100 Strangers

I really had no intention of taking a portrait on this occasion but then... We were having breakfast at the Noosa beachfront restaurant Bistro C. Morgan organised our coffees and I noticed his foreign accent. I took a few photos of the view of the boardwalk and beach on this brilliant day. One of the photos included a back view of Morgan looking out to sea. Later, when we were about to leave I asked if I could take his photo and explained the 100 Strangers project. He was OK with that. Morgan told me that he is from Toulouse in the South of France and has been in Australia for 1 year 3 months and in Noosa for a couple of months. He has been travelling around Australia, working as a waiter, starting in Freemantle in Western Australia. He has been up to Broome and recently was in Bondi Beach in Sydney. He plans to return home to France later in the year for a friend's wedding. We exchanged details and I said I would send on the photos and links. I hope you enjoy the rest of your time in Australia, Morgan, and many thanks. It was a pleasure to meet you. I took four photographs, all with the flash in the restaurant interior. Morgan is quite tall so I was looking up at him. I chose a crop of a photo with Morgan looking at the camera as the main photo, and the photo of the beach is also included. This portrait is #10 in my 100 strangers project.

I was wandering around the Eumundi Markets looking for interesting scenes for the 365 colours photo project when I spotted Jenni’s Market stall. I asked Jenni if she would mind posing for a photo and she agreed. I explained the 100 Strangers project and we discussed the fact that it had photos of people from all over the world. She was happy with that, but didn’t want to have too much information on the Internet. Jenni has been coming to the Eumundi Markets for the last 15 years with her range of stylish clothing which is manufactured locally on the Gold Coast in Queensland. She has a team of people who do the sewing for her. She was born on the Gold Coast and has lived overseas in both Spain and England. Many thanks Jenni, for participating, it was great to meet you. I took two photographs, the second with the flash. I liked the soft light in the first one, which is cropped as the main photo. The original and other photo are in the comments. This portrait is #11 in my 100 strangers project. Eumundi, Queensland, Australia

I was taking photos of a White Heron on the jetty at Chaplin Park when the fisherman there said I could get closer to it as it was a bait thief so pretty tame. I took a few more photos and a back view of Daryn fishing and then wandered off with the dogs. I then thought of going back to take a closer portrait of Daryn and the bird. I explained the 100 Strangers project and where he could find the photos. He said he comes down here regularly at the weekends to fish, before the footy. Daryn is a local, having lived all his life in the area, living in Tewantin. During the week he works on pipelines. Many thanks Daryn for participating, it was lovely to meet you. I took a couple of photos with the zoom lens and a couple with the standard lens, all in very strong sunlight at the end of the jetty so Daryn’s face was in shadow. An atmospheric portrait of a ‘Weekend Fisherman’. As a bonus, you can see the reflection in Daryn’s sunglasses of me taking the photo with our Border Collie, Sooki, and the long jetty :-) The main photo is cropped. This is portrait 12 in my 100 strangers project. Chaplin Park, Noosa River, Queensland.

We joined the Brisbane CityCat at the Apollo Ferry point in Bulimba. It was a grey, overcast day in contrast to our last trip on Monday, when it was spectacularly blue. Still, there were images to capture. Our host on the Ferry, Pat, welcomed us in a friendly fashion and when she noticed me taking photos, she asked where we were going and gave me a brochure explaining the routes. Later, just before we were about to disembark at South Bank, I asked Pat if she would mind haviing her photo taken, and explained the 100 Strangers project. She was happy to oblige and gave me her email address so that I could send on the photos and links. Pat has been in Brisbane for 2 years, having previously lived in Mackay in Northern Queensland. She loves her job on the Ferries. We hopped off and joined another ferry later for the rest of our trip to St Lucia and back. Many thanks Pat, it was a pleasure to meet you. I took two photos, one with flash and one without. I selected the second one, without the flash, as the main photo. This is the 13th portrait in my 100 Strangers project. Brisbane River, Queensland.

I went to the RSPCA Noosa Shelter on Wednesday hoping to photograph a cat for the feline topic in the project 113 photos in 2013. Michelle kindly assisted me in taking photos of a handsome cat called Dave. She then suggested we could go to the outside pen and try some photos of Panda. I went inside but Panda was very friendly, and continuously on the move. I asked Michelle if she could hold him. She obliged and asked what the project was about. I explained it and also mentioned the 100 Strangers project and asked if she would mind having her photo on the Internet She laughed and said yes as she hadn't told me her name at that stage, so was still a stranger. It was kind of her to help as they were very busy. I asked a few questions. MIchelle said that she lived locally and had worked at the shelter for the last 7 and a half years and loved the job. She added that she couldn't do it without the help of the volunteers. She told me that there are 4 paid staff and 50 volunteers and they operate 7 days a week. The manager has worked there for 20 years. Thanks very much Michelle for participating. It was lovely to meet you. What a great job the RSPCA does. This is the 17th portrait in my 100 Strangers project. Archive Airings AA34 Cats

Queensland, Australia.

I went to photograph a horse and also met his owner, Brigette. She was about to take her two dogs Charlie and Bronte for a walk. I asked if it was OK to take a photo of her horse explaining that it was for a project where this month’s colour is Chocolate Brown. I also mentioned the 100 Strangers project and asked if I could take a photo of her as well. Brigette was a little hesitant but agreed, saying she doesn’t really like having her photo taken. I said it could be a little distant. We chatted for a while and Brigette mentioned that she and her husband used to have a smallholding in the UK, so now have a similar property here in Australia. Also they came to Australia on a Business Visa so had to buy a local Business. They are planning to relocate closer to the beach as their two teenage children spend most of their time at the coast. Also her husband finds the work on the acreage too time consuming when there is so much on offer in the Noosa area. Brigette says it will be hard to leave the property as she loves it so much. She loves the countryside and everything about it, including walking and the animals, one of which is Henry, their horse (pic in comments). She loves Noosa but is still homesick for the UK. Thanks so much Brigette, it was a pleasure to meet you, and good luck with your move. I was taking the Canon USM EF28-135 lens for an outing. It tends to be a bit soft. The sunlight was very bright and this kind of shot makes me realise I have a lot to learn, although I do like the result. This is the 19th portrait in my 100 Strangers project. Noosa Hinterland, Queensland

Tree roots were pushing up our driveway which was badly cracked. Adam was the man for the job. Hailing from Yandina, he and his brothers all worked in the family business and Adam branched out a few years ago to run his own concreting business. He said that there is plenty of demand, and that he has been working six days a week recently. To fit us in he did the concreting on Saturday morning, bringing along his young son, who helped out :-) He was happy to be on the Internet. Thanks Adam, it was great to meet you. I have learned a little. I asked Adam to move out of the direct sun so the light was good. I find I tend to use Program AE, as you don't have the luxury of set up time in these situations. Adam's portrait is the 20th in my 100 Strangers project... Noosa Hinterland, Queensland.

I was taking a photo of the Hey Bill refreshments trailers on Noosa Boardwalk when Bill waved to me. I went over and took a photo of him, and asked if he would like to be on the Internet. He said he had been on the Internet a few times. I mentioned my 100 strangers project and Bill said I should take a photo of his two friends there. One of them, Angie, said she had a story about Bill. In the 70s he was already involved in Noosa tourism by helping to keep the beaches clean, and she knew this because she had helped him at the time. Later he started selling oranges to locals and visitors. Hey Bill is a Noosa icon, having worked on the Noosa beaches for over 40 years. He now has a quad bike with two trailers offering Coffee, Spring Water, Drinks and All Things Nice. He says come on over any time and say 'Hey'. Many thanks Bill, it was a pleasure to meet you and your friends :-) You can read more about Hey Bill in this 2009 article.. www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/hey-bill-still-part-pa... You can see Bill's trailers reflected in his sunglasses :-) Stranger 21 (2013)