In a rut

It's frustrating, but I haven't made a lot of progress these past few weeks. Partly because I've had other things to do in the spare time I'd have had to dedicate to stranger-spotting, but also because stress has got to me and at the end of a day at work (lots of talking and multitasking) the last thing I feel like doing is more talking.

I really need a holiday. Am going to France soon, hopefully I can use my somewhat rusty French to convince some natives to participate in the project, that should be interesting!

Another thing that I feel limits me is my gear; I've always tried to make the most of what I have, and I think I'm doing quite well considering I have a really old and not particularly professional camera, but often I feel that the light is not bright enough for a good quality shot - and don't think darkness, think anything that needs ISO at or above 400... not just for the stranger project but for everything else. I was doing a shoot the other day and it was made very difficult by a dark and cloudy sky plus a model moving quite fast, so I needed a high shutter speed, requiring a higher ISO. Needless to say it didn't go well and I had a lot of editing to do to make the shots halfway presentable. It was frustrating and disappointing. I have my sights set on the 5D Mark II but it's still going for over 1000 quid which is really not in my price range for now unless people start paying me for every shoot I do - but to get people to pay I need to produce high quality photos, meaning I need a better camera... catch 22. I buy scratchcards sometimes, you never know ;)

Back on track - recent thoughts

It's been a while since I posted here, which I'm annoyed about because there've been a lot of things I've wanted to write, just never got around to it. I didn't take any photos for almost a whole month I got so busy with work and pre-arranged shoots+editing... but then bagged two in one day last week, so I'm back on track. What annoyed me even more than not blogging though was my lack of a camera precisely when I saw super-interesting people! I therefore decided to lug my camera with me to work every day, which of course meant I didn't see anyone I wanted to photograph. Sod's Law eh. I won't give up - I've ordered a DSLR cosy thing, which will protect the poor thing from my keys and other random items in my typical woman's handbag, so I won't have to keep wrapping it snugly in a scarf, increasing the 'camera whip out time' which is often crucial to do in time if you see a quick-footed stranger.

I had an interesting discussion on Flickr with a fellow 100 strangerist (I just made that word up) about how he also has far more success photographing women than men; he estimated his rejection rate with men to be over 50% which to be fair is not exactly encouraging for me. I think I'll really have to work on having the courage to ask men too, if I see any potential subjects! I'm still drawn to redheads too, but they feel strangely difficult to approach (I keep finding excuses: she's walking too fast, is probably in a hurry; she's with 3 other people; etc). It's like when the only guy you avoid talking to at school is the one you fancy, because his rejection would hurt the most (wow. I really don't miss my school days come to think of it).

On another note, I got my second rejection today for the project. Not bad considering I've had 21 yeses. She was a very nice street performer dressed in vintage garb (in case I haven't mentioned this before, I LOVE vintage) and at first agreed to a photo without hesitation. Then as I raised my camera I started to tell her about the project, and that was when she declined. She was nice about it, said she didn't want her photo taken for something she "doesn't know about". I offered to show her examples of my work on my phone, and jokingly told her I'm not some dodgy person, but I suppose she might have had bad experiences or is simply cautious, what with her style I bet lots of people notice her, possibly dodgy ones too. I didn't push it further, she was quite apologetic so I wanted her to have a positive memory of me, but I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't press her a little bit more, telling her more about what this project is about and what a considerable following it has on Flickr. But selling anything - including myself - is one of my weakest points; I easily take no for an answer. I think I could work on this a little, for my own sake - selling myself will be key if I ever want to network and actually start charging for my services at some point (in a future far far away, but I don't want to rule it out).
Hey, that statement right there sounds like I'm not selling myself. OK, not in a future far far away! I've seen worse togs than me charge for work so it can be done I'm sure.