#5 A lady with a cup of coffee in hand

I saw her on King's Road among her friends holding her cup of coffee. I really liked her natural look and gregarious nature. She seemed the life and soul of the party. She agreed to pose for me but unlike most subjects she didn't stand there quietly waiting for me to direct her. She started making conversation. 'Why do you do this?', she asked. 'For fun.', I answered. 

Whatever you may think, spending my Saturday afternoons with a bunch of guys wandering the streets of London is proving quite an enjoyable activity. I have tried many things photographywise since taking it up four years ago. I completed two years of self-portraits, I have participated in and organised photowalks to discover the world around me, I have walked the streets of London and tracked gorillas in Uganda, I have attended and organised strobist shoots, I've worked with models and still life all in pursuit of photographic happiness. I've spent the last couple of years trying to figure out my style and my photographic 'thing' and I am slowly beginning to feel that I have found it. I love the hunt, I take time to watch people and their manner. I get to meet some amazing characters with fascinating interests, personalities and looks. It simply feels right.

#2 Sir Alex Ferguson lookalike

That's probably why he asked me if I was going to put his picture on Twitter. I spotted him sitting in a cafe with two other elderly gentlemen on King's Road, quite a well-off area of London. As soon as I saw him take out his pipe, I knew I wanted to shoot him. There's something special about portraits with smoke. He spoke in a very educated manner with upper-class accent. 'I take up photographic exercise myself in my spare time', he said.

B&W

Colour

How did it all get started? I've been doing photography for four years now and have always enjoyed shooting candids and city scenes. A few months back Emil posted an invite on London Strobists on flickr inviting people to join him to shoot street portraits and since I hadn't tried that before I thought I'd give it a go. We headed out to Portobello Market on Saturday, 12th February 2011 and that's how it all began. I enjoy the hunt. I enjoy watching people and going up to them with a smile asking them to pose for me. London is full of fascinating personalities waiting to be photographed.