112/200 - Olivia - a photo on Flickriver

112/200 - Olivia

This picture is #12 in Round Two of my 100 Strangers project.
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My travel schedule has been relentless the last few months, so when Peter suggested a stranger outing over the weekend, I was keen to focus my energy outside of the office.

Opting for one of our normal stomping grounds, Newtown, we agreed to meet on Saturday morning. In an unusual twist, I woke up earlier than expected and arrived at The Hub first. While waiting for Peter and Kathie to join me, I spotted Olivia and her friend Lisa setting up a stall to sell clothing. It was her amazing hair that first caught my attention and combined with her eyes I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. But it wasn’t until after Peter and Kathie arrived, bringing with them some moral support, did I make my approach.

Without even a proper introduction or explanation, Olivia agreed to have her portrait taken. I positioned her in front of—what should now be familiar to the 100 Strangers group—a nearby blue door. Olivia was a natural in front of the lens and after a few snaps I noticed she kept nervously glancing over towards her stall. Not wanting to cause any trouble, we wrapped up the shoot rather quickly, but I had already captured what I was after.

Once Olivia had attended to the folks at her stall, we spoke more about the project and her story. She is a creative writer from Burwood and runs the website izmz mag where she does profile pieces, once a week, on interesting individuals. In many respects, it is very similar to the 100 Strangers project only based in a different medium. As she moves forward with her writing project, she is starting to explore different subcultures to better understand the various facets of humanity.

Thank you for participating in my project, Olivia. I hope you like how the portrait has come out; drop me a note if you’d like a copy. Best of luck with your own project and I hope the stall was successful!

After our Aussie Meetup in Melbourne several months ago, I noticed that everyone else had a much more compact and inconspicuous reflector (and a Rapid Strap!). In an attempt to spark more spontaneous stranger shooting, I decided to pick up a smaller reflector too. This was my first time stranger shooting with my new Lastolite 20” sunfire reflector and I couldn’t be more pleased with it. Thanks to Colin/Peter in the UK for recommending it years ago!

Bonus points if you noticed Olivia’s septum piercing. I didn’t see it until we were speaking after the fact.

Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated!

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To find out more about the project, visit the 100 Strangers Flickr Group
You can see my original 100 Strangers here and round two in this set.

Taken in: Australia / New South Wales / Sydney / Australia Square (show map)

Taken on: August 15, 2015

Tags:

100 strangers

stranger

person

girl

newtown

sydney

australia

natural light

street

portraiture

street photography

blogger

reflector

lastolite

50mm ƒ/1.2L

5d mark iii

armchair photography

evansrobinson

freckles

sunfire

izmzmag.com « less

Sets appears in: • 100 Strangers Round Two

Groups appears in: • Portraiture (of real people) • One Face @ a Time ~ Street Portraiture more » • *Beautiful Girls* ~ No AI • Portraits... Get Closer! • Can I take your picture? • Flickr Australia • Portrait of FACE < Head to Shoulder Shots Only > • Australian Photographers!!!! • Street portrait • Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM • The Flickr Portrait Gallery • My Australia • 100 Strangers • Natural Light • "Women Portraits" • **The Street Photography Society** only 2 shots per week • People & Portrait Photography • Human Faces: Fascinating Just the Way We Are • Australian portrait • Portraits and Faces • Colour Street Portraits of People • Canon EOS 5D Mark III Users Group • Canon EOS 5D Mark III • Celebrating Women of Color « less

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, f/2.8, 1/200 sec, 50mm, ISO 160 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Lens:	Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.005 sec (1/200)
Focal Length:	50mm
ISO:	160
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Aperture 3.6
Show full info

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