This brilliant set of photos have been taken from a Flickr collection by Michael Knight, who grew up in Cwmbran but now teaches English at a university in Saudi Arabia. After spotting them I emailed Michael and he was really helpful. He was in the UK during August and September when he started and finished his 100 Strangers project.
Take 100 photographs of at least 100 people you don’t know. Approach a person or group of people and ask for permission to both take a photo of them and to post it to the flickr 100 Strangers group. Get to know your subjects. Who are they? What is their life like?
Try to tell a small story with each photo you take. This may be a story about the person or how you felt approaching that particular individual. You may have, for example, tried a new approach or used a new photographic technique. Try to learn something from every encounter you make.
The ones featured here were all taken in Cwmbran town centre.
If you know anyone in these photos please share the link so they can see their photo. He also took photos in Cardiff, Caerleon and Newport so if you are from those areas have a look at the full set by clicking here.
Every photo has a description about how and where Michael approached them to ask for a portrait. Simply click on any photo and you will be taken through to the Flick page and extra information.
NOTE- The rest of the Cwmbran pics in this post are from Michael’s People in Cwmbran collection
Michael said:
“I was brought up in Cwmbran. My mother and father moved there when I was about three and I lived there until I left home as a young adult to study in the London area. My mother and father still live there and whenever I’m in the UK I stay with them. I currently live in Saudi Arabia, where I teach English at a university for a living.
“I’ve been interested in photography on and off ever since my parents bought me my first SLR camera as a birthday present when I was in my teens in the 1970s. I bought my first DSLR camera, the one I use now, the Nikon D90, in June 2010. In the summer of 2010 I took candid photos of people from a distance using a telephoto lens in Cwmbran, Newport and London.
“I actually got into ‘trouble’ in Cwmbran town centre. A security guard wanted to know what I was up to. You can find a picture of him, which I took very shortly before he approached me, in my Flickr photostream. When I was in Britain this summer for two weeks I decided that I would brave doing the 100 Strangers project, which, of course, meant approaching strangers and asking them If I can take their picture. I was reluctant to do this in Cwmbran and so not many of my stranger photos were taken there.
“Next time I’m in Britain, which will probably be next summer, although it could be before then, I intend to take more stranger photos. Perhaps I should brave approaching more people in Cwmbran next time. What were people generally like when I approached them? I was surprised how many people agreed to have their picture taken. Of course, some people refused, and some people refused in such a way that I felt as if I’d proposed something indecent to them. I suppose one has to become insensitive in order to approach strangers in the street.
“It would be great if some of the people I photographed ended up seeing their pictures as a result of you showing them in your blog. It would also be great if it were to make people in Cwmbran more amenable to being photographed by me.
“I’m old enough to feel uncomfortable when people ask me my age. I was born in 1962. That’s a bit easier than saying I’m nearly fifty. I don’t see myself as an old person.
“I was brought up in the Ty-Coch area. I went to Llantarnam comprehensive school.”
