Street portraiture can be among the most challenging photographic styles. It often means approaching random folks for permission to take close-in and personal shots. The process can intimidate those behind and in front of the camera. Days 95, 96, and 97 feature three stranger shoots. On our last triple-digit day in the series, we present another.
Peter Grifoni shot self-titled “Emma—Hands” one year ago today, using Olympus E-M1 and M. Zuiko 45mm F1.8 lens. Vitals: f/2, ISO 200, 1/640 sec, 45mm. I picked the pic for the woman’s body art contrast against the plaid skit. There are several others of the same subject: full body, torso, and torso alternate.
Emma’s “bright colored hair” drew Peter’s attention as he walked down King Street Newtontown, Sydney, Australia. He at first passed her but doubled back, being taken aback by her body art. “As we chatted about her tattoos and piercings,I discovered a quietly confident and spoken young lady who was very easy going and patiently followed my instructions”, he says. “I found her quite humble, which kind of took me by surprise”.
Peter is admin for the Human Family Project on Flickr. It is “for those who like to meet strangers anywhere, anytime and make consensual portraits to celebrate their life stories, record the beauty of the Human Family and share their encounters with others”. I relate, starting the Flickr-a-Day series as a life storytelling project, which is major reason so many of the subjects are people or the street often is the venue.
Our shooter joined Flickr in January 2010. You will be robbed by skipping his photostream. His street portraiture is studio quality. CAPA The Global Education Network interviewed Peter in January 2013—good reading for anyone wanting to make the kind of art that he does.
Photo Credit: Peter Grifoni