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Stranger 90/100 – Lindsey

Posted on May 30, 2018 | Leave a comment

100 Strangers - LindseyStranger 90/100 – Lindsey

“Don’t be fearful…”

Meet Lindsey.

What advice would you give to your younger self? “I’d probably say just don’t be fearful. Fear doesn’t really solve anything… it just prevents a lot. As a kid I feel like I was really fearful, and I feel like, now that I’ve grown up, I feel like there wasn’t much to be fearful about.”

Did something change? “I guess it was an epiphany.”

What is your biggest challenge right now? “I guess just thinking outside the box. Like it’s really easy to get caught up in living life, doing the 9 to 5, working, getting money, paying bills… like getting caught up in that. Being more creative, getting outside of what I usually do, experiences…”

What is your creative outlet? “I make music.”

Now you’ve got my interest… what kind of music do you make? “I would say it’s alternative R&B.”

Are you active in the local music scene? “I’m not. Not yet. Getting there… but not yet.”

What are your goals? “I guess right now just like gaining experience. I don’t really have any goals other than working. Just gaining experience so I can have that wisdom so I can speak it in my music.”

What’s the biggest misconception about you? “I feel like a lot of people think I’m really chill… kind of like very laid back, easy-going, but I’m very like a child… I’m very childish. {laughs}”

Technical Notes: It was an overcast day, so I decided to bring my LED panel instead of a reflector. We were under an overhang, and I used the LED panel to light up the right side of Lindsey’s face.

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Stranger 89/100 – David

Posted on May 25, 2018 | Leave a comment

Stranger-89-David.jpgStranger 89/100 – David

“Hanging out… celebrating that I’m done with finals.”

Meet David.

What advice would you give to your younger self? “Get involved more with community activities or groups… building connections.”

What is your biggest challenge right now? “Figuring out what I want to do with my life after I graduate.”

Got any ideas? “Stay in school until I figure it out… just keep going. I’m in Political Science right now. If I can actually find some internships or anything that will be helpful, but, if not, then I’m probably going to start studying Psychology.”

If you could put a billboard up in Charlotte, what would it say? “Just a blank billboard.”

How would your friends describe you? “Sarcastic probably.”

What would you do with a million dollars? “I’d probably travel… see the world. Meet new people.”

Any particular place? “Everywhere. I kind of want to see China because it has everything… it’s so vast.”

What music are you listening to? “Everything right now. Hip-hop, metal, rock, classic rock, even some classical music.”

A well balanced diet… “Oh, yeah. I love music… just all around. Not country… I’m not very into country.”

Technical Notes: It was a bright sunny day. I used a reflector to add light to even out David’s face, but I think I added too much light creating a flatter look than I wanted.

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Stranger 88/100 – Kenneth

Posted on May 24, 2018 | Leave a comment

100 Strangers - KennethStranger 88/100 – Kenneth

“I’m pretty much on a no-plan plan…”

Meet Kenneth.

You’re a photographer… tell me about that… “I’m constantly shooting. I just mostly shoot 35mm. I shoot film mostly, but I also shoot some medium format film. I’m taking photos of people more than anything else, but also some people’s relationship to their environment. If I don’t have a rangefinder on me, I have like a pocket camera of some sort, but I kind of always have a camera on me whether it’s just a phone as well. It’s funny, you carry a camera around so much then, when you’re not carrying one, so many things happen.”

What advice would you give to your younger self? “It makes me think of a question someone else just asked me… would your younger self be proud of who you are now? And I would say yes. But let me answer your question… Yeah, I guess just more so listening to other people’s advice instead of being stubborn. I guess there is a point of wanting to do things your own way, but I think older people have been trying to help you your whole life, so maybe more listening to advice that people have to offer.”

What is your biggest challenge right now? “Making money I guess. I’m getting older and, yeah, it’s just reality… being stable I guess financially.”

What are your goals? Where do you want to be in ten years? “I don’t really think that far ahead. I’m pretty much on a no-plan plan… I kind of just go with what comes. Yeah, I’m pretty open for whatever opportunities arise.”

If you could out a billboard up in Charlotte, what would it say? “It sounds so corny, but let go a little or just like live a little. I feel like it’s a pretty conservative place. Just let go a little and have more fun.”

Technical Notes: The sun was very bright, so we stayed under the covered walkway where I first approached Kenneth. I used a reflector to even out the light on the right side of his face.

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Stranger 87/100 – Jessica

Posted on May 23, 2018 | Leave a comment

100 Strangers - JessicaStranger 87/100 – Jessica

“Don’t give up on your children…”

Meet Jessica.

