#8 Natalya

I met Natalya on my worst rejection day ever. Yes, it was worse than that Friday with Sosij I talked about yesterday. Some days are brilliant for street photography and others not so much. Some days you won't be able to find anyone who catches your eye, some days almost everyone will say 'no' to you and rush past you and some days all the people you meet will enthusiastically accept your offer. I met Natalya on one of the 'no' days. We kept walking up and down Portobello Market. The place was heaving with people and yet I couldn't see anyone who would grab my attention. Every now and again someone would give me a glimpse of hope that I have found just the kind of personality I'd like to shoot but then they'd say 'no' and walk away. We ended up standing by this red wall sharing our admiration for it as the perfect background (yup! photographers have some exciting conversations at times) when I saw Natalya walk towards us with that touch of swagger that shows confidence but not yet arrogance. I was happy as hell when she agreed to have her photo taken. When she emailed me to ask for her photo, she described herself as ' that Eurasian chic'. It made me smile, not sure why. It just did.

You'll find that most people will say 'yes' if you stop them when they are not in a rush or they are heading on the night out well-dressed feeling good about themselves. The perfect place to start looking for your first stranger is at your local market or park where people tend to stroll around in a leisurely manner. Busy high streets especially on a Saturday afternoon are not the best of place to look for a stranger to stop. Too many people rushing to do their shopping, families juggling bags, children and their toys. If someone's on the phone or in a rush, the chances are, they won't be in the mood to stop. However, asking doesn't cost anything.

I'm off to Brick Lane today to hopefully beat the rejection blues. Wish me luck!