one of my 365 resolutions for 2013 is to hopefully finish my 100 strangers project. i prefer to do it here because i cannot be bothered to open a flickr account. at any rate, since last summer, i have taken photos of total strangers. i had to approach and ask for their permission to take their photograph. surprisingly enough, all of them did not hesitate to say yes. no questions were asked what i had to do with the photos or whether i would have to post them on the internet. unfortunately, my very first stranger, a pretty young woman, is unnamed because in my haste, i forgot to ask for her name. i haven't posted her photo, but maybe i will one of these days. my other five strangers is in my blog.
and so, this is Christina, she is from nigers and came to canada as a young woman. she has a table at the st. lawrence market where she sells clothes and scarves and handbags imported from nigers. her customers are immigrants who are primarily from nigers and neighbouring countries.
i first saw her in December during the holidays. i chose to ask her because she donned a colourful and beautiful headscarf and she had a very engaging smile. she readily said yes when i asked to photograph her. her one condition, she wanted a copy of the photograph, if they turn out good, so she can put it in her album which she carries with her. today, when i went back to the market, i gave her four copies of her photograph and she was very happy. she asked how much she should pay me and when i told her they're my gift to her, she was quite surprised, but obviously delighted.
so there. 7 down, 93 to go.
-o0o-
SOOC. the focus isn't very sharp. i was a bit nervous and harried because i had to put down my two shopping bags and there were a lot of people milling about. plus i cannot see well as there was a bit of light hitting my eyes. yeah, yeah, yeah, excuses, excuses.
You are my hero! For doing the 100 Strangers thing. I think I have taken one pic of a stranger. He was that sign spinner/dancer I took at the beginning of my project/time on this site. And now I want to go out and do the 100 Strangers. I am scared! I am petrified! Help me, VikkI! haha This is a great portrait! I am shocked they don't hesitate or ask a bunch of questions. In the world of smart phones, I could show them the site, and explain...not sure if that would help or hurt. And then I would get so rushed and nervous, I'd probably get a horrible shot. So...you hit on one of my big goals for this year! It is great! (btw, I think people in Atlanta GA USA are more suspicious than your neck of the woods!I was taking a pic of a bird nest and birds on the roof of Mc Donald's once, and this dude in the drive thru got out of his car (as he came thru) and yelled "Miss! Are you taking a pic of my license tag?" He was pissed. I was like "NO! Of that bird up there" and wanted to add" you paranoid so and so!" haha What was that guy doing that made him act like that? ReallY!
I too admire your pluck! I might be able to do 10 strangers (in one shot in a crowd without asking anyone!) but 100 up close and personal- a major challenge!! Lovely portrait of Christina- I can see why she was so pleased!
@olivetreeann - ann, i'm lucky if i get to 20 by year's end. hahaha! thank you, ann.
@espyetta - i find that people you don't care about are so paranoid. but ask and the person says yes. but sure, i got this problem of being tense i might as well faint! it's a difficult project. thank you, MB.
another one that i will tie in with the 100 strangers project is the $2 strangers project. i read this somewhere in the discussion board. how it works is if anyone asks you for some spare change, you give them $2 in exchange for taking their photograph. (photograph first before you give the $2 just to be sure.) so i have in my camera bag, at least three $2 coins, just in case. but i'm hardly ever approached for money so i haven't used them yet.
Wonderful wonderful capture! We both have Christinas in our 100strangers. Lets see how many more share the same names with different spellings. =) And best of luck with the project. I am on my fifth. 95 more to go. =)
I cant imagine your guts to ask and then take. I would be so hurried, I would probably forget to take the lens cap off. Congratulations on a wonderful project and portrait.
@monaalta - yay! what a coincidence. you can find my first five strangers in my blog, which i posted sometime during the summer. http://one-photograph-a-day.blogspot.ca/ i have a george and a leo.
@jannkc - in the early fall, i found this guy sitting on the pavement waiting for 'money mart' to open. the way the morning light was on him was quite stunning. i passed by him and i've walked about three shops when, to my own surprise, i did a turn around, walked up to him and asked if i could take his photo. he said yes. he started to make poses. but my camera wouldn't work. it took me a full minute to realize that in my haste, the darn dial got moved to 'self timer'. i felt so embarrased. thus the subsequent photos i took were so-so. see here: http://one-photograph-a-day.blogspot.ca/2012/10/day-962-stranger-6.html he looked so pissed afterwards because i was taking too long. hahaha!
Wow I can't believe you are brave enough to do the 100 strangers, you are incredible. This is such a beautiful portrait and story and I'm glad she liked them as well. Good luck to you and your project =)
@espyetta - i find that people you don't care about are so paranoid. but ask and the person says yes. but sure, i got this problem of being tense i might as well faint! it's a difficult project. thank you, MB.
another one that i will tie in with the 100 strangers project is the $2 strangers project. i read this somewhere in the discussion board. how it works is if anyone asks you for some spare change, you give them $2 in exchange for taking their photograph. (photograph first before you give the $2 just to be sure.) so i have in my camera bag, at least three $2 coins, just in case. but i'm hardly ever approached for money so i haven't used them yet.
@henrir - thank you, henri. it might be a while for the next one. :-)
@lesip - link? thank you, leslie.
@jannkc - in the early fall, i found this guy sitting on the pavement waiting for 'money mart' to open. the way the morning light was on him was quite stunning. i passed by him and i've walked about three shops when, to my own surprise, i did a turn around, walked up to him and asked if i could take his photo. he said yes. he started to make poses. but my camera wouldn't work. it took me a full minute to realize that in my haste, the darn dial got moved to 'self timer'. i felt so embarrased. thus the subsequent photos i took were so-so. see here: http://one-photograph-a-day.blogspot.ca/2012/10/day-962-stranger-6.html he looked so pissed afterwards because i was taking too long. hahaha!