I asked this stranger if I could take her portrait for a project I was working on. She asked, “is it a project documenting short people?”
Meet Aquilla.
After introducing myself, she told me her name and then observed, “Now we’re not strangers anymore…” I had only just met Aquilla and I already liked her.
Aquilla said that her parking was about to run out, so I tried to make the most of the little bit of time we had.
She works in uptown Charlotte at Wells Fargo.
Her advice to younger self is “Connect more with mentors.” I asked her if she has been able to do this and she said “No. I’m very introverted.” I told her that I was an introvert too and that’s partly why I was doing this project.
I then asked her what her biggest challenge is, and she said, “Getting out there… getting out of my comfort zone and connecting with people. I’m constantly in my head.”
I didn’t want her to get a parking ticket, so I thanked her for her time and for participating in my 100 Strangers Project.
Technical Notes: It was a bright day, but we were in the shade of her building. I positioned her facing the street where the light was coming from. Since window behind her was so close, I used a wide aperture to blur it out.
Dan Russell-Pinson 