387/400 - Ross - a photo on Flickriver

387/400 - Ross

Today was a wet and chilly mid-March day in Toronto and the city is growing weary of winter. Conversations everywhere are turning to spring and the anticipation of budding trees and spring bulbs breaking free of the ground. Mind you, neither of these things is happening, but we’ve got our fantasies.

After leaving my class downtown I’d had the good fortune to happen across Laticia (my Stranger #386) almost immediately. Following that stroke of good luck I decided to swing past Allan Gardens and walk through the Conservatory to remind myself what flowers and greenery look like. Allan Gardens is in the heart of downtown and the Conservatory is a large public greenhouse. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Gardens0

The Conservatory was filled with school children on field trips, being herded along by their teachers who looked like they were trying to keep track of their charges and their wits as children explored in all directions. As I threaded my way through the hubbub of children I came to a placid pond with goldfish, surrounded by greenery and with a classical Greek statue. I suddenly noticed this interesting man standing nearby. He was also enjoying the pond and the warm tropical air of the Conservatory. “I’m sure glad I stopped by” I said. “This taste of the tropics just might get me through this long, harsh winter.” His eyes smiled and behind his beard I’m sure his mouth did too. “No kidding” he replied. “This winter just doesn’t quit does it?” We moved on from weather talk and he said he hadn’t been down here in a while but his reason for coming today was the same as mine. He said he was glad to see the goldfish are still in the pond. We shook hands. Meet Ross.

Ross was a very warm and friendly man and our conversation just seemed to flow from the start. I learned that his background is Jamaican (that makes two for two today) but that he grew up in New York (near Central Park) but traveled back and forth to Jamaica numerous times through the years, finally ending up in Canada. We compared notes on when we came to Toronto and how it has changed - some for the better and some for the worse – since then. When I asked his age to make sense of the chronology of his story his eyes twinkled and he said “I’m 63 years young, man.”

Ross is a musician and plays mostly blues and R&B and is in the process of making an electric guitar. My brother has made musical instruments so we had another common connection. Then we touched on the trends in the U.S. when we moved to Canada and this led to talk about the “old days” when many of us were preoccupied with the threat of being drafted into the army and sent to a war in Viet Nam that we opposed. That experience seems to form a particularly strong sense of brotherhood between men who lived in that time and and Ross and I were having a major trip down memory lane. I found out he did not get drafted because he was a sole surviving son of a veteran. I, on the other hand, turned too old (26). It’s somewhat ironic that we both ended up moving to Canada, not to avoid the army but for other personal reasons.

When I introduced my photo project Ross was an attentive listener and did not immediately agree or decline. I made my pitch and said I thought he would make a great subject. I learned that he doesn’t know Flickr “I’m not a computer person” and is rather suspicious of the internet. I said I didn’t want to twist his arm but I would sure like to be able to photograph him but I would need his consent. He told me “Hey man, I’m not crazy about being photographed and especially the internet thing, but I can tell you’re an honest guy and I trust you. Let’s do it but soon I have to get going.”

I quickly faced him south against the greenery and took the photos, pausing a couple of times to let visitors pass between us on the narrow path through the vegetation. “Come on through” he said at one point to a couple who were politely waiting. “This isn’t Hollywood or anything. We’re just taking a couple of photos.” I have found taking portraits in indoor, glassed in atriums and the like to be a challenge. The glass tends to produce a "cool" cast to the light that's difficult for me to compensate for in post-processing. I would have preferred it if I could have achieved a somewhat softer effect but to overcome "flatness' I had to put up with a bit of harsh effect. Still, I'm very happy with the photo and feel it captures a nice glimpse into his character.

When I found out Ross didn’t use a computer we puzzled a bit over how I might get a couple of prints to him. He hit on a solution: I could drop off photos at a social club he said he spends a lot of time at. “If I’m not there, just tell them they’re for ‘Dreads’.” He added as an afterthought “Stop in there and visit. It’s a cool place and there’s lots of youngsters like you and me.” As it turned out, I did drop by the place with prints a week later and discovered it was a social service organization providing a variety of services to a population of (largely) homeless men, It was a very interesting tour and although Ross wasn't there, the fellow who showed me around recognized him from the photo and said he would make sure Ross got the photos next time he saw him.

I really enjoyed meeting you Ross. Thank you for the fun conversation and for trusting me enough to participate in 100 Strangers. You are Stranger #387 in Round 4 of my project.

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page

To browse Round 1 of my 100 Strangers project click here: www.flickr.com/photos/jeffcbowen/sets/72157633145986224/
To browse Round 2 of my 100 Strangers project click here:www.flickr.com/photos/jeffcbowen/sets/72157634422850489/
To browse Round 3 of my 100 Strangers project click here: www.flickr.com/photos/jeffcbowen/sets/72157635541434065/

Taken in: Canada / Ontario / Toronto / Gardens District (show map)

Taken on: March 15, 2014

Tags:

Ross

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Sets appears in: • 100 Strangers Project - Round 4

Groups appears in: • 100 Strangers

Camera: Olympus E-M1, f/1.8, 1/200 sec, 45mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Olympus E-M1
Aperture:	f/1.8
Exposure Time:	0.005 sec (1/200)
Focal Length:	45mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS4 Windows
Show full info

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