The London Stranger

I have less than a year (37 weeks, to be precise) left in London until my visa expires. With an acute sense of how time really does fly when you're having fun, I have decided to embark on a photographic project to document my stay here. The London Stranger is my tale of the city and its inhabitants. 

Growing up in a small town in New Zealand where everyone really does know everyone, I moved to London where everyone knows no one. It's that 'feeling of being anonymous in a city I've never been before' that defines London. It's that feeling that has come to define my own work.

The infamous daily commute was the starting point for The London Stranger. A tube journey is not a tube journey unless a stranger invades your personal space and you theirs. Muffling my awkward laughter into the armpit of a businessman on the District Line, I could not quite believe that people were prepared to endure this discomfort on their way to work and back again. Even though my face buried in a financier's armpit now seems perfectly normal, it remains an odd thought that you can be so close to a stranger without knowing them personally in any way.

I want to find out about these strangers I come into close contact with every day. Where are they going? Where have they come from? Monday to Friday I photograph beautiful models in equally beautiful clothes for the Net-A-Porter Group, who are comfortable in front of the camera, who know exactly how to pose and present themselves. With The London Stranger I aim to challenge my photographic practices. I want to approach the stranger on the street, and convince them to let me take their portrait. This project is as much about my people skills as it is about my photography know-how.

London Strangers, in my opinion, are truely unique, diverse individuals. Different cultures, different fashions, different backgrounds, all within one city. Here, one can express themselves as they wish because nobody cares, not really. This is what I hope to capture in these remaining 37 weeks. Londoners are after all, alone, surrounded by strangers. 

   
Stranger #1 - Lloyd

I was on my way to Putney Bridge Underground when I walked straight toward Lloyd. He wore a denim jacket accompanied with a walking stick and hat. I had to fight my nerves and prance at this opportunity, he was a stranger I wanted to get to know and photograph. Awkwardly I approached him and asked if he would like to be apart of my project, he accepted, and suggested we walk together toward the sun. I asked what he had planned for his day and he told me he was headed home to fix his piano chair. Of course he played the piano! Conversation flowed steadily while I adjusted my camera settings; I felt I had to work quickly as bystanders were starting to stare and I didn’t want Lloyd to feel uncomfortable. After a few shots I gave him my card and carried on with my day as usual. I was stoked! Thanks Lloyd for being my first stranger and for giving me the confidence to find my next.