30 april, 2009

travis . 27 years old  /  denver . colorado

i took a stroll down by the library and museum to find today's stranger. but i didn't find anyone where i thought i would so i paced around for a few minutes. i eventually decided to walk up broadway to a different part of town.

i knew i wanted to photograph a guy today, so when i came around to the front of the library to begin my broadway trek and saw this bearded fellow on a very rad vintage schwinn, i decided to give him the i heart strangers spiel.

he was dropping off some books in the outside return box, so i went up to him and explained what i was doing. he agreed to be a part of it right away.

i complimented his bike (i have a thing for bikes), but he didn't have much to say about it in return. i noticed he had just returned a book on motorcycle maintenance, so i asked him if he rode. i think i saw him crack a smile when he told me he just bought his first motocycle - an 83' honda. i thought that was neat because my first bike was an '82 kawasaki, but travis didn't have much to say about the motorcycles either.

i asked him what he was up to today and he said he was just "riding around". travis was really very nice, but he didn't seem like the chatty kind of guy. after realizing i didn't have much else to say, i started in with the pictures.

i pulled my camera out of my bag, turned it on, and realized immediately that something was wrong - i couldn't change my focal point. i turned it off, and back on. that didn't work. i took out my memory card. nope. i took the battery out and put it back in. that didn't accomplish anything except for locking the focal point in a different position. i started to get very nervous. maybe "very" is not the right word. i became exceptionally nervous and i got there in a hurry.

travis was nice enough to patiently stand there while i embarrassed myself by fumbling around with my malfunctioning equipment. i eventually gave up on the troubleshooting and decided to make due with what i had.

fortunately, travis was very easy to photograph. he had a steady gaze and an interesting look about him. the colors in the photo worked well together, too, so minus the camera drama, it was a good shoot. i thanked him and wished him well and then let him get on his way.

then i started the real freak out. i started thinking of who i could borrow money from to buy a new camera. i called a friend to ask if i could borrow his gear. i phoned another friend who i knew would understand the severity of the situation. it was a rough walk home...

i walked into my apartment and immediately started dissecting my camera. i figured she had just breathed her last after four years of hard labor and i was very sad about it. then... it dawned on me to move a switch that i never have to move. apparently, in taking it out of or putting it into my bag at some point over the last night and morning, this switch moved into the "lock" position. by simply unlocking it, all of my problems went away.

i felt like a tremendous idiot. and i think if travis didn't think i was an idiot to begin with, he probably does now. thanks for putting up with me today, man.

29 april, 2009

sandra . 60 years old  /  denver . colorado

well... i've been having a great day! being back in denver has been so good for my soul. this must be what people are referring to when they say "home", but i don't want to jinx myself. i think i've missed two cities in my life: the first being århus, denmark, and the second denver. i've developed a deep love for both of them.

the weather was perfect today. i couldn't bear staying inside for very long. a friend of mine wanted to go for a bike-ride in the early afternoon, so i did my best to get some work done in the morning.

i set out around lunch time again to both visit city o' city and look for a stranger to meet and photograph. i walked a few blocks looking for the stranger, but was unsuccessful. eventually, to no surprise, my feet led me back to city o' city.

i said hi to a couple of friends and then stepped outside to continue my hunt. i immediately saw this woman walk by in a bright blazer. she had fun sunglasses on, too, and, for some reason, i thought she looked like she would agree to being today's new friend. i told my friend i was "going to photograph that woman" and then took off down the street after her.

sandra was so pleasant. she had a smile that was just bursting at the seams and a face that was all wrapped up in joy. she shares her first name with my mother and they are nearly the same age, too. i liked that because i've been thinking of my mom a lot lately.

sandra is currently working at a job that doesn't seem to be fulfilling her dreams, so she is going to go back to school to learn how to become a bartender. when she said that i thought it was so great. i would like very much to order my drinks from her and i can imagine that i'm not alone. i think she'll do very well and bring home a nice stash in tips.

the light was so bright today! we weren't in a great place for photographing, but i did my best to make it work. the sun was so strong, even in the shadows, that it washed out her blazer. that's a little disappointing because it was that color that initially caught my eye. but it hardly matters when you get a glimpse of sandra's smile.

i hope sandra will let me know when she starts tending bar. i'd like to be one of her first customers. thank you, sandra! you made a good day even better.

28 april, 2009

barbara . 60 years old  /  denver . colorado

i flew into a cold and grey denver last night, so i was pleasantly surprised to wake up to a blue sky and sunshine this morning. i decided to head out into it at around noon today.

i only made it a little over a block down 13th avenue before i saw this elderly woman with long white hair. i wanted to ask her to be today's stranger, but she stepped out just in front of me on the sidewalk and started down the street.

she was walking at a quick pace, so i sped up and called after her a couple of times. when she realized i was talking to her, she stopped and listened to me as her told her what i was doing. she blankly stared for a moment until i said i was photographing strangers every day. then she let a lovely smile set up camp on her face.

we took a few steps back up the street where i had first seen her. the area was shaded and i wanted to use the windows of her workplace as her background.

barbara does clerical work for some kind of retirement center. she told me what it was exactly, but it had too many words in it and i managed to only hang onto a couple of them. she enjoys her work, but is quickly approaching her retirement days, which she didn't seem to be too upset about, either.

i complimented her long hair and told her that my mother recently started wearing her hair longer, too. barbara said, "people say older women shouldn't have long hair, but i think that is b.s." i laughed and agreed.

barbara was very sweet and had a wonderfully warm smile. her eyes tell a nice story, too. i wanted to talk more with her, but she seemed to be on a mission when i first interrupted her, so i let her go after just a couple of minutes.

i hope she is enjoying the rest of this day.

27 april, 2009

diego . 24 years old  /  mitchellville . tennessee

it has been a challenge to make beautiful photographs while i've been away for the weekend. working in a routine at home, in an environment i know, is definitely more conducive to good photography. i find this disturbing because i want to be able to perform at 100% regardless of the circumstances. is that unrealistic?

my buddy and i left kentucky very early this morning so that i could catch a flight back to denver from nashville. considering i did not want to be forced to photograph in the airport, i needed to shoot on the road. so, just after we crossed the border into tennessee, we pulled into a rest area and welcome center.

i stood outside in the already warm early morning sunshine and watched people as they passed me by on their way to use the facilities. i noticed this guy with a mohawk when we first arrived and was hoping i would see him again after i grabbed my gear.

i did see him again, but this time on his way back to his car. i walked up to him and gave him the story and diego accepted my invitation with no hesitation.

he is originally from the dominican republic, but has been in the states for 15 years. he likes it ok, he said, but is looking forward to going back. he is currently studying english in birmingham, alabama, so he can go back home and teach english to the children there.

this morning he was on his way back to birmingham from louisville, kentucky, where he had just run in a mini-marathon, which, at 13 miles, doesn't sound so mini to me. i told him i highly doubted my ability to run that far, but he said he felt that way at one point, too. apparently he decided to prove himself wrong, though, because he placed 124th out of 10,000 runners!

and that was that. diego went on his way and my friend and i got back on the road.

26 april, 2009

tiffany . 19 years old  /  wilmore . kentucky

i spent another day with my buddy, riding around lexington, spending some quality time together. the weather has been gorgeous - hot and sunny - the kind that allows for windows down and a car tan. just great!

we've been staying on the campus of asbury college, so today when we returned, i took a stroll around. last time i was here it was pouring rain and grey and not all that pretty, but this weekend all the trees were in bloom, the grass was green, and the landscaping looked well kempt. it felt pretty nice walking around the campus that i spent four years of my life on.

the campus was very quiet again, but there were a few people out in the sunshine. i meandered through the sidewalks and ended up on the green in front of the administration building. i walked directly towards a girl sitting by herself on a park bench. there were a few other people out there, but they were either in pairs or looking busy or wearing the wrong color. tiffany was sitting alone, with no books, just taking in the nice weather.

i excused myself and told her what i was up to. initially i think she thought it (and maybe i) was pretty weird, but it turned out that she is the cousin of one of the girls i went to school with. i think that helped tiffany feel a bit more comfortable with the process.

she's studying in the education department, which is where i spent a couple of my years here. she had a really sweet spirit about her and seemed to have a good attitude about life in general.

i enjoyed talking with tiffany and found it to be yet another serendipitous encounter. there's over a thousand people here and i happened to meet my friend's cousin. i like to think about that and all the variables involved.

thanks for your time today, tiffany!

