I walked onto the top deck, it was a bit like a little luxury lounge. A lady greeted me and said “Oh you are organised, you have your camera”.
I asked if she was “Jazz” , she told me she was one of the hosts. I told her about my project and she looked me up on the internet and added me as a friend on various social media accounts. She also introduced me to Jazz.
I told Jazz, it was a bit dark on the top deck for photos and would it be OK if we stepped outside to take her photos. Jazz agreed and we went outside. I had noticed that when we went in the media bus it had a giant LED screen above the top deck, projecting adverts and promotions, I knew the LED screen would make a great bit of light for a photo and the black front of the structure would make a great canvas.
I directed Jazz where to stand and rattled off a few pictures in record time (it was a few minutes before kick off).
Jazmine Franks is a British actress best known for playing Esther Bloom in “Hollyoaks” from 2011 to 2018. She is also notable for her role as teenager Kirsty in the 2006 miniseries “Johnny and the Bomb”. She has appeared as Jane Morris on the ITV miniseries “The Second Coming”, the Channel 4 comedy-drama series “Shameless” and on the BBC One drama “The Street” (the above information was from a quick search on Google).
Jazz is also a patron of the Barnabus Manchester Christian Charity, which support homeless and vulnerable people. That makes her a good person in my books. Jazz also recently launched her own fashion label.
I looked at Jazz's Insta account and all her photos were colour, so I decided to post this striking mono photo of her
Thanks for being stranger 203 in my third round of 100 strangers Jazz. I wish you well in you acting career, charity work and fashion label.
I won't mention the football as it was another defeat and another step nearer to to fourth tier of English football !
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
