Monday 25 November 2013

Ramon (Stranger #28/100), London Brick Lane

Via Flickr:
It's been a few months since I last shot for my 100 Strangers Project. I blame Bomvu, who introduced me to Purpleport and as a result turned a few summer weekends of potential streets shots into model shoots.

This Sunday I finally set out to right that wrong, dropping into London for a couple of hours along Brick Lane. Meeting Ramon reminded me just how much I've missed the project.

I'm something of a background hunter - finding a backdrop I think will working, then lurking there until the right stranger appears. It can make you look like a bit of a predator, stood alongside the flow of people, waiting, watching... so thank you Ramon for agreeing to chat and shoot, when I interrupted your assessment of the market's various food choices.

He's a software developer from Barcelona, now living in London with a long suffering follower of Arsenal. Having interrogated me about the possible reasons for the team's anomalous success this year, the conversation turned to future plans. Ramon is planning a cycling trip he described as "buy a bicycle and go East" - it sounds incredible; cycling through Europe, then Central Asia and up into China via the Kashgar pass or similar.

Ramon - No doubt there's a tonne of preparation left, and maybe a few years planning, saving and visa applications, but I hope you have an epic time of it when you set off. Take photos, lots of them.

I'd chosen Ramon for the high contrast gloss of his jacket, and sprinkling of silver in his hair - given the white/black swirl of the street art. The combination seems to have worked, so I'm delighted to be back in the project again.

This is portrait #28 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.