A Stranger at a Time: Day 15

Wow, already half the month has passed. I managed to find willing subjects about 87% of the time (more if I don't count the day I didn't even try), that's a pretty good average. I'll try to keep it up!

Today I saw many interesting models, but it was hard to find the nerves to actually ask them (the main purpose of the exercise). In a park I saw a young man dancing with a large flag and decided to ask him. I was relieved when he agreed. We talked as I got my camera out of my bag, and I was surprised to learn that he did it just for himself, that he didn't belong to any group or entered competitions! He reminds me of my capoeira teacher somehow, as when he started it, he had no idea where it would lead him. On the picture, I like his confident look.

A Stranger at a Time: Day 14

With the Candle Night, finding my subject was more a matter of ample choice than lack of. In this kind of event, it is pretty easy to find willing subjects, especially with a staff badge around my neck! But any model wouldn't do. As it was candle night, I wanted to find someone who represented winter well, and as luck would have it I found the perfect model staffing a booth nearby Pr-y's.

Candle Night x Pr-y

Last night was the Chayamachi Candle Night, and in collaboration with Atelier Corners and Rissi Inc, Pr-y had a booth showcasing the artists' pieces. In part due to a great location (Good work, Kasatani-san!) and favorable weather, many people passed by the stand and inquired about Pr-y. Both other photographers, Yoshida-san and Rob Whalbers, were there, and we exchanged views on many things, including the amazing equipment some passerbys had. All in all it was a fun night, (with the help of my wife's Xmas present down jacket which kept me warm).

A Stranger at a Time: Day 13

In the evening I passed by the Nikon Salon in Umeda to check the weekly exhibition. The first one was a series shot in 1993 and 2009 in East and West Berlin. Some of the pictures were very interesting, especially the one showing a pair of windows surrounded by a large number of bullet holes.

The second were street photography in a little neighborhood (shitamachi) in Tokyo. The contrast was pretty strong, these images being a lot livelier than the Berlin ones that were absent from any human presence. The photographer for this second exhibit was present and after introductions, he agreed to be photographed. His exhibit ends today, don't miss it!

A Stranger at a Time: Day 12

The banks of the Yodo river are a great spot to find willing subjects, it seems. Although I was later denied by a sheng player, my first attempt with this man and his dog, Taro, proved fruitful. I get more success asking directly for pictures than first striking a conversation. Although the man isn't facing me, his dog is, and I like the relationship between the two. It dawned on me later that I should have crouched a little for the picture, I think. Orange filter B/W conversation with some added blacks.

A Stranger at a Time: Day 11

You may wonder what happened to day 10? Well, the only time I left my place was to go shopping downtown with my family and didn't want to bother/embarrass them with my asking people for their pictures. Having gone downtown, I think it would have been easy to find a willing subject.

The next day I joined the Sanjurokumine Mountain race in Kyoto, and walking to the start, I noticed this staff whose pink jacket, yellow sweater and bleached hair really stood out. The plan was to upload the picture in color, but the red filter really highlights what first attracted me to him, so here it is in black and white. Shot with my cell phone.

A Stranger at a Time: Day 9

Wow, already day 9 of this 31-day challenge. I struck out one day, not bad I think; I did much worse the month I tried to do sit-ups every day!

After a morning shoot for the PR-Y project and I meeting about a Christmas Day (hmmm) wedding shoot (oh!), as I was riding my bicycle back home, I spotted someone carrying a large format film camera on a tripod down the street near the Higobashi Beer Belly (that'd be an awesome client to have!), I directly asked him if I could take his picture. Being a foreigner, he was startled and thought I made a mistake, that I was asking him to take my picture, and I when I made myself clear, he asked me why. I answered he was carrying a nice camera and that seemed to satisfy him. Photographers are a weird bunch, but we understand each other and he was happy to oblige. I captured him with some late afternoon light coming through buildings. We went on to talk shop, and he was on his way to try to get reflections off the water of the towers on Nakanoshima, but with the wind, the water was pretty choppy, so he probably didn't get the shots he wanted, if he even tried.

A Stranger at a Time: Day 8

This morning I took two portrait in less than 15 minutes! Excellent, I won't need to carry my camera for the rest of the day. I usually always do, but since I'm planning a short run after w*rk to test my shoulder, I'm happy to leave as much extra at home as possible.

The first gentleman was fishing under the rain at a pond in Itami. After taking some scenery shots, he noticed me, we exchanged pleasantries, and I asked him if I could take his portrait. He used to shoot film quite a bit and bemoaned the instancy and shoot-and-delete aspects of digital photography. I partly agree with him, but each media has it particularities, and no one is forced to press the shutter. I was happy to be able to get lots of shots last Sunday while taking pictures of my friends doing capoeira. They'll be glad to have the option of choosing between many pictures, something I couldn't have done with film (actual film and development are expensive) since I was doing this as a service to my fellow capoeristas.

A few minutes later, going through a temple, a woman asked me directions to a place I didn't know; actually I didn't even understand the type of place she was looking for. After some explanation I deduced it was some sort of learning center related to temples, but I could be wrong. She was holding a nice pink umbrella and with the colors of the leaves and the rain, I thought it'd be perfect as an autumn scene. She readily obliged to my request, and we then went searching for the place she was looking for, but to no avail. Hopefully she found someone who could guide her better than I.

I decided to put two pictures today since both were significant to me in their own way.

A Stranger at a Time: Day 7

Along the Yodo river going to w*rk this afternoon, I saw a man with a paragliding sail practicing catching the wind. I jumped at the occasion and went to ask him if I could take his picture. As with yesterday, I started by taking action shots, but then went for a portrait. In the ensuing discussion, I learned that this young 67-year old had started paragliding only 2 years ago and couldn't go enjoy it these days because of a knee injury. Pretty cool for a man past conventional retirement age and sporting a necktie while practicing his hobby (during his lunch break I assume).

A Stranger at a Time: Day 6

Armed with my trusty D40, my engagement present, I spotted this lone man dancing in the park. I'm a little disappointed with the picture, if only because it isn't a portrait per se. He's doing his thing for me, but it doesn't engage us as viewers very much. But, as far as one of my primary goals with this challenge is to get the nerves to go to strangers and ask to take their pictures, I can say mission accomplished.