I spotted her from very far away because of her perfectly done hair and dark strong eye makeup. She sat down on a concrete bench and started nibbling on something... maybe a quick lunch. I figured she must be a model on the way to a job. I usually prefer shooting strangers with less or no make up to make the portraits look more natural. But looking at her, I just couldn't pass up the chance of taking her portrait... her look was just so commanding. I walked towards her, pacing myself, until she spotted me. So I sprinted towards her. I asked if I could take her picture... she gave me a very cool and confident "Sure."
I saw her step outside a shopping mall. The first thing I noticed was those eyes. I wanted to approach her but she seemed like she wasn't in a good mood... like she was looking for something she couldn't find or waiting for someone who wasn't coming. I couldn't approach her like that, so I let it go. A few moments later, as I was walking along, I saw her again. This time, she was sitting in one of the concrete benches at the side of Orchard. This time, she seemed relaxed. This time, I approached her. I asked her if I could take her picture and explained what I was trying to do. She said yes. Look at those eyes.
I was walking along Orchard when I saw her walking towards my direction. She was wearing a simple one-piece dress, and was quite tall almost towering over most of the people around her. I wasn't decided yet if I wanted to shoot her, but as I got closer, I knew I had to - she had this subtle angelic charm. My heart started to pound... it always does whenever I'm about to approach a stranger for their portrait. I stopped her and asked if I could take her picture. She smiled and said "Oh, street style." I chuckled a "yeah...", relieved that she understood what I was doing. She said yes. After I took a few shots, I thanked her and she went on her way. I noticed my hands were slightly shivering. It's funny coz this was my 100th stranger and I still get the shivers. Maybe it was because it's been almost 3 weeks since I last approached a stranger. Or maybe it was because I knew I had a keeper shot.
This is my 100th stranger. I started this project thinking I'll stop at 100... but I figured I really loved doing this so I might as well go on to shoot more... but not regularly, though. Just when I have some free time, or I happen to have my camera in my hands and see a stranger with a great face. In the meantime, I'm still brewing up a new project to work on. Thanks for all the comments, guys!
To see the whole set, please visit my
Facebook page album or my
Flickr set.
