I was walking through St. James park next to the big cathedral, drawn by a large gathering of protesters against GMO foods and Monsanto, when I noticed Ryan and his friend relaxing on a park bench. They were chatting and I initially did not want to disturb them, so kept walking – but in the back of my head I instantly regretted not approaching him and asking for his portrait.
So I doubled back, fought my apprehension, and politely interrupted them. After telling him about 100 Strangers, he seemed genuinely flattered to have his portrait taken. I told him The Beard called to me which he found quite amusing (his lady friend was giggling uncontrollably as he made himself “proper” for his head shot – fluffed up his hair, and removed bits of his sandwich lunch from his beard) 🙂 He felt like a model!
Perhaps I should have asked him to take his sunglasses off – it really didn’t occur to me at the time – but part of the charm is the Joaquin Phoenix “crazy period” look he was sporting. My friends congratulated me on getting a photo of Jesus with shades on. Haha!
This picture is #6 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.
Related articles
- Flickr 100 Strangers – 1/100 Debbie
- Flickr 100 Strangers – 2/100 Georgia
- Flickr 100 Strangers – 3/100 Henry
- Flickr 100 Strangers – 4/100 Dennis
- Flickr 100 Strangers – 5/100 Police Officer
- Flickr 100 Strangers – 7/100 Irfam
- Flickr 100 Strangers – 8/100 Krystal
- Flickr 100 Strangers – 9/100 Chris
- Flickr 100 Strangers – 10/100 Jill
- Flickr 100 Strangers – 11/100 Dawn
- Flickr 100 Strangers – 12/100 Frits
- Flickr 100 Strangers – 13/100 Henry
- Flickr 100 Strangers – 14/100 Suwa-San
Peter Lam Photography 