25 april, 2009

michael . 39 years old  /  lexington . kentucky

this was the first day of my trip to kentucky. i spent the day with a couple of my buddies from college. we skipped around town, grabbed food, drank some coffee, hit up some of our old stomping grounds, and enjoyed being together again after quite a long time. i realized that it is difficult to look for strangers when i'm out reconnecting with friends. this photography project definitely feels like a solo effort sometimes, so it took some extra thought today.

i spotted a vespa sign and had the craving to go inside to see if they had any vintage scooters. i've got a slight obsession with nearly everything vintage, but old bikes (pedal and motor) really tickle my fancy, as they say.

the three of us stormed into the shop looking for the goods. i eventually made my way to the back of the store where they had one vintage bike, belonging to a customer, a vintage unpainted body, and then one orange "stella", which i initially thought was vintage. i was looking it over when, michael, one of the owners of the shop and the bike's rider, came back to talk with me.

we chatted about his scooter for a while. i learned that stellas are made just the same as the bikes from the 60s and currently manufactured in india. michael was pretty excited because he had just found a side car to match the bike, and i have to admit, he had a sweet set-up.

michael used to be a photographer. one of his friends was a sports photographer and convinced michael to join him. they would also head out into the mountains for weeks at a time to photograph nature. he spent some time doing that but realized he was photographing his passions. then he had the opportunity to start up a scooter shop with his friend and jumped at it.

all of the guys working in this shop were super friendly. i could have spent another hour in there, talking with them, learning about the bikes and each of them. they were interested in the project, too, so we definitely had some things in common and plenty to learn from each other.

while i was in the back room photographing michael, my two friends had stepped outside. i had them in the back of my mind while i was in there talking away. i would have liked to have spent more time on the pictures, but as is usually the case, i felt nervous and intrusive. i'd like to learn how to either shake that feeling or start taking brilliant photographs from the first frame. i'll work on both.

i owe michael a huge thank you for taking time away from his work to spend a few minutes being today's stranger!

24 april, 2009

raúl . 30 years old  /  denver . colorado

i am sitting in the denver international airport right now. i am en route to kentucky, where i went to college, to visit with my last roommate. he's been in various countries of africa for the last five years and i've been in various part of not africa, so this is out first opportunity to see each other since graduation day five years ago. i'll be flying to nashville, where i'll meet up with another great friend and together we'll finish the trip by fast car, which is a method of transportation i prefer over airplane any day.

i arose quite a bit earlier today than usually - before the sun, actually. i suppose there's a lot of value in that, but, i'll be honest, i don't mind sleeping a bit longer. anyway, this kind of special day is worth the sacrifice.

i walked into a whole new world when i stepped outside. i usually shoot later in the day, so i've become accustomed to seeing the light "here" as opposed to "there". a brand new set of backgrounds was available to me and i found several that i desperately wanted to use, but they lacked an important element - strangers.

i wandered around for a little while and eventually ended up on the corner of lincoln and 14th avenue, where i met raúl. we weren't in a particularly good location for shooting, but he looked friendly and i was on a tight schedule, so i went for it.

raúl didn't hesitate in saying no. he was a little self-conscious, but he didn't let it get in the way. i struggled with the location for a few frames, bit worked the kinks out as i shot. it seems i've always been better at composing pictures as i shoot. i think this is not necessarily an admirable photographic quality, as i know of many people who compose before hand. but if i make something respectable come from it in the end, i suppose i don't mind which method i have to use.

raúl is an investigator. that is what he told me at first. i wondered briefly if he was working for an educational loan collection agency and this was going to turn out to be the last day of my life as i know it, but i eventually learned that he was an investigator for the public defender's office. phew...

i don't know much about how any of those legal positions work, so he was kind enough to give me an abridged version of the run down. it actually sounded like something i would not totally despise, which is a bit more positive a statement than it sounds because i generally feel that i've found the only "job" i can tolerate and usually enjoy.

raúl had a very sweet personality and spoke in a gentle manner. i picture him being very good at what he does for those reasons. i know i was happy to talk to him. i found myself sharing with him some information about my thoughts on photography that i haven't given many other friends, let alone strangers.

i didn't have a lot of time today, but i felt like talking a bit more, so i walked with raúl to his office. i need to start taking the initiative to do that more often because it makes the experience quite a bit more "real". after a few minutes i think i become more human and less photographer and the creepiness attributed to people that do what i do sheds off to expose a soul.

i appreciated raúl's curiosity about my project and his interest in general. i think he enjoyed the process. meeting him was a great way to start my day and i'm thankful for our encounter. i have an irrational dislike for flying, but i've got a few great things to dwell on, so i am not feeling all that worried about it today.

23 april, 2009

katie . 31 years old  /  denver . colorado

if you asked me what my favorite color was right now, i would have to answer, "katie o'shea". look at that smile! and that cyan! and yellow! i like these photos very much. this was the only time i've had a difficult time deciding which set of two photos i should publish.

i wandered around for a while today. i didn't know where to go or who to look for. i wasn't demotivated, but i wasn't exactly bursting at the seams with desire to be out meeting people either. just one of those days, i guess.

i saw a young hispanic guy sitting at a table by himself in a nice shady area. i walked up to him and told him what i was up to and a big bashful smile nearly leaped off his face. he declined on account of disliking being photographed. he said no with such a great demeanor, though, that i wasn't even bothered.

i wandered around some more, making my way up by the capitol building, and then over colfax and down some side streets. it was gorgeous out today - very warm and even a little muggy, which is reportedly rare out here. i liked it, though. i guess even humidity in moderation. who knew?

i eventually saw a middle-aged, red-haired woman dressed in a pretty snazzy business suit. she looked very friendly, so i gave her the pitch, too. unfortunately, she was on her way to testify in court. i didn't ask what for... probably a good idea, but i did tell her that was not something she should be late for. she agreed and moved on.

back to wandering... i ended up heading back towards colfax, not planning on shooting there as it's usually got a bit too much going on, but came up to a crosswalk and saw this woman in a bright yellow shirt/skirt/dress thing, some totally busted tights, and matching hair. i figured she was far too good to pass up... and i was so right.

katie was an absolute pleasure to be around. she looked familiar to me, so i had to make sure i didn't already know her. she assured me that i didn't so we chatted for a little bit and then got down to business.

katie is a stylist at a salon called henry's, but she used to work at moxie, which is the place responsible for saving my aveda scalping incident from a few weeks ago. i'd say katie found her calling because she was looking pretty rockin'!

her face was so gentle and happy. you can see smiles in her eyes. i think even her freckles were grinning. she was very deliberate about looking me in the eye while we spoke, too, which made me feel like she was very present. i should have volunteered to walk her the rest of the way to work because something about her was very drawing, but i never know what is creepy and what is interesting, so i usually just assume that people think i am creepy and choose to say goodbye after i take their photos.

the corner katie was standing on could not have been better. at first i was a little concerned because we were standing in the sun, but we took a few steps up the street and used the window of a bookstore, which turned out to be brilliant. and then by some divine intervention or extremely fortunate coincidence, the trim of the windows matched her earrings perfectly.

this was, for sure, one of those serendipitous days. wandering around aimlessly, two rejections, leaving my house when i did, talking on the phone for this amount of time instead of a minute later, yada yada yada, and then... oh look, there's katie! voila!

thank you so much for your time today!

22 april, 2009

"mac" . 52 years old  /  denver . colorado

i didn't make it very far today. i was walking down 13th avenue with an open mind, giving everyone i passed a quick strangers "test". i'm not sure i could give a good description of what that test entails, but i just try to quickly figure people out by watching them...

three elderly ladies were walking behind me for a little while. one of them was quite a bit more elderly than the other two and i considered interrupting their gossip to ask her to be today's stranger, but decided against it in the end.

i hadn't decided if i was going to swing through city o' city before or after i found today's stranger, but was leaning towards after. while contemplating, i was walking directly across the street from there when i looked down an alley and saw this black guy, covered in paint, sitting on a stoop.

my experience has taught me to stay away from photographing white because it takes much more light than the person wearing it. in this case, it took a lot more light than the person wearing it because of his darker skin. but, i decided to go for it anyway.

i walked up to this guy and told him what i was doing. in good humor, he said i was "_______ crazy!" and then asked me my name. i told him i was joshua and then he told me that i just screwed myself... implying that we were no long strangers. kim, or "mac", as he likes to be called, was full of smiles.

i think he was really amused by the project and seemed happy to be a part of it. he had been painting the inside of a building that is going to be housing for indigent and homeless people and was out on the steps taking a break. as we were out there, talking and shooting, a few of his co-workers passed by and he kept trying to get them to be in the photos. they didn't accept, though.

kim had a variety of poses for me - tough guy poses and cutesy-bat-my-eyes poses, head-tilt poses, and even some "prison poses". he was a lot of fun. in the end i chose a photo that is pose-free and went with his "i'm relaxed and cool" pose for the second shot.

he told me that they had just hired a photographer to take some before and after photos of the work they had done. it seems i just missed the opportunity to be that guy...

he left me smiling. i can even muster up a chuckle thinking about how energetic he was. thanks for your time today, mac!