What advice would you give to your younger self? “Don’t try to grow up too fast… and listen to your mother. Because mommy is right! {laughs}”

And did you do that when you were younger? “No, I didn’t. I definitely should have took heed of some of the advice mom gave me.”

What would she have told you? “Don’t meet strangers online.”

But here is ok, right? “Yeah, here is fine! {laughs} She also told me to be guarded with your heart. I think I was too nice to a lot of people. I think that played a part. And always staying true to yourself… you don’t have to lose yourself meeting people.”

Your mom’s very wise… “Yes, she is. I should have remembered that when I was twelve.”

What is your biggest challenge right now? “Not taking everything personal. I take everything to heart.”

What’s the consequence of that? “I think it affects my relationships. I get upset then I shut down, and it makes it hard for me to communicate. So, I think it definitely impacts… it has impacted some of my relationships.”

What are your goals? Where do you want to be in ten years? “I will be 35. {laughs} So, I want to be married. I want to have two children. I want to adopt two children. I want to be a licensed social worker. I would love to mentor young girls with self-esteem issues. I wouldn’t even mind volunteering at a group home like for pregnant teens.”

If you could put a billboard up in Charlotte, what would it say? “Don’t give up on your children because it will impact them later on in life, and it will affect the relationships that they have and their outlook on life.”

How would your friends describe you? “Sarcastic, loud {laughs}, friendly… I have a hard exterior, but I’m very soft on the inside.”

Technical Notes: It was a bright day, but we were in the shade of a building. I used a small LED panel to light up Jessica’s face.

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Stranger 86/100 – Derek

Posted on May 18, 2018 | Leave a comment

100 Strangers - DerekStranger 86/100 – Derek

“Love everybody because everyone deserves it.”

Meet Derek.

What advice would you give to your younger self? “Never stop being creative.”

What is your creative outlet? “I have a few. One, I’m a therapist. I like poetry… I really like music a lot too.”

I don’t think people realize how much creativity there is in therapy… “Yeah, it takes a lot. People think all the time that ‘yeah, you’re just talking to people all day’, but the thing is there actually really is an art to communicating with several different people. Because I do group therapy… you’re talking to like twelve different individual personalities everyday. It takes a lot to know what to say, how to say and what they’re looking for out of this whole thing.”

How did you get started in that? “Basically where I grew up at… there’s a lot of things happening and therapy wasn’t a thing no-one really cared for. Especially with black people in the black community, therapy has a lot of stigmas to it. So, I’m trying to break that mold and actually trying to get people the help that they actually need”

What’s the best technique for building rapport? “Humor. I think having a sense of humor, being able to crack jokes with people, it takes the tension out of the room. So, you don’t have to be serious all the time to do this job… it’s ok to have fun.”

What is your biggest challenge right now? “Slowing down. That’s my biggest challenge because I want everything right now. So, it’s just remembering that I’m still young. I have a lot of time. Just take everything as it comes and breath and everything will be ok.”

What are your goals? Where do you want to be in ten years? “I want my own private practice. I want to be a professor at a community college. I want be a father and a husband. Yeah, have everything just kind of settled and still exploring and trying to learn new things.”

If you could put a billboard up in Charlotte, what would it say? “Love everybody because everyone deserves it.”

Technical Notes: We were out of the bright sun under an overhang of a building. I used a small LED panel to add some light to the right side of Derek’s face.

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Stranger 85/100 – May

Posted on May 17, 2018 | Leave a comment

100 Strangers - MayStranger 85/100 – May

Our next stranger is a sophomore in college and had just finished finals.

Meet May.

What advice would you give to your younger self? “Be more outgoing and not care so much about what other people think.”

What made you realize that? “I met a lot of nice people. I made more friends.”

What are your biggest challenges right now? “Well, I’m a college student so just like focusing on school and also having a social life.”

Where do you want to be in ten years? “I’m trying to be an actuary. I’m trying to get a job.”

What would be the ideal job? “One that pays well. {laughs}”

If you could put a billboard up in Charlotte, what would it say? “Live life to the fullest.”

Do you feel like you do that? “I think so. I try.”

How would your friends describe you? “Probably cheerful. They always say I smile a lot.”

I can vouch for that… “{laughs}”

What would you do if you had a million dollars? “Probably buy my parents a house or something. Maybe go on vacation. Definitely travel a lot… everywhere.”

Technical Notes: It was a bright day, but we found a nice shady spot in the city to take this portrait. I used a reflector to add some light to May’s face.

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Stranger 84/100 – Noor

Posted on May 16, 2018 | Leave a comment

Stranger-84–Noor.jpgStranger 84/100 – Noor

Our next stranger is from Holland and was in Charlotte visiting friends.

