Tara, Michael, Yip & Tony - No 7

A beautiful evening at the O2. I wanted to get some images of the snow and ice - there is a little bit of both about at the moment. I also felt that this location would provide an opportunity to carry on the 'Strangers 365' project. I made the decision to use fill in flash and look to make the backgrounds more interesting.

I was taking images of the snow and ice formations on the 'wall' when a German lady walked past and made a comment about what I was looking at being interesting. I asked if she would mind me creating a portrait and it was a definite no! On asking why she could not give a reason - she just didn't like having a photo taken of her. She also mentioned that her mother has not got a photo of her over the age of 15. 'Miss Deutsche' was a striking lady and I find it more and more intriguing why people don't want images of themselves. I'll explore this a little more in a later post when I've talked to more people.

The O2 has a covered walkway of glass linking the North Greenwich Underground Station to the Arena. This was holding snow which was breaking and creating interesting shapes and patterns. I took a lot of shots which should will make intriguing abstracts.

Whilst pointing the camera skywards Tara, Michael and Yip walked past and smiled. A smile is a universal sign of friendliness and it makes it more comfortable for me to approach. I'm a reasonably smiley person, so maybe that is why I'm getting more acceptances than rejections.

I asked if they would mind me creating a group portrait and it was an immediate 'Yes!' I recognised the ice 'wall' would make a pleasing background and with some fill in flash should great a good portrait. This is the result.
It would be better to not have the dividing lines between the green and white, but it is nice. Tara is from Malaysia, Michael from Hong Kong and Yip from London. Tara and Michael are studying Hospitality in Switzerland.

They probably thought they'd escaped the snow and ice!

Tony is a delivery driver from London. I'd finished what I wanted to do and was watching the light to see if any pleasant early evening colours appeared. He asked me if this was North Greenwich Jubilee Line Underground Station as he had parcels to deliver. I said he was and he thanked me and disappeared. I knew he'd be back. He left his van parked as a big clue. As he seemed a nice bloke I thought I'd wait and ask to create his portrait. Tony was gone for 15 minutes which gave me time to plan what I wanted. This is the result:

I like this. Canary Wharf in the background and Tony pleasantly lit. There is a nice catchlight in his eyes and the eyebrow piercing can be seen clearly.

The downside? The cap. There is a slight shadow under the peak, but it could have been worse. Oh! It is! That badge! I'm a Spurs fan!!!

Once again many thanks to my models. It was lovely to meet you.