21 april, 2009

terry . 47 years old  /  denver . colorado

down 13th avenue i went again. at the bottom of the hill a young woman who had just walked by me was waiting to cross the street. she was wearing a pretty shade of blue and had a friendly face. we were near a good background, too, so i asked her to be today's stranger. no... she was late for work.

i wished her a good day and took a look around me and immediately saw an older gentleman in a nice pink shirt. he was near the same background, so i approached him with my pitch. he was up for it, but then as an afterthought, asked me where the photo would end up. he didn't like the sound of it going on the internet one bit, so he declined.

i didn't feel like letting him go so easily, though, so i asked if he would explain his reservation. he said he had an 'innate distrust' for the internet. in case you are wondering and don't feel like looking it up, 'innate' means 'inborn' or 'natural'. maybe this just boils down to semantics, but i find it extremely difficult to believe that anyone has an inborn distrust for the world wide web... call me crazy.

sigh... this project would a lot easier if i just went about taking pictures of people without asking their permission. i could make up their names and write elaborate fantastic stories. then the subjects would be upset with me because their story wasn't true and all of the other evil people on the internet would be drawing pencil mustaches on their photos. but.... i get enjoyment out of meeting someone new every day and, i suppose, even the challenge that comes along with asking their permission.

i made my way towards the museum and noticed a woman sitting on a rock bench in the grass. she was directly in the hot sun, looking at her phone, and keeping an eye on her little dog. i walked by her, unsure if i should bother her, and then, after deciding i should, turned around to give her my story.

she didn't seem to be overjoyed at this opportunity, but she didn't act like it was the end of the world, either. she was waiting for a friend of hers who she was going to tour the museum with, so she had a few minutes.

i asked terry some questions about her tiny dog, who was a little upset about my disturbing her playtime in the grass. she turned out to bella, the teacup poodle. she was cute, but not into me. she didn't warm up to me as our time together progressed, either. at one point, i reached for a pen or a piece of paper from terry and bella let out an angry little bark. sad... i am usually so good with dogs.

terry is a former model and currently an artist. she paints with oils right now, but used to work quite a lot with mosaics. i like the idea of painting, but, for shame, i am an atrocious painter and drawer. she's also trying her hand at photography, but didn't say in which capacity. she was extremely comfortable in front of the camera so she obviously hadn't forgotten much since her days in fashion.

i didn't walk away from this meeting feeling all that great. it didn't seem that terry enjoyed our encounter very much, if at all. since i started using them, she was the first stranger that did not sign the model release - i suppose it is not that big of a deal, but i felt the sting of mistrust.

i can rattle off a couple of facts about who terry is or what she does, but i didn't feel the connection with her that i so often do when i meet people. it is that connection that i am looking for in this project (and out of this project) so i take a heavy blow when it isn't there.

when it's all said and done, though, i am grateful for meeting terry. her photos turned out to be quite good, don't you think?


* i'd like to make an amendment to today's posting. a few hours have gone by since my meeting with terry. after coming back to my apartment from a run, i found an email from her awaiting me.

i give myself a lot of credit for reading people well, but it seems that today i missed the mark completely.

terry was actually quite glad for the opportunity to be part of this project. her seeming distracted my have been a product of eagerly anticipating her fiancé. and her reason for not signing the release didn't come from a place of mistrust at all - she is currently contracted to someone else. apparently her modeling days are not quite as over as i had thought. and, last but not least, little bella's beef with me was not personal, but unlike me, she does not heart strangers.

i feel embarrassed for misreading terry. after working on her photographs, i was actually surprised that i had not walked away with a better feeling. terry's pleasant and warm expression in her portrait and the affection she is showing bella are quite a bit more telling than the story i shared above. i am sorry.

20 april, 2009

tristan . 22 years old  /  denver . colorado

as i made my way down 13th, i saw a very friendly looking black man walking in my direction. i excused myself and told him what i was up to. he was genuinely excited about it and had a lot of questions and even told me about another slightly similar project he had recently heard of, but in the end, he declined my invitation on account of not looking so good in photographs. his name was lance and he was one of the few people who have left me in a better mood after rejecting me than i had been before even asking.

i followed my nose, which "happened" to keep me in the sunshine, and eventually ended up on 12th avenue and lincoln. i was about to cross lincoln to head towards broadway when i spotted this guy heading up the opposite side of the street.

i dodged a truck and intercepted tristan on his way up the hill. he had dark sunglasses on, a difficult-to-ignore beard, several piercings, tattoos, cargo pants, swat boots, gadgets attached to his belt, a military backpack, and a walking cane. these are not the elements that usually entice me to go up to someone, so i am not sure why i felt compelled today. but i'll say this right now - i am so very glad i did.

tristan was immediately friendly. he spoke carefully and articulately and was captivating. he had so much to share with me and i was so grateful that he was willing to divulge.

i didn't ask about the cane, but he mentioned something to the effect of being unable to work lately because of being sick. this spurred some questions, so he shared that he's had rheumatoid arthritis since he was a young boy and now has fibromyalgia. i didn't know much about either of these before talking with tristan, so i received a bit of an education today.

he struck me as brilliant and the more he spoke with me, the more i felt sure of it. he is a hard worker and highly motivated and it's been only recently that his illnesses have been getting the better of him physically. i would guess, though, that he's not going to let them keep him down.

he told me of his wonderful relationship with his mom, who is also sick. he's been taking care of her for years, making sure he's able to bring her along when he makes a major move. lately, though, between him feeling worse and some financial difficulties, he's starting to feel a bit of heat.

while we were standing there on the street corner, a couple of tristan's friends came by and chatted with him for a minute. he introduced me to them and i listened in while they discussed some mutual friends. it was interesting to see him interact with them because he spoke to them in the same way that he spoke to me - his voice just overflowed with grace and a humble confidence.

after quite some time of talking, maybe twenty minutes, we started in with the photographs. i had seen his eyes for just a second prior to this, but was amazed with the clarity and brightness in them when he removed his sunglasses for the portraits. his look was so calm and comfortable. he told me he had done a bit of modeling before, which i found easy to believe as i watched him through my camera.

there were a countless number of qualities that made tristan special. he inspired me today and i've got a feeling that he'll have a lasting effect. it was so refreshing to meet someone who was willing to talk with me for a substantial amount of time. and maybe it was more interesting that this blessing came in such an unsuspecting package.

i still make immediate judgments about people, even though every day i'm fortunate enough to meet strangers who surprise me. i'm learning more and more all of the time, but i can't help but notice how ignorant i still am.

thank you so much, tristan.

