Stranger 23/100 – Olivia

Our next stranger has an understated sense of style that caught my eye. When I asked to take her portrait, I got a strong feeling that she would decline. I’m glad she didn’t.

Meet Olivia.

Olivia has lived in New York for a year and a half and was in Charlotte just for the day to give a presentation.

“I’m a cyber crime analyst. People don’t expect that, but that’s what I do. I look at what are the emerging trends and what should we be focusing on.”

What do you do when you’re not working? “I’m really into documentaries. I love watching documentaries. And I’ve started embroidery lately, so I’ve done a couple embroidery projects. I’ve really been enjoying that.”

What made you start that? “I really wanted to do something crafty but I didn’t think that I could do drawing… I’m not talented like that. So I’m trying to do embroidery because it’s like drawing, but it’s ok when you mess up because it’s stitches.”

What else do you do for fun? “I really enjoy seeing the city… I love New York. I’ve been to like hundreds of bars. I like visiting all of the gimmicky, bullshit New York food places. Oh, like spaghetti doughnuts and stuff… I’m like I need a spaghetti doughnut! I love exploring the city and going to different places.”

What advice would you give to your younger self? “Just relax. I think I’ve always been very driven to the point of not being able to relax at all. It’s a very New York mentality in a way where I just need to be doing something.”

“Also, don’t take yourself too seriously. In high school I never dyed my hair or anything because that’s like so unprofessional, and now I’m like why didn’t I dye my hair pink when I was fifteen?”

It was a pleasure to meet you Olivia. Thank you for being part of my 100 Strangers Project.

Technical Notes: I positioned Olivia in front of a shady, garden area to create a simple, dark background for this natural light portrait.