14. Lola

In the course of the last two weeks, I've developed a ritual: every day, as I go out to meet a stranger, I start by trying to capture the mood of the city on a couple of pictures. It might be a shot of the city by night, or a close-up of a fountain, or the unusual contents of a shop-window that catches my eye. This helps me get into the right frame of mind, and reminds me which way up the camera should be held. I've decided to add one shot of each of these daily warm-up exercises to the end of each day's post.

I met Lola and her partner in the old town, on their way to a club. They agreed to let me hold them up for a while, and we went to a nearby bar. While our chat was initially relaxed and casual, I inadvertently steered it towards a topic that for Lola had a more somber quality. From that point on, though we had a thoughtful and serious discussion, I failed to make her feel as comfortable as I had hoped to.

The 15 pictures taken during our conversation show Lola with a wide range of emotion and expression; friendly, engaging, funny. The one I have selected for today's post best portrays her in that thoughtful mood with which I walked away from our exchange.

What I need to learn:
Improve difficult lighting situations with an external flash.

Lola: thanks for your trust and your time - I hope you went on to have a lovely evening!


Church spire, photographed from the unlit side.