19 april, 2009

kelsey . 23 years old  /  denver . colorado

i think i should start out today's story by saying how glad i am that the sun has returned from its short but notable vacation. the occasional drop of water is still falling from my ceiling and there is some pretty significant damage there, but i would venture a guess that the worst of it is over. oddly enough, though, my landlord seems to be not at all concerned with this as he has not returned any of my calls. i wonder if he'll take some interest when he doesn't receive my next rent check.

i went down to city o' city around noon today because paula (from april 12) was gracious enough to meet me there to sign the release that i absentmindedly forgot to bring with me on the day i photographed her. we shot the breeze for a while and then i decided to stick around until i mustered up some energy for today's shoot.

after some coffee, a tasty lunch, and some quality time with the very good people that work down there, i hit the street. instead of heading downtown, i walked up 13th and then up grant street. the pink wall from a few days ago was calling my name, but i figured i wouldn't make it that far. and i was right...

i crossed over colfax, being sure to take in all the vitamin d i could. i was making my way across a parking lot, when i took my glasses off to rub my eyes. when i took my hands away, i realized there was a young woman in a volvo wagon , waiting for my slow moving self to get out of the way so she could park in the lot.

i waved her a "thanks" and continued on my way, but then i figured i should invite said volvo's driver to be today's stranger. i let her park and then made my way towards her. she noticed me walking towards her with just enough time for her to start worrying about what i could possibly want.

i told her what i was up to and she agreed right away to participate. kelsey was waiting for her friend, katie, so she had a couple of minutes to spare. as she was signing the release, katie came over to the scene and i filled her in on what her friend was about to be a part of. i think katie's had some lousy experiences with photographers because she wanted to make sure i wasn't a creep-o. i told her i didn't think it was that creepy, but a lot of other people initially think it is. in the end, though, photographing strangers is legitimate, wouldn't you agree?

so, kelsey and katie were on their way to drink some coffee and play some cribbage. i'm pretty sure i've never played cribbage, but i was right in my guess that it's the game with the peg board. that's all i know, though... well that and katie said they were "old ladies" because they were playing it. but i think people of any age should feel comfortable playing cribbage.

kelsey requested that the volvo be in the photo, too. the volvo was in the middle of a parking lot with direct sunlight blasting it with a vengeance, so i told kelsey i'd take some pictures of her and "suzabella" (if i heard right, that's the volvo's name), but i couldn't promise that it would make the website. that seemed to suffice...

i walked with kelsey across the parking lot to a shady area and took a few shots. katie was behind me, making kelsey laugh every few frames. i'm not sure what she was doing, but i'm glad for it because that smile in the second shot is as genuine as they come.

both of them were very sweet. i'm glad i was rubbing my eyes. or... i'm glad i left city o' city when i did. or... i'm glad for kelsey and katie's cribbage appointment. what i am trying to say is, i'm glad for having met them. it was definitely the right thing for today.

18 april, 2009

yvonne . 50 years old  /  denver . colorado

it's still coming down in denver. it's been wet for two days straight now and i've definitely had my fill. i've been in a lot worse, but i haven't liked it and that doesn't seem to make this any better. i am a sunshine person - it's official.

i suppose the rain wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't also making its way into my apartment. my ceiling is leaking in several places, causing the room to feel damp and even colder than it actually is. but because it's raining inside, it wasn't so difficult for me to find the motivation to go outside. so there's an upside to everything, right?

i bundled up again and made my way down 13th avenue towards the library. i soon found out that most people were in hiding, though. the streets were all but bare with the exception of the passing cars driving through the enormous puddles, spraying the sidewalks and whatever/whoever happened to be on them. i did my best to stay clear.

there weren't people by the library. there weren't people by the museum. i stood around for a minute, trying to come up with a plan and i eventually decided to head towards the 16th street mall. i figured there would be a few souls down there, making their way from one store to another.

i assumed my only chance would be to photograph someone equipped with an umbrella so i began my search. after a few blocks, i looked across the street and spotted a woman dressed in a white jacket, walking under the protection of a bright umbrella. i darted across the median to intercept her and give her the pitch.

i poked my head out from under my hood and began. she thought the project was funny and a "bit weird". i told her it was pretty weird, but it was all for a good cause and after a minute or so she decided i wasn't a total freak.

i found out that yvonne is from sweden - stockholm, to be exact. this made me so happy and i told her that i used to live in denmark. i am sure i butchered the pronunciation of everything i said, but even though she's swedish, she managed to understand the little danish i was able to remember.

she was skeptical of me and my project, but amused and maybe even a little bit flattered, so she wasn't saying no. i was in a surprisingly good mood for being so wet and cold, so i was wearing a pretty good sized smile - maybe that's why she said yes.

after she agreed, i asked her to step around the corner and into the alley. she didn't appreciate that very much and gave me a look that said, "you've got to be kidding me." i kept my smile on, though, and tried to convince her that i meant no harm. so... she eventually went for it.

she was a little concerned with her hair and the fact that she wasn't wearing any make-up, but she was a good sport about it. i snapped a few photos quickly and then we chatted a little bit.

yvonne made the long trip to denver for a cancer research conference. she has a business that deals with this in some capacity, maybe she sells products or medicine or something like that... i'm not sure.

i think she thought i was crazy, but she kept a good spirit through the whole thing and even managed a big, warm smile. she probably doesn't have this experience every day. because it is a habit now, i forget that this is so intrusive.

i owe yvonne a big thank you for being such a good sport... especially in this lousy weather.

17 april, 2009

jonathan . 24 years old  /  denver . colorado

yesterday's rain carried on and transformed into today's rain, snow, and thunder. so weird! i gathered my gear, threw on some warm clothes and whatever waterproof attire i could scrounge up and headed out into the thick of it.

i wore a heavy black coat with the hood up and had my mitten-cloaked hands borrowed deep into my pockets when i saw the first potential stranger of the day. she was also dressed in black and was walking under the safety of a black umbrella. we were near a grey wall, so i thought the monotone theme would be an appropriate one for the day. i guess, though, in my attempt to ward of the cold and wet, i looked like some kind of villainous scoundrel because when i started talking to her, she looked at me with horror in her eyes. she managed to blurt out something, but i didn't understand any of it, except for the "no".

i made my way down to the next street corner and looked around. there were a few people coming and going, and i wasn't in the mood for any traipsing, so i figured i'd stand around for a few minutes.

i spotted another woman, younger than the first, wearing a toggle coat and some beautiful warm, earthy colors that complemented her eyes very well. i told her about my project, but she wasn't into it either. she told me she was in a hurry, but she said it slowly and walked away at a snail's pace. she was probably lying.

after another minute or so, i saw this tall, smartly-dressed black guy coming my way. i gave him my pitch as the snow-rain came down on us and splattered his papers. he said he was working, but figured he could give me a minute or two. conveniently, there was an awning across the street that i told him he could stand under to avoid the wetness. that sounded good, so we crossed.

he works at buffalo exchange - a very fun second-hand/vintage clothing store. when he said that, i realized i had seen him before. we've never met, but this is as close to a "non-stranger" as i've dared use for the project. i am still technically safe, but today was pushing the envelope as far as i am willing.

anyway, despite his distaste for the weather, jonathan was in great spirits. he said he didn't have much control over it, so he might as well remain in a good mood. he had a great look about him and was very easy to photograph with his very pleasant expressions and calm confidence.

my camera was acting "funny" (read not funny) while i photographed jonathan. i am not sure what that was all about, but it needs to not happen again because i cannot afford to replace it....

he asked about the project and as i explained it, he seemed mildly surprised that the idea wasn't all that bad. i take what i can get, so i looked at that as a complement!

jonathan made shooting in the rain a good experience, which is worth noting because neither of us were overly happy to be out in it. thanks a lot, man!

16 april, 2009

juliet . 73 years old  /  denver . colorado

i've been told that denver has very few not sunny days each year, so i am guessing that we are getting them out of the way now. i don't think i've ever been in a location where i've enjoyed the rain when it comes, but today i found myself not despising it.

i threw on a light jacket and my rubber boots, put a hat on my head and stepped outside into a very grey day and a light mist. and while i didn't mind this change of weather, i wouldn't go as far as to say i wanted to spend the entire day playing in it, either.

i headed down 13th street without a plan. i wasn't sure where to go, but after a few blocks, i did decide that i should photograph a woman today. it makes a perfect analogy for how i make the majority of my decisions - i just go and then something comes t me. today, though, that was as far my thoughts brought me.

i didn't need to cross the street to stay in the sun and i didn't need to dodge any greenpeace workers, either - i guess the environment is only worth saving when the sun is out. anyway, i walked a relatively straight line towards the library and museum. i've been frequenting that location ever since kate (26 march) recommended it to me. i owe her big time for that!

just as i approached the open area between the two buildings, i saw a white-haired woman walking in my direction. i lost her behind a rock or sculpture or something and then she reappeared again as she was letting traffic pass so she could cross the street.

i waited for her to come over to my side and then approached her with my routine. to my wonderful surprise, she agreed right away. she told me her name was juliet - just an absolutely gorgeous name. i began writing it with an extra "te" on the end, but she corrected me and showed me her name tag which happened to read "docent" just like jace's from yesterday.

i told juliet about jace and it turns out that they play in the same orchestra together, but she plays the cello. i like the cello very much - i think it makes all the right sounds. maybe it is my favorite... maybe. anyway, she's been playing it for only 12 years and is obviously proficient at it if she's playing in an orchestra. maybe i will pick up the saxophone again when i mature... i wouldn't mind that at all. and maybe i'll be a docent at the museum just like jace and juliet. i suppose i'm getting ahead of myself, though.

juliet was very sweet. she asked me a few questions about the project and, after finding out that i write about the experience every day, told me that she used to be a journalist and would take her own photos, too. now, in addition to being a docent at the museum for the last 10 years, she's a yoga instructor. she gave me a business card that grants me a free session at the studio she teaches at. i have many "yogi" friends now and i think i'll take this opportunity to see what it is all about.

juliet's only moment of hesitation came after i asked her age. she asked if i would be posting it and was very quiet for a few moments after i said that i would be. i thought she might have decided it wasn't worth it, but she eventually shared it with me. i told her it was something to be proud of, but i think i misunderstood her hesitation. there is one person in particular who she didn't want knowing her age... i don't know the rest of that story, but i am curious to find out. she justified telling me by saying that "he" wouldn't see the project, so i guess for her sake, i am hoping he doesn't.

juliet was the brightest part of this rainy day!

