What a glorious weekend for a photowalk, especially one that pushed us to break down barriers and approach strangers to learn their story and take their picture!
On Saturday and Sunday, more than 1,000 Flickr members in 35 cities from 20 countries set out to find interesting subjects as part of the Howdy Stranger! worldwide photowalks. Inspired by the amazing 100 Strangers group, the theme for this worldwide Flickr photowalk asked us to come out of our comfort zones and get close up and personal with the sea of humanity around us.
We’ve read dozens of accounts from photowalk participants expressing happiness and gratitude about the process. Marius Haffner of Bern, Switzerland, came across a peace rally for Kurdistan and snapped this beautiful portrait of a mother and daughter.
Explaining his process, Haffner said, “We searched for subjects to photograph but hesitated since it’s kind of weird for me as a shy Swiss to “intrude” into others’ privacy. I finally did, as you may see. My girlfriend talked to them while I took the pictures. It was a pretty quick action and they seemed satisfied with the result.”
Like many people who take the plunge with a stranger project, Haffner realized the first portrait is the hardest. “After this quick shooting it seemed way easier to talk to complete strangers and ask them to pose for us,” he said.
Tremayne Sirmons of Orlando, Florida, said that despite what many people think of him, he’s actually shy and has a difficult time starting conversations with new people.
“I am sort of shy and have a hard time meeting strangers. I have a tough time interacting because rejection is a huge issue for me,” he said. “This took me outside of my comfort zone, and even made me humble myself down to the level of a beggar. It was interesting and great. I plan to make this a regular thing.”
And then we were joined by stranger project pros like Sylvia Cananagh, one of the moderators of the 100 Strangers group and an amazing talent. Sylvia led a walk in Perth, Australia, where she created stunning portraits, like Gerlie above. Despite her long experience with strangers, even Sylvia admitted to some nerves on approaching her subject.
“No surprise that Gerlie is a professional model and I was a little nervous as she really is the most stunningly beautiful and poised young woman I have ever had the pleasure to photograph, and I didn’t want to take a bad shot,” Sylvia said.
Going forward, we hope that all the photowalk participants continue taking stranger portraits. We imagine you all have felt a bit of the Howdy Stranger! exhilaration and we can’t wait to see your continued work
Be sure to check out all the photos in the Flickr Photowalks group pool as people continue to upload their stranger portraits. Here are a few more of our favorites so far:
