People I Met Along The Way

This young lady was serving at an Adelaide restaurant where I was dining with a lady friend. She was very friendly and outgoing and remarked upon the fact that I was using an old Nikon lens (a Nikkor 55mm f1.2 pre AI) on my Sony digital camera. She did not express it quite in these terms but she recognize the vintage nature of the lens and we stopped to chat about both it and the ways of the world (remarkable perhaps for one so young - though I have to confess I get into more conversations with young women than anyone else about vintage camera gear - and it's not me starting the conversations.) Perhaps they enjoy having a easy topic to converse about and are looking for someone to connect with. Naturally I of course I took a photo of her with the lens which I must say has most of the characteristics I look for in vintage lenses when it comes to portraits and street photos.

Restaurant Scene by Life in Shadows, on Flickr
 
This interaction was relatively short but meaningful and the friendliness of the people there was and is obvious. The event was an opening feast for a new Indian restaurant and the people were keen for me to join them though I was just someone, a stranger in the street taking a photo. A couple of people came to speak to me and ask me to join them and we chatted about the new venture. I had just eaten and felt unable to eat further, sadly.

I was very pleased with the image BTW - particularly the obvious bonhomie in their manner and the way the window reflections merged seamlessly with the subjects. Especially the woman in the white dress reflected from across the street.

Indian Restaurant with Reflections. by Life in Shadows, on Flickr
 
This gent is a Monk (Chief Monk if my memory is correct) of a local Thai Buddhist temple in the Hills above Adelaide. I visited there with a friend (herself Thai) on a day set aside for the women of the local Thai community to bring meals for the Monks and then partake in a communal meal. There was limited chance to interact much with the Monks but we exchanged a few pleasantries and had a very enjoyable day with them a group of community members with whom we shared an excellent meal.

Life as a Monk by Life in Shadows, on Flickr
 
Who remembers Marvin Tanner? He used to sell Rolex watches, Leicas, and all sorts of other stuff at flea markets and camera shows. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of equipment, and he was a tough wheeler dealer. This photo is from a NYC flea market in the 1970's. I heard he moved to Australia but I never saw him again. There were a lot of characters in those days. These people these days are wishy washy pale imitators.

I learned a lot from him and bought some great stuff, some of which I still have today.

marvin_tanner.jpg
 
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