15 april, 2009

jace . 62 years old  /  denver . colorado

i walked directly down to the library today. i wasn't sure who i was looking to photograph, so everyone was a suspect. as i made my way down 13th street, i saw another "stranger" that i photographed on my first day visiting denver back in december. she was talking on her phone, though, so i didn't have the chance to say hi.

i walked behind the library and took a seat on one of the benches to comfortably people watch. i wasn't there very long when i saw this well-dressed older gentleman walk by me. i caught a glimpse of his beard and hat and eyed him as he walked away from me. i sat there for a moment, contemplating, and eventually decided to go for it.

he stopped at the intersection between the library and the museum, so i approached him there and excused myself. without even looking at me, he immediately said, "no, you already got me." i figured he mistook me for someone else, so i explained that i was a photographer and i was working on a project. "ohhh, ok.", he said. i explained what i was doing and asked if he'd be a part of it.

we walked over towards a green wall i had hoped to use today and chatted on the way. there were a lot of people with signs out today. i eventually learned that there was some kind of "lower taxes" republican protest non-sense (i don't have to be non-partisan, do i?). jace was pretty quick to offer me his opinions on the matter, so that gave us some common ground to stomp on. i am assuming that he had initially thought i was trying to get him to sign a petition or something. if that's the case, i should mimic his technique.

jace seemed to combine his intelligence and thoughtfulness with a dash of cynicism, making up one of my favorite personality types. he said, "i don't belong to any political party. i'm a democrat." i liked that. he had several of these little quips that i found quite enjoyable.

i pulled a book out of my bag for jace to use to support the model release as he filled it out. he noticed that it was 'siddhartha' by herman hesse, then he chuckled a little bit and asked me how old i was. i told him i didn't read the regular cache of books that most students are assigned so i was trying to catch up on them. that didn't suffice and he went into a bit of a diatribe about how reading nietzsche and ayn rand in high school is all well and good, but if you are reading them after that, you've done something wrong. unbothered, i responded by telling him that ayn rand is my favorite author, which took him by surprise and then we got into a short discussion about reading.

it turns out that jace is a retired librarian and currently a "docent" (guide, i learned as soon as he told me) at the denver art museum. i'm assuming you have to be fairly clever to hold either position, so that added to my already good impression of him. he also plays bass trombone for three different big bands here in denver. cool.

i think a good word for jace would be jolly. he had a twinkle in his eye and seemed like the kind of guy that likes to cut loose every once in a while. i wish i had met someone like him when i was in high school; a sharp-edged mentor that could tell me what i should be reading and thinking about and so on. i never had anyone like that growing up, so my big exploration didn't begin until college.

i would have liked to have talked more with jace. i think i could still learn quite a lot from someone like him. he seemed relatively content to speak with me and my guess would be that he enjoyed being a part of my project, but he never so much as even hinted at it.

after saying goodbye, my mind was racing. in the few minutes we had together, he gave me a lot to think about. whether or not he knew it, i have no idea, but i'd like to say thank you to him anyway.

14 april, 2009

david . 62 years old  /  denver . colorado

i wandered for a long time today. i wasn't in a rush, though, so it didn't bother me at all. it was warm and sunny and i was in a great mood. i ended up following an unusual course, twisting and turning - definitely not taking the shortest distance between two points.

as i was making my way towards nothing in particular, i saw a middle-aged asian woman coming up the street in my direction. as she neared, i excused myself and told her about the project. she was extremely shy, but hadn't figured out how to not make that look like rudeness. she immediately pointed out "another stranger" and then went into a very short explanation while she was already walking away about how she was also a photographer and didn't like being on the other side of the camera. i asked if she would change her mind for the sake of a project. she appeared to think it over for about a millisecond and then finally went with a firm "no".

being turned down by fellow photographers is the ultimate burn. i photographed a photographer for this project and it was perhaps the most pathetic interaction to date. i think he allowed me to take 6 frames of him - claiming that he only takes one or two portraits of people when they hire him. ok buddy... anyway, my point is that sometimes photographers are very small-minded. it's ok, really, i only want people in the project who want to be in the project... or so i tell myself.

shortly after the first rejection, i spotted an elderly woman - maybe in her late 70s, walking ahead of me at a spritely pace. i trucked along behind her for a while, not wanting to shock her by running up to her, but trying to figure out the best way to catch her. while in that process, i saw another older woman decked out with pencil-drawn eyebrows and a boston terrier. i gave her my pitch, but she turned me down on account of being out there only for the sake of the dog's necessity to go to the bathroom. ok... so back to the other one...

i followed the speed-walker for a while, but abandoned the chase after she made another corner. she was too fast for me...

so i found myself in another part of town i've never been to and decided to keep my nose to the scent and see where it led me. well, my friends, it led me up 19th street, which is quite a friendly looking street, and on to pearl, which i decided to take on account of it eventually leading me back to my apartment.

the corner of 19th and pearl is home to a pink (mauve?) wall, separated from the road by a sidewalk and a hedge of some about-to-blossom plant. in other words, this street corner is like a little piece of heaven!

i wanted so badly to use this background, but there weren't people around. so after what was probably just a minute or two but felt like a short lifetime, i decided to continue down pearl. not long after, a woman passed me by, but she didn't fit the bill... and then, to my pleasant surprise...

...there was this very jovial looking older gentleman walking a beautiful golden retriever. he gave me a warm smile and a friendly hello as we passed and i decided that this was far too good to neglect. he had a wonderful look about him and was wearing a pink (mauve?) tie that perfectly complemented the aforementioned celestial wall.

i gave him my introduction and he was pleased to hear about the project and seemed glad to be a part of it. david is a family practice attorney and seemed mostly happy about that because he can bring lily, his rescued retriever, to work with him most of the time.

i asked if he was going to be continuing down the block... he was... so i asked if i could use the wall at the further end.... yes, that was fine. this was just the perfect situation - he was friendly, he was well-dressed, he had loads of character, he had a dog. i like all of those things very much.

we chatted on our way to the wall and then i asked him to stand between it and the bushes. he asked if lily could be in the photo, too, to which i replied with an "of course". so david started to show me lily's stand-up tricks and i darted around to the other side of the bushy barrier to fire away.

after lily's tiring performance, david gave her a small rest while i took portraits of him. the shot i decided to use does not show off his tie very well, but his expression is priceless, so it is worth the forfeiture. i don't see anything in that face and in those eyes, other than joy, love, and peace. my interaction with david was easily was on of my absolute favorites so far.

he told me that he liked to dabble in a bit of photography, too. after years of having the fancy canon film cameras he picked up a new point and shoot digital with an underwater housing and has uncovered a new passion. he's soon going to hawaii and is excited about spending the entire vacation in the water, photographing fish and turtles. he said he'd send me some of his photos, so maybe i can come up with a way to incorporate them into the book i hope to make from this.

ok... so you get the idea - david is wonderful. a world of thanks to him for today for my renewed hope!

