8. Konrad

In a city of roughly 380'000 people, it was probably just a matter of time until I met somebody with whom I share a mutual friend. Nevertheless, finding out is an elating moment! When I approached Konrad, he was taking a photograph of the city and lake, and - with his backpack and hooded jacket - could easily have been a tourist. Due to a misunderstanding, I gave my introduction in English, until we both realized that German would do nicely. Since the weather was wet, cold and dark, and my first few shots were hampered by a splashed lens, we decided to go for coffee.

Soon we were chatting about life in Zurich, about how it compares to Konrad's native Vienna, and how both cities are, in some respect, provincial. What's remarkable about this is that we both perceived that city in which we had grown up as a small town. Knowing people around you makes the world a smaller place... That's approximately when we found out about our mutual friend - approximately, because I can't remember exactly how we reached the topic of sports teams; interesting how the mind works - well, mine anyway - as soon as it perceives an outstanding fact, it latches onto that and discards the preceding few seconds.

This was the first time I took the majority of my pictures indoors (27 of 36), which made for a new and interesting situation. The background was nicely chosen, and I've managed to work well with lighting from several sources. While we were talking, Konrad seemed to relax quite quickly, and so the photo I've selected was taken pretty much in the middle of our conversation. It portrays his confident and friendly character.

What I need to learn:
It would have been easy to take the free chair out of this picture, had I thought of it. I've tried several variants of cropping it, but all of them seem to take the life out of the shot.

Konrad, thanks very much for your time and amiable company - all the best!