Meet Noor.

What advice would you give to your younger self? “Don’t be afraid. I was very afraid of things when I was younger. And I got to the point where… I did a lot of art school and theater, so I became less afraid of things.”

What is your biggest challenge right now? “Don’t take things too serious. Just do it. Stop thinking about it so much.”

Where do you want to be in ten years? ”I love to be in nature… a funny, cute little house. I would love to go back to just working your land you know… make food. It doesn’t have to be forever, but for a little bit I would love to do that.”

If you could put a billboard up in Charlotte, what would it say? “I’m more a visual person, so I would put a picture up… a spouting volcano! {laughs}”

How would your friends describe you? “I guess they would call me funny. {laughs} I don’t know!”

What do you do in Holland? “I make clothing. So that’s what I do actually for fun.”

Technical Notes: It was midday and the sun was extremely harsh. I directed Noor to a shaded walkway and had her face the bright park area behind me.

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Stranger 83/100 – Sasha

Posted on May 3, 2018 | Leave a comment

100 Strangers - SashaStranger 83/100 – Sasha

Our next stranger remains a mystery…

Meet Sasha.

Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? “I have an interview… {laughs}”

Unfortunately, Sasha was in a hurry to get to a job interview and didn’t have time to answer questions. I gave her my card, so hopefully she’ll get in touch.

Technical Notes: This photo was shot in an open area with indirect light in front of a dark window.

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Stranger 82/100 – Jay

Posted on May 2, 2018 | Leave a comment

100 Strangers - JayStranger 82/100 – Jay

I ran into our next stranger as he was on his way to open a bank account for his new tattoo business.

Meet Jay.

Tell me about Tattooing. When did you get into that? “I was around 19 when I got into it. My brother was the one that really was the first one to tattoo in our family. So, he got me into it.”

Where do you want to be in ten years? “Honestly, an empire. Yeah, an empire of tattoo shops, some property and definitely having a shop in Europe. I heard the Netherlands are really nice. I’ve been to Sicily. But I do want to check out the Netherlands. I’ll be going there hopefully this September. I’ll at least be able to go out there for a week and check it out and, you know, meet some people.”

What advice would you give to your younger self? “Save up every dollar. I’d start with that. When I started tattooing, I realized that I could have definitely had a shot when I was about 22.”

If you had saved up? “Yeah.”

What did you spend it all on? “Hell, I was young. {laughs} I was young, man. What did I not spend it on?”

What made you realize that you needed to save money? “I did end up in a few situations where I was actually incarcerated. I was in jail for a little while… nothing serious… just six months. After that I was like… I just need to focus on my art.”

What is your biggest challenge right now? “That’s kind of a tough one because I mean it’s like, right now, I feel like the path has cleared up a lot. So, I guess staying focused… because there’s always things that are just popping up and trying to take you off your task. Yeah, just staying focused that’s basically number one.”

Technical Notes: It was a clear, sunny day, so I positioned Jay in a shaded area facing the bright street. I used a reflector to light up his face.

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Stranger 81/100 – Quamekia

Posted on April 27, 2018 | Leave a comment

100 Strangers - QuamekiaStranger 81/100 – Quamekia

“Be careful with me.”

Meet Quamekia.

What advice would you give to your younger self? “Oh my god! The advice I would give to my younger self is to stay out of trouble. Because, once you get into it, it’s very hard for people to look at you differently.”

What is your biggest challenge right now? “My biggest challenge is, as a Leo, we’re emotional people and, when it’s driven for a positive thing, it’s a really great thing. But, when we’re angry, it’s a really bad thing.”

It’s a double-edged sword…. “Right, we run off of emotion, and typically it’s never good to run off emotions. My biggest challenge is where I’m investing my energy into whether it’s positive or negative. I’m challenged with that because I’m an emotional person, so my heart is always giving, my heart is always pure, but other people’s aren’t.”

Where do you want to be in five or ten years? “PTA president of my kids school. Working a job that isn’t so strenuous on me. Always having dinner done by 6pm… no later than that. In a nice house with really, really green grass and a lot of yard so my kids can play safely. And a better grip on how I invest my emotions.”

If you could put a billboard up in Charlotte, what would it say? “Be careful with me. {laughs} Have you ever listened to the new Cardi B track ‘Be Careful’? That is what I would say if I had the opportunity to put a billboard up for myself.”

How would your friends describe you? “Fierce. Strong.”

Technical Notes: We were under a shady tree in front of a church. I used a small reflector to light up Quamekia’s face.

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