13 april, 2009

maria . 45 years old  /  denver . colorado


i guess i can start by saying i am not satisfied. i am nowhere even close.

i had to drop a letter in the post and return some music to the library and copy more model releases, so i made my way out into the world with a plan of productivity. the weather was great. i wasn't in a hurry. i was a little bit down over a recent reminder that i am not perfect, so i guess i was chastising myself for that. regardless, i was hopeful for a good shot today. i decided that i would accomplish the task of photographing the older woman i've lately been unsuccessful at finding. so i was on a mission.

i made my way down towards the library and ended up behind an elderly woman with long gray hair. i looked her over as i passed by, but couldn't get a good impression because she had dark sunglasses on. i decided to let her be for no particular reason and then headed into the library. i took care of business relatively quickly, but did take a skim over some of the other music. i was in there for maybe a few minutes. i'd say less than five. as i made my way out the other back side of the library, the same older woman was exiting just in front of me. i like these kinds of things, so as we stepped outside, i told her about my project. she laughed and then asked where the photo would end up. i told her it would go on my website and was about to give her a card when she said she didn't want to be on the internet and excused herself. she was pleasant to speak with, even in her rejection, so i didn't lose hope and recommenced the search.

i walked some streets that i'd never been down before. on the way, i found a few great backgrounds, but, to my dismay, no people around them. i eventually made my way towards broadway and then decided to head up to lincoln for the heck of it. en route, i spotted a woman standing near a wall made up of little glass squares. i figured i could make something interesting with the wall, so i interrupted her as she was doing something with her phone... maybe sending a text message? i told her about my project and she also laughed, but she didn't object to it, so i continued on explaining.

maria just started working a new job. i have no idea what was on the other side of the wall i was about to use and because i am thick-headed and sometimes a little bit slow, i didn't think to ask. she was on just a short break, so she made sure it wouldn't take more than five minutes. i assured her it would not and then we promptly got down to business.

well... i am not sure what i didn't do right, but i could not figure it out today. i struggled with the glass background. maria's eyes were very squinty - i wasn't sure why because we were in the same conditions as every other day. she didn't seem relaxed at all and after nearly every frame, she would say "cheese" or "whiskey" and then smile real big. i asked her to just relax, but i think the camera was making her very nervous. i shot more than i usually do and just couldn't find what i was looking for.

she was very sweet and so friendly. i thanked her for her time, but walked away knowing that i didn't make a masterpiece today. i took a slow walk towards city o' city for some lunch - delaying the task of facing my failure for as long as possible. i'm hanging my head even now, which is just ridiculous because i'm glad to have met maria and i'm grateful for every day that i get to continue this project. unfortunately, i look at each photograph individually and not as a piece to the whole. i guess i just need to remember that this frustration is good. this frustration is good. this frustration is good....

anyway, thank you, maria, for your time today.

12 april, 2009

paula . 25 years old  /  denver . colorado

it's easter sunday and i didn't give it much thought this year. but, then, the fact that i've noticed that i haven't given it much thought has forced me to give it some thought. this was always a very important day for me when i was growing up, but i don't know what to think about it anymore. now i know that some people make a lot of money from this "holy" day and i find that "interesting".

in the past, easter carried a lot of very religious connotations - about love and life and death and heaven and all that. but i guess it doesn't any more. for a lot of people it means being with your family, but i've been gone from my family for so long now that i tend to forget about that whole aspect of holidays. perhaps i should start my own tradition... or do things like that just develop over time? i don't know, but i do think it is nice that easter paves the way to consider things, even if you don't know what things to consider or what to consider about them.

it was chilly and grey and drizzling a rain drop here and another one over there. i made my way outside a little before noon today and started walking through what appeared to be a ghost town. most of the shops and restaurants were closed for the day and the streets were even quieter than usual with very little traffic.

i made my way around a few blocks, but kept an eye on the towering steeples of a church on colfax street. i eventually drifted towards them and was pleasantly surprised to see a fairly steady flow of people going in and coming out. they were dressed up and many were linking arms with their loved ones. some toted umbrellas at the chance of the drizzle turning into rain.

a few police officers were standing on the street corner - either to make sure the church-going folks didn't get out of hand or to make sure the plethora of vagrants near the church didn't pester the church-goers too much. either way, i didn't want to photograph in front of them, so i headed around to the back of the church. i've been accused of "soliciting" before and just didn't feel like getting into it today.

i had it in mind to photograph an elderly woman again. i hoped for someone with loads of character, maybe an outrageously tacky dress, some outlandish jewelry, bright lipstick, an umbrella. maybe it was too much to ask...

i wandered into a parking lot behind the church, assuming many people would be getting into or climbing out of their cars and i immediately saw these two women walking towards me. they had paused in the parking lot to make sure a car that was squeezing out its place didn't back into another car. i figured i'd go for it.

i excused myself and started in with the speech. one of them had been a little closer to me, so i directed it at her, but then her friend came closer and listened in. we were standing in the parking lot, dodging cars, so we eventually moved over to the safety of the sidewalk. paula agreed to be today's stranger, but i made sure it was ok with her friend (toni) because she'd have to stand around and watch. they were both fine with it.

toni's presence may have made paula feel safer about being photographed by a stranger, but i think she also made her feel a bit more self-conscious. it was a fun shoot, though, because toni kept teasing paula about being on 'next top model' and how it was a good thing they dressed up a bit today. paula was nearly blushing and was all smiles.

when i was finished shooting, toni asked if i would take a picture of them together. i was happy to do that and just so glad to have met them today. they were a perfect pair for my easter interaction - very lighthearted and good-natured.

i left my apartment without a model release - i didn't even think about it until i looked in my bag to ask paula to sign one. i hope she'll meet me somewhere over the next week to sign it because the photos are just too good to not use. she has such a warm and bright smile!

thank you, paula (and toni)! and happy easter to everyone, however you choose to think about it.

11 april, 2009

kelly . 23 years old  /  denver . colorado

i decided to go south on broadway today. i've been shooting in my neighborhood so much lately that i'm being forced to re-use locations. there's nothing necessarily "wrong" with that, but i feel like part of my interaction with a stranger is that we are in a unique place. i almost feel like i am guilty of cheating if i use a location more than once. maybe that is foolish...

the sun was making its way in and out of the clouds today. i was dressed perfectly for the cloudy moments, but relished the warmth of the sun when it occasionally popped out.

i walked for quite a long time with no one catching my eye. i had in mind to photograph an older woman today, but they just weren't to be seen. i am not sure where they were hiding... although it could have been the part of town i was in. it feels predominantly young down there.

i get rather impatient when i go out to shoot. after a while of not finding anyone i start to worry. i don't understand why that is because i went out today with hours of sunlight still ahead of me and still had that feeling. i tried to beat it by going into a vintage furniture store and taking a gander at a bunch of really great stuff i can neither afford nor find a use for. it helped, though and after a few minutes i set out again with new energy.

i walked a ways back towards downtown and came around a corner to see out of the corner of my eye this bright shawl. as i made my way towards it, i found kelly underneath it, sitting on a concrete cylinder, reading something and smoking a cigarette.

i'm pretty grateful for smokers. i should go through all of my photos and figure out how many people were smoking when i found them. maybe i can convince american spirit to sponsor me... or not.

anyway, i went up to kelly and told her about my project and she seemed happy to be a part of it. she was on a short break from working at dougherty's - an irish pub i had never noticed before. i wish i had asked her what she was reading, but i tend to miss out on some of the details when i'm in project mode. i need to get better at that.

we went across the street into an alley to use a blue wall and i fired away. kelly was confident in front of the camera, gracefully looking away every now and again to give me some different angles. she had such a calm gaze that i found myself feeling more at peace the more i photographed her. i guess that might be why i took quite a few more pictures than i had advertised...

kelly spoke slowly and with a hint of an accent, which added to her soothing effect. she's originally from maryland, but managed to pick a bit of southern from her stay in north carolina. she reminded me of someone, but i couldn't place her until i got back home and saw the pictures on my computer. i had a friend in denmark that looked a bit like her and had a similar voice. but i digress...

i think that just about wraps things up for today. thanks so much, kelly!

