Heidi - Valláis-Wallis, Switzerland

Camera Nineteen

"With one day to go left in Switzerland, I had to get my act together. I decided to spend the morning scouting for a candidate in the main street in Zermatt. It certainly was not easy, as I wanted to find a stranger with visible character.

I saw a few in the wrong places, some I didn’t dare to ask, until suddenly I spotted a lovely lady sitting on a bench.

I mobilized some courage and a bit of charm and went over asking if she spoke English. YES!!!

Then I tried to explain what I wanted and what the project was about. I was unbelievably clumsy, but she said YES!!!

I made her talk and I took the single picture (knowing extremely well that I should not wind the camera ready for the next shot), then I instantly wound the camera ready for the next shot. Certain movements are just so well ingrained, despite not have shot with a film camera for “decades”.



I liked to find out that my stranger shot in Switzerland was genuinely Swiss. She is a retired schoolteacher from Basel, and she asked me if there would be opportunities for a second career as a model after appearing in this project. I’d say YES!

So, finally, what is the perfect name for a Swiss stranger shot in the Swiss Alps?



HEIDI (true story)"

Stranger by: SteinJ