Juan in living color

Juan is the stranger I approached today as part of the worldwide black & white photography portrait project.

I had intended to walk along the Coney Island boardwalk to find my subject, but as I approached the ramp, this young man appeared and offered a shy smile and before I knew what i was saying, I asked him if it would be ok to take his photograph for a project. He made it so easy for me! He asked about the project ("What is the agenda?" he queried) and I explained a little about Blip et al.

He was even willing to let me take"practice" shots with my regular camera. He said he would be willing to pose, or not. "Go ahead and do your thing," he encouraged. He explained that he feels totally at home here at the beach.

Juan works (perhaps not consistently) as a chef and feels confident as a "artist with food" (his words) having learned everything from his Puerto Rican grandmother who still lives somewhere near where we were standing.

So here he is. Full of life. I hope the black and white portrait in the shared camera will show some of his spirit. More about how the project is unfolding When You're A Stranger

Although I frequently take pictures of people I don't know, this time I felt a lot more pressure. For one thing, I don't usually worry about "throwaway" shots but this time I knew that I could only take ONE photograph with the Ilford b&w camera and then I would have to pass it on. And I don't usually head out with an intention to shoot a portrait - sometimes it just happens, spontaneously -- but it certainly is a different feeling to plan it!

I posted a few more of the photos from the day here

And here is a bit more about the project from Blip Central Cameras on Tour