10 april, 2009

tim . 42 years old  /  denver . colorado

it took me a while to get out of my apartment today. but when i eventually worked up the energy, i took a leisurely stroll towards downtown. i had no destination in mind and was again open to strangers of any age, gender, race, etc.

i wasn't in a hurry and was enjoying the sunshine (yet again!) so i made a phone call while i was meandering around. after hanging up, i found myself down by the library and museum. i guess these are my new stomping grounds. i've had some great experiences there, so i keep going back for more.

i spotted a young, black woman coming out of the library. she had very short, yellow hair, and was quite striking. portraits of her would have been stunning, but she said no pretty quickly.

i've been thinking that i will print some "regular" business cards soon so that i can give the people that say no something to check into when they get home. as it stands now, they probably forget about our interaction quickly, and that's no good. they should have the chance to look into what they opted out of.

anyway, just after she said no, i spotted a gentleman sitting on a park bench, having a cigarette. i almost didn't bother going over to him, but something pushed me that way. i guess it was the fact that he was sitting by himself on a park bench - something about that told me that he had some time. i'm glad for the compulsion (wherever it came from) because we had a great interaction.

while sitting there, tim told me he was thinking back to his childhood when he would come to the museum. i've only noticed the new addition to the museum, so i didn't even realize the building we were in front of was the original. tim was full of good information and told me that the architect was italian and this was one of the few buildings in the states that he designed. i like hearing stories like that- it is my favorite way to learn.

tim was warm from the first words out of his mouth. he accepted my invitation to be today's stranger on the grounds of promoting any art he could. he had been working at the hospital all day and made his way over towards the museum to clear his head. i didn't ask for any specifics, but when he said that i felt like something was troubling him.

we talked for a couple of minutes and then walked through an outdoor art installment (of which i don't know the story behind) to a wall i decided would make for a good background. i asked tim to just look into the lens and he did it like a pro. he didn't seem self-conscious at all, which made my job very easy.

it was a real pleasure today. thank you, tim.

09 april, 2009

randy . 58 years old  /  denver . colorado

i wasn't feeling particularly motivated today and i didn't know what demographic i should be looking to photograph, either. for some reason, though, i was more curious about who the stranger would be than i usually am. or maybe i just noticed the curiosity today.

the sun was out and it was just warm enough for me to be comfortable in my sandals, so that put me in a pretty good mood. i took a very leisurely stroll towards the library and museum, eyes peeled en route... just in case.

i didn't see anyone compelling before i arrived at the library, but i wasn't standing down there for very long before i saw an older bearded gentleman dismount his bicycle. bicycles strike me as a friendly means of transportation, so i tend to think the people pedaling them will be friendly. i also tend to think that friendly people will say yes to this project, but today not all three variables were true. it was a theory...

the man said he wasn't 'interested' - that's a word that gets me going. it's a word for people selling something... "no, thank you, i am not interested in buying a new car or a vacuum cleaner or a banana split." oh well... he wasn't interested. what else is there to say?

i paced around for a minute or two and eventually heard a small group of middle-aged men making a little too much noise. i suspect they were vagrants and had been spending a little bit of time getting to the bottom of a bottle (if you know what i mean). i kept my distance, but they ended up right behind me and a couple of them started talking to me. one asked where i was from and then, after telling him, his friend asked me what the deal was with the celtics. i told him i had no idea what the deal was. i know more about pretty much everything else than i do about professional basketball, so the guy told me the celtics were doing good, that they were, in fact, the champions, but he was rooting for denver. he felt the need to shake my hand, not once, but twice, and then they moseyed on.

just after they left, i spotted another older bearded man, but this time sans bicycle. i walked up to him and excused myself and began telling him about my project. when i mentioned "i heart strangers", he said, "oh, i've heard of it." that brought a smile to face in a hurry. he said his friend, lori, told him about it. i just looked through some of my photos and didn't come across any lori, but hey, that is good news, regardless of how he has heard about this.

he asked me if i wanted him to be today's stranger. i said that i did. i was so happy that he was up for it. i asked for his name and age and then asked if he'd be willing to sign a release. he agreed, so i pulled it out of my camera bag and swoosh... a gust of wind set came barreling through... took it right out of my hand and dropped it into the middle of the street where it was promptly run over by a bigger than necessary pick-up truck. it then scampered to the other side of the street where it paused long enough for me to grab it.

i made my way back across the street and saw that randy was standing near the temporary entrance to the museum. i liked the blue quite a lot, so decided to use it as today's background.

he was very patient. and so kind. he didn't seem to mind that i had to chase down the release. and he didn't seem to mind being photographed at all. because he's having a medical procedure tomorrow, he's on a fast. so he decided to use his lunch break to go to his bank. when we met, he was on his way back to work... as a supervisor for the city.

we chatted a bit about beards. i am without one at the moment, but i told him i figured i'd let it come back. when i am around bearded people i wish i had mine, but then, i also wish i had mine around the non-bearded... so i guess i should have mine. anyway... he said he was never very good at shaving, so he has a beard.

i think it's great that the first bearded guy said no and then the rowdy boys detained me for a few seconds and that randy is not eating so he ran errands on his lunch break and that about a million (maybe more?) other incidents did or did not take place to allow us to meet today.

as we parted ways, randy said, "do yourself a favor today." i asked him what he meant and he told me to shoot two strangers today. i didn't end up shooting two today because i don't really know what i would do with the second one, but randy made me feel like he thought this was a good experience.

thank you, randy, and good luck tomorrow!

08 april, 2009

adam . 21 years old  /  denver . colorado

today started out great and improved as the hours ticked away. i've been having some good days as of late, but today is in a league of its own.

in a brilliant mood, i set out into the warm sunny streets of denver to find today's stranger. i was heading down my regular route, but was sidetracked by a steady flow of people coming down grant street.

greenpeace workers have usually accosted this particular corner, so i am usually the guy darting through traffic to avoid an agonizingly repetitious speech about my dire financial situation and how my contributions to the environment are limited to walking and not flushing the toilet 30 times a day. today they weren't there, though, so a whole new street was there with open arms, ready to receive me.

i found a great wall, completely shaded, but open to the sky. i knew it would give me some spectacular light, so i just needed to wait for people to come by. this kind of location is perfect because i can stand in the sun (where all the people are) but easily get into the shade (where all the magic happens).

i really wanted to photograph an older man today. one of those plaid-shirt bearing, thick tortoise- shell bespectacled, wrinkly types, but it wasn't happening. there was an older gentleman with a really great old trucker's cap and a plaid shirt, but as he passed he looked a bit too concentrated on every step to be bothered by something as frivolous as a photography project, so i let him pass unscathed.

i stood in this ideal spot for about half an hour as unsuspecting people passed me by under heavy scrutiny. i finally decided to throw in the towel and find a new location. the longer i stand in one spot, unsuccessful, the more i feel like a total weirdo. i was in too good of a mood to feel like a weirdo today, so onward i went.

i made it a few steps before i saw adam. he had a great look about him. he was alone and he didn't seem to be in any particular hurry. so i nabbed him. we stopped outside of a restaurant and i gave him the beginning of my blah blah blah. he was just about to meet someone, so he asked if i could hold on a second while he called them. you bet i can!

so, he called his friend and said he needed a few minutes despite being just outside their door. i am sure that sparked a few questions on the other end of the line, but he dodged them successfully. i can just imagine how long the explanation would take on the phone, "well, you see, this guy is working on this project.... he takes pictures of strangers every day... i know, i know... well, no, it's just a personal project... well, i don't know..." and so on.

so we ended up right where i wanted us to be and i fired away. he was great! i think adam has a great look. he was a little apologetic about the asymmetry of his face, but i like it. he has heaps of character. and he was so friendly. so friendly!

after i was finished with the photographs, we chatted for a while. he's wearing an 'of montreal' tee shirt. i've been listening to them a bit recently, so i asked him about them. they are completely unique and pretty "strange" - whatever that means.

adam has been studying art history, but has not been loving it, so he's taking a breather and currently working on an art collective. i didn't get all the details, but it sounds interesting. i think he also plays in a band, so i'll definitely need to look into that soon.

we ended our chat with some talk of the mountains and the ocean (he's from los angeles) and how they both provide a nice and somehow safe surrounding. i thought i'd be more stressed being so far away from the ocean, but i guess the mountains are my saving grace. i definitely couldn't live without both of them, though.

anyway.... thanks adam!

