9. Simin

Rain, and darkness, and rush-hour; those are the conditions in which meeting a stranger becomes a true exercise in stoicism. When it pours like it did today, people in the city leave their homes and offices only if they must - and when they do, they hide behind their umbrellas or inside their hooded raincoats. At rush hour, everybody is on their way to somewhere, and most pace through the streets head-down and at speed. The collective disposition is cantankerous, and being approached in the dark by a man wielding a camera does nothing to lighten the mood.

What delightful serendipity, then, to find a gem like Simin. Like everybody else she was on her way home from work, but unlike most she had an untroubled and approachable air. She seemed genuinely interested in my project, and agreed to join me for a cup of coffee with confident cheerfulness. We had a lively conversation, the topics of which spanned 50 years and two continents; and when I mentioned my musical past we discovered that she also knew a good friend of mine.

Simin was a bit camera-shy at first, but in the course of the conversation she appeared to become more at ease. I took 36 photographs, of which I chose the 18th; it lies just on the cusp of that change of temperament, and has both bashful and confident facets.

Simin: thank you very much for your time and courage - I hope you like the picture, I know I do!