100 Strangers
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Stranger No. 100
For the last month or so, Ramki has been on a roll of film that has been waiting to be developed. Ramki is a “sadhu” or Hindu holy man whom I walked by in Varanasi, India (where there are many sadhus!) I stopped and asked for his photo, and he gave a sigh (presumably tourists
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Strangers Nos. 98 and 99
Not every “stranger” photo turns out the way you want. Â I thought I was being clever by rewinding this half-used roll of film so that I could enclose it in a lead lined bag to protect it from the airport x-rays, and then just advance it again to where I had left off, but apparently
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Stranger No. 97
Like stranger No. 96, Simim was working on refurbishing one of the ghats at Varanasi – basically filling in cracks with cement and/or re-laying stones. They explained that the Modi government had allocated money to give Varanasi a “facelift”. I asked him to take his photo in the frame of this doorway (apparently they were
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Stranger No. 96
This is Raju, a laborer helping to renovate one of the ghats in Varanasi. He doesn’t speak a word of English but through a translator explained that he and his colleagues were brought in to help give the ghats a facelift, thanks to money made available by the Modi government.
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Stranger No. 95
Rashid was very kind to show us around the Alamgir Mosque, located along the banks of the Ganges River in Varanasi. His family have been the caretakers of the mosque for generations. The mosque is surrounded by a Hindu neighborhood and thus doesn’t get as much traffic as other mosques in the city, but it
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Stranger No. 94
This is Raul – we were walking along the ghats of Varanasi and he made some small talk with us in an effort to try and lure us to his silk shop. We didn’t fall for it of course, but I did ask him if he would pose for this portrait.
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Stranger No. 93
Another no-name stranger. I was at the beach in Chennai, during Ganesha Chaturthi, a festival in which idols of Lord Ganesh are immersed in the sea, and this guy was hanging around, looking for a few rupees to buy some tea. I asked to take a few pictures and he immediately went into this posing
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Stranger No. 92
This was a very shy lady living in a gypsy (Narikuravar) community in Chennai. I wanted to take her photo but she insisted on being in the group. Only after I had taken a few would she allow me to take one with just her. I didn’t ask her name – getting permission from the
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Stranger No. 91
Ibrahim took us on a boat ride up “Number Two River.” The beach with the same name is run by a small community south of Freetown, Sierra Leone. For a reasonable fee, they will have someone take you up the river to see the waterfall, and if you’re lucky, some monkeys or other wildlife. Unfortunately,
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Strangers Nos. 89 and 90
These two boys agreed to pose for me. I didn’t catch their names. Basically, I spotted a cool looking building across the street, and as I was snapping the shot, they walked in front of it. And then started clowning around. And then I asked them to pose for this shot. Here’s how it unfolded:
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Stranger No. 88
Victor works for G4S, a security company. His job is to provide security in front of this Coca-Cola bottling facility in Freetown, Sierra Leone. We had a nice little chat as the rain started up. I told him my middle name is Victor, but he wasn’t impressed. He thought it was a good picture though.
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Stranger No. 86
Mohammed sells these bags to passersby on a street corner in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He was in a very cheerful mood.
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Stranger No. 85
This is Samuel. Standing on a street corner in Freetown, Sierra Leone. I like his shirt. And he’s stranger no. 85.
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Stranger No. 84
Sergeant Marsh stopped me when I was walking through a market in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and asked what I was doing. “Taking photos,” I answered. He had a very serious, stern look and I thought he objected to this. “Have you been shooting all of this?” he asked, gesturing at the people and the flooded
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Stranger No. 83
This portrait is a bit different than most – but it’s good to have a bit of variety. Â It’s taken with a GoPro camera mounted to a DJI Phantom 2 Quadcopter sitting on the ground. Â Siva, pictured here, had been following me around with interest as I swooped the quadcopter all around his village lake/quarry,
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Stranger No. 82
I was finishing up a photowalk when I spotted this small shop, and on the chair behind this fellow, another guy was sitting staring stoically to the left. It was him I approached for a photo, and in response he jumped up and hid behind the doorway, refusing to be photographed. This guy, named Murali,
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Stranger No. 81
This is Indrani, who was buying something at this shop on a busy street. Â I wanted to photograph her against this shop, without the shopkeeper necessarily in the background, but sometimes it’s awkward asking people to move. Â So this is what I ended up with.
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Stranger No. 80
Bhatma was hanging around near a coffee shop where a group of us were standing around at the end of a photowalk. She showed my wife some puppies – not sure why. She was extremely animated and laughing. We both snapped a couple of pictures and realized why she was so cheerful. Sweet lady –
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Stranger No. 79
We met this fellow at Elliot Beach, close to our home in Chennai. He was just watching the ocean when I asked for his photo: After I snapped his picture with an old film camera (not that old – a 90’s era Ricoh) he followed us around from a distance as we spent the next
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Stranger No. 78
A. Rajendran sells small fruits locally known as “sapota” or “chickoo” – which actually originated in the Americas (sapodillas)! He works in the fruit market at Koyambedu in Chennai, India.
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Stranger No. 77
Arun works unloading truckloads of bananas at Koyambedu’s fruit market in Chennai.
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Stranger No. 76
Das was riding by with a giant bicycle-cart loaded with these red bananas. I stopped him for a photo, but my wife’s photo was much better:
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Stranger No. 74
Rajasel was stringing flowers for sale near the entrance of the flower market at Koyambedu. All the guys were asking for photos, and when I asked her she initially refused but eventually agreed to let me take her photo. Â Check out the reflection in the mirror, bottom right!
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Stranger No. 73
Rajendran seemed like the quiet type – he had a small cart outside the fruit market with half a dozen jackfruits on it, which he was painstakingly cutting into usable portions for sale. Apparently cutting these things into portions so that they can be eaten is quite a labor-intensive operation that takes some practice –