07 april, 2009

marsea . 32 years old  /  denver . colorado

a rundown of the day's rejections:

on 16th street mall, a black guy, maybe 30 years old didn't even stop to listen. i got the words, "i'm a photographer and i'm working on a project" out of my mouth when he interrupted to say that he probably wasn't interested. "well do you want to hear about it?" he didn't. he had somewhere to be. after standing on the same corner for about 30 minutes i decided to move on.

further up on the same street, i saw an older man with white hair. he looked spritely for his age and seemed to be a pleasant guy. on account of him not hearing me, i had to repeat myself. no, again. he was running late. ok... time for me to get off this street.

i headed up to near the capitol building and my neighborhood and took a seat on a wall for a while. there was a nice shady spot under a nearby tree where i figured i could come up with an interesting shot. a few people walked by, but i was all choked up. a squirrel came awfully close to me, but i do appreciate the human element in my photos.

continuing on, i asked another guy - maybe 30 years old. he was put out that i even asked. i mean, obviously so. his whole body language was yelling that he wanted me to get run over by the next passing car. "when do you want to do it?" "oh, right now", i replied. "is it going to be fast?", he was really into the idea, can't you tell? i am not sure what part of "i shoot right outside and it takes about 3 minutes" he didn't understand, but i told him yes it would be fast. then i went ahead and asked if he was in a hurry. yeah, he was. "why don't you just go ahead then." i am done with rush jobs. he looked like i just granted another year of life.

immediately after, i saw a portly older woman puffing away on a cigarette. she laughed when i told her about the project. actually, i think she said, "you're kidding!". no, ma'am, this is very serious... i didn't say that. she had to get back into work, though, so another no.

ok... four down. i wish people would just say no. either the world runs at a much faster pace than i do, or people are cowardly. perhaps it is both. i get it, people don't want to be photographed. what i don't get is why they don't just say so. even then, though, i wouldn't let them off the hook. who cares if you don't want to be photographed? don't look at it. it's so simple in my head...

ok... so i had been at the search for over two hours today. that is a record and one i hope to never break. as i was making my way towards something... someone... nothing... and no one in particular, i saw this blonde woman on a sweet bike that reminded me instantly of denmark.

she was waiting at an intersection in the "ready" position. she said she was on her way to an appointment, but she said it reluctantly... almost like she really wanted to stop and see what this was all about. so i kept on...

in turns out she studied photography in undergrad and then went on to get a master's degree in art therapy. i think she had some empathy for me and caved in.

her name is marsea. i've met a marcy but never a marsea. i think it is a beautiful spelling of the name. we didn't talk about this, so i am not sure if her parents were going for this or not, but "mar" is spanish for "sea" and, well, "sea" is english for "sea". so, you see?

i wish so much that the background i used had been darker. marsea would have stood out from it quite a bit more, but i take what i get and do what i can with it. she has gorgeous eyes that really jump out of the photo, but she also had a lot on her mind. i can see that in the photo, too. ah.... but notice her smile in the shot with the bicycle. maybe this art was therapeutic for her... that would be a very appropriate role reversal.

after i finished shooting, i talked for a few minutes with marsea. i looked into her eyes and saw some weight, so i asked if things were ok. things are ok, but she is currently looking for some work, and facing the challenges of this economy (it's real folks!) combined with the stress of an up and coming relocation.

i am glad she stopped for me. after today's fourth rejection, i was feeling entirely dejected and wondering where serendipity had run off to. a couple of blocks later i discovered that today she was a blonde artist on an amsterdam bicycle.

06 april, 2009

alyssa . 20 years old  /  denver . colorado

i had an appointment at 2.00 to shoot the breeze with another creative down at city o' city so i took to the streets a bit early and romped around looking for today's new friend.

it was a little chilly, but sunny, so when out of the shadows it felt pretty good. i took my time circling a few blocks, but came up with nothing. i ended up waiting on a corner i've used before, pretty close to my meeting point. i stood in the warm sun for a few minutes and kept a watchful eye.

i didn't have a demographic in mind, which was liberating... i just needed someone to catch my eye. that someone turned out to be alyssa.

i saw her from across an intersection. she was heading my way and she didn't seem to be in a rush. she had the clothes and the sunglasses and the haircut that suggested she would say yes. i wanted to shoot before my meeting and this was the perfect opportunity, so i went for it.

i gave her most of my pitch with her saying nothing. she was just looking at me, listening. she had dark glasses on, so i couldn't see her eyes. in the few moments i was talking, i started to think she was going to say no, but i guess she is just a good listener. when i came up for air, she said yes. just like that. no problem.

alyssa is going to be 21 soon, but i have to put down her actual age. i guess i don't "have" to do anything, but i want to. she is studying graphic design at the denver art institute and prefers the graphic design to the studying. i can understand that completely, although photography school was quite a bit of fun.

she asked if i would photographic her near the "bart 3,000" that her friend tagged on the window. i told her we could do that for the alternate shot. so... paying my respects... in the bottom right of the window you will see a white marker drawing - that is "bart 3,000". i am not sure what it represents, but it is now officially famous. i meant to ask alyssa to put her groovy shades back on for the second shot, but i forgot.

we didn't talk much, but alyssa seemed like a nice person. she keeps herself busy working at a graffiti art gallery - i didn't even know there was such a thing. maybe i should start tagging buildings around town with "i heart strangers" symbology - like banksy ( http://www.banksy.co.uk/ ), only much worse. no, i think i'll stick to the photographs.

nice meeting you today, alyssa! thanks for your time.

05 april, 2009

nixie . 27 years old  /  denver . colorado

so, this is nixie. and she is totally cool.

on my way downtown i crossed over 13th street so that could walk in the sun. i didn't even make it a full block before i saw this woman up ahead of me. she was waiting to cross to the side of the street i had just come from. i nearly caught up to her before the traffic stopped.

i surveyed the area quickly and saw that there was a pretty decent wall to use as my background. it was about 25 degrees, but she was wearing a light jacket, sandals, and a trucker's cap while i was bundled up in a winter hat, scarf, and my warm coat. i figured she was going to be interesting, so i readied myself for the ask.

she began crossing the street just as i made my up to where she was standing, so i crossed, too, and on the other side i gave her the run down.

she was all smiles and agreed to be today's stranger right away. i asked her for her name - nixie. i was curious about that, so i went ahead and asked. she said he dad is german and pretty proud of it, so he gave her a german name. i've never photographed (or even met) another nixie, so i thought that was pretty great.

nixie gave me all the time i needed. she didn't seem to be in any kind of a hurry, which was refreshing because so many people are so often in a hurry. it bothers me a little bit. the cafés aren't going to disappear, the dog can hold it for a few more minutes, it's not that cold. i cherish distraction and little bits of randomness, so it was nice to meet someone else who seemed to appreciate the unexpected.

nixie was living out in ohio before coming west, but has been here for a few years now - and loves it. i keep meeting people who love it here. i love it here, too! we chatted about that for a minute and decided that we were on the same page.

because nixie gave the ok, i shot about twice as many frames as i usually do. i shot more because i couldn't find the right angles today. i struggled from the very first frame. i think the background is mediocre and the light doesn't look so nice, either. i'm not sure i did nixie justice, but i did get that smile of hers that she wasn't shy about wearing. she reminded me so much of someone else. i can't put my finger on it... maybe something about michigan, where she's originally from... something's very familiar. hmm... maybe it will come to me later.

anyway... thank you, nixie. the pleasure was all mine!

04 april, 2009

lynn . 40 years old  /  denver . colorado

there was much talk of a blizzard today, but cold temperatures were accompanied only by the biting wind. i bundled up to face the elements, but i was still cold. i think denver is turning me into a weather weakling.

i headed down to the library and museum section of town right away. i figured there would be a lot of people down there and i was right. it happened to be 'free day' at the museum so the crowds abounded.

i found a brownish yellow wall that i wanted to use and stood in front of it for quite a few minutes. i wanted to photograph a woman today, so took to scouring through the masses for what looked to be a willing soul.

i've been doing well lately with not photographing my peers and wanted to keep that going for a few more days. i needed someone just a bit older than me.

i spotted lynn coming my way and approached her right away with my story. she made a weak attempt to get away by saying she wasn't photogenic, but i wouldn't let her get off that easily.

she was on her way to meet up with a friend for free day at the museum, so she sent her a text message, explaining her delay. she said she understood the need for participants as she is a researcher in child development. i like it when people empathize with my situation. those common understandings are priceless. on top of that, both lynn's husband and the friend she was on her way to meet up with are artists, so i was practically a shoe-in.

i snapped a few frames of lynn up close and then backed up quite a few steps to include some atmosphere. while i was shooting from back there, a gentleman came up to me and asked if i'd like to get in the photo, too. that caught me by surprise and i laughed (politely, though) and declined the generous offer. that is the first time that has happened during the project. i guess despite my greatest attempts i still look like a tourist snap-shooter.

lynn was very pleasant to speak with. she had a lovely personality and a very calming manner. she was a little bummed to have to give me her age. she just turned 40 last monday, so i say we let her be 39.

thank you, lynn!