021

Emma



I met Emma at the beginning of this project and asked her if it would be OK if I took a couple of patient view shots. (I don't normally carry my camera with me to the dentist!) She's one of a new breed of kind and gentle dentists who have television sets on the ceilings and wireless headphones, all very civilised really.

She just had time to do the prepartory work for a new crown for yours truly, with thirty minutes to spare before hopping on a plane "beck to New Zilland" for a friends wedding.

020

Jess



Jess and Wade were buying olives for a bit of a Sunday afternoon bash. She didn't want to have her photo taken because she didn't have any make-up on, but after I told her it was her arm I was mostly interested in she happily obliged.

019

Lorraine



Lorraine spends her life travelling alone except for her lorikeet in a 4WD van decorated with an Australiana scene that matches her hair in a vague sort of way. She wanders from market to market selling stories of her adventures, opals, artwork, and anything else she can gather on her way.

She did tell me her itinerary for the next month or two, but I'd need the whole internet to write it down.

018

Dianne



Dianne spends her weekday on the market circuit, giving away incredibly tasty samples of popcorn, today with some urgency as the humidity was turning it sticky in no time flat.

We ended up buying a Lotus plant for our pond, so sadly the popcorn budget was blown this time.

017

Robin



Robin sells bling at the Fisherman's Road market. It wasn't a good day for her today as it was raining and she only had a beach umbrella for protection, so all she had on display was what she could wear.

Each bare finger is an indication of a ring being tried on by a customer.

When I asked if I could take her photo she warned me sternly that she breaks cameras. Mine seemed to relish the encounter, although the light through the blue canvas was a trial.

016

Kim



Kim, toasting my ham, cheese and tomato sandwich, unaware that this will be my first bought lunch of the year so she had to be right on her game! (It was perfect!)

I suppose this goes in the category of paying for a portrait!

015

Catherine



It's not what I meant when I said "say cheese" ladies!

Catherine looking suspiciously at the wierd guy trying to take her photo through the sandwich bar while she makes a coffee for a customer.

014

Nev



Well Nev wasn't that hard to photograph!

He was Ian's offsider (or vice-versa, I'm not sure) at Spin City Cycles of Mooloolaba and I interrupted his lunch. His shirt so matched the back wall I simply couldn't leave him out!

He had the same accent as Ian (or a very similar one), and while last week when I spoke to a bloke who sounded similar he told me "Caloundra", Nev fessed up and told me he was from the Midlands in England. He's been here seven months, and judging by his smile alone, I reckon he's doing OK!

013

Ian



f we come up with a rule that says we're not allowed to count people in shops, I think I'll quit!

Ian seems to be a lovely bloke and he certainly did a top job fixing my bike. He even had to use a special magic tool to fix the crank apparently, which certainly helped me overcome my embarrassment at having to get my bike fixed by someone else!

I didn't get to talk to him much as he was quite busy at the time, but I did tell him I'd happily recommend Spin City Cycles of Mooloolaba to the whole world!

Does his accent show in the pic?

012

Steven



I didn't ask Steven if his name was spelled with a "v" so I hope I got it right.

He was selling drums at the markets, and we swapped tuning details for obscure folk instruments for a time (I think I've got my first clue as to why I'm finding it hard to approach women!). He was tuning a guitar-like object made from a biscuit tin while we yakked, and I could have taken a dozen ripper shots if I'd been concentrating.

Another person I'm glad I've met.

011

Paul



Paul was making his Cigar Box sound as though Muddy Waters was in the room when I took this shot. I smiled as I watched him demonstrate with Fleur picking away quietly with rhythm harmonies in the background. It's amazing how a solo instrument comes to life when it has some accompaniment!

I have also noted that a third of my subjects thus far are wearing sunglasses. Realistically in our climate it's a wonder that there haven't been more, besides, it's a fact that one can't play blues with any conviction if one isn't wearing shades.

Some would argue that one's eyes are the windows to one's soul, and are therefore the most important part of a portrait. I beg to differ. I think it's nice to guess what lies beyond occasionally, a bit like taking pictures of people with their clothes on really.

Thorley Guitars

010

Fleur



Fleur and her partner Paul were demonstrating Paul's range of Delta Slide Guitars (Cigar Box Guitars) at the Eumundi markets. For reasons I can't explain she reminded me of a fiddle player I photographed (without introducing myself) a few years ago at a Folk gig in South Australia.

There's not much time for idle chatter when you are playing blues and selling at the same time, but I managed not to get them in the same shot so that I could claim two "scalps" for one "ask"!

009

Phil



I'd taken a photo of Phil's lights a week or so ago (without him seeing), and today he had made a sign declaring that this was to be his last day at the markets.

He and his wife are moving to Korea where he is taking up a university position, which seems about as far away as one can be from making paper lanterns and selling them at the markets on the Sunshine Coast, but it's a move home for her, and a bit of deja-vu for them.

008

Chris



Chris is on holiday from Kingscliff, a beautiful beach town in Northern NSW, (where we intend to camp in a couple of week's time). "It's the sort of thing you have to do when you live at the beach, go away to another beach to have a holiday, or you end up just doing odd jobs round the house and don't get a break".

That's what Chris told me, and I agree wholeheartedly!

007

Leigh



Leigh and his family were on holiday and enjoying a late evening game of beach cricket.

Technically it's a shocker, I really wanted the batsman/girl to be much more out of focus, but that would have meant getting intimidatingly close to her and I didn't want to put her off her game. This ball went for six!

I'm not sure whether this is a portrait or not, but I'm counting it!

006

Hilton



I found Hilton sitting in his car waiting for his wife to return from the shops. Black car, hot day and a lovely chat in the shade of a tree. I didn't ask him to remove his shades although I'm sure he would have, because it all so matched his car. Besides, he's got wrinkles from smiling and even his sunnies can't hide his true demeanour.

005

Rob



I was driving past the bowls club this afternoon and I saw Rob playing by himself, so I just had to stop. He said it was because it's the only way he could win, but I suspect there may be more than the odd trophy in the Pool Room cabinet at his house.

He was kind enough to ignore me while I flashed away. He would "switch off" between sentences and disappear into a zone of concentration while he got on with his job. He proceeded to bowl a couple of perfect bowls to show me that I hadn't put him off his game.

004

Tristan



Tristan was half way through his second day with Matt on the Esplanade raising funds for Surf Lifesaving, learning the ropes.

He has the blonde hair and deep tan that made him look like a kid who has spent every day of his life on the beach. When you live on the Coast, during holiday times no one ever asks "where are you from?",but rather; "are you a local?"

Yes, he assured me, he was, he came from Caloundra, but he did so in an accent which made me suspect that perhaps he may have spent some time elsewhere, despite his appearance! He had found his way to this side of the world from England with his family eighteen months ago, and apparently didn't it didn't take many of our blue sunny skies before the assimilation process was complete! Once again, the smile says it all.

003

Matt



Matt made it all too easy for me! He was selling tickets for the Surf Lifesavers Art Union on the Esplanade at Mooloolaba, and my wife stopped to buy a ticket from him. Before she could blink she'd spent enough to buy a car, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask..

He's one of those people who can make you feel better just by walking past him and he didn't even have to smile for the photo, because his smile is permanent and infectious.

I reckon he's got a big future as his sales career develops. Put it