52Frames Portrait of a Stranger Photo Challenge

The subject this week for the weekly photo challenge was “portrait of a stranger.”  It can be a bit uncomfortable going up to people and asking to take their photograph. But we have found that most people oblige - after you tell them you belong to a photo challenge and smile a lot. And I only have my iPhone so I don’t look as professional as someone with a “real” camera. So we drove in to town and started out at the US Botanic Garden. There was a lovely attendant greeting us at the front door. And just inside the conservatory was a volunteer who had a stand set up. That subject was about chocolate with a chocolate tree growing behind him. It made for a great backdrop and he also had a prop. Then we walked over to the National Gallery of Art. After walking through the galleries we met a smiling young man at the front door on our way out. He was more than happy to pose for us. Because the mall was relatively quiet it’s a great time to visit some of the museums that are usually packed. So we next went to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. We walked past the dinosaurs towards the back end where there are scientists doing their work. After tapping on the glass I managed to coax one of the scientists to look up from his microscope and share a smile. I never know which image will garner the most attention. My husband liked the coffee man most and I usually post what he prefers. He’s not so much in to the photography but more in to if it brings out some sort of emotion. Whenever I finish this challenge it feels very satisfactory. Perhaps it’s the interaction. Maybe it’s the end result. People seem to like having their photo taken. And I enjoy taking them! 

Portrait Diversity

I didn’t know it at the time. Last week I needed to take photos of people I didn’t know for the weekly photo challenge. We knew we would have a lot of options on the National Mall. The idea of having to ask someone if you can take their photograph can be daunting - especially since we have been out of practice for a couple of years. So we parked at the Air and Space Museum and made our way around the mall starting at the Smithsonian gardens. Without even thinking about it - and after two flat out rejections - there were five really nice portraits of a very diverse group of people. There was a white guy gardener at the Smithsonian Gardens by the castle, an African American male and an African American female greeter at the National Gallery of Art east and west building, a Vietnamese male at his food truck in front of the Capitol, and another female white gardener at the US Botanic Garden talking about bees. It was actually a fun excursion and all of the people who participated were really animated and posed so nicely! I told them all I would also be posting their images on Instagram. So far the many comments I have received on my 52frames page this week have been so positive. I ended up selecting the truck vendor because his smile was simply contagious. Sometimes the subject matter for the weekly challenge is not very exciting. I really liked this one. 

52frames Portrait of a Stranger

This week’s photo challenge was actually fun, even though I was a bit apprehensive. Out of the seven people I approached, there were five enthusiastic yes responses and two flat out rejections. Since the subject this week was “portrait of a stranger” we thought that we would probably find something on the national mall. We got a great parking spot by the air and space museum, then headed to the Smithsonian gardens. We found a gardener who was watering plants and he graciously posed in front of a lovely display of greens. The next stop was the national gallery of art sculpture garden. The security guard didn’t want to have anything to do with it. As we were walking along constitution avenue we stopped by a street vendor. She didn’t want to have anything to do with it. I was feeling a bit rejected even though I tell everyone that I’m doing it for a photo challenge. Next stop was the national gallery of art where there are always greeters out front - how could they refuse? They didn’t - neither at the front entrance of the east nor west buildings. Then we walked over towards the Capitol and there was a wonderful Vietnamese gentleman with his food truck. He gave us the biggest smile and the background was so colorful and animated. It was perfect! The last stop was at the US Botanical Garden. One of the gardeners was out front talking about bees. She was a lovely subject too. It was very difficult to select the final portrait for the challenge because they all turned out so well! It was a fun and interactive challenge and my portraits represented all walks and colors of life. It was a lovely experience. I posted all of the images on Instagram and got a “like” from Smithsonian gardens. It seems people still like to have their photos taken - and I really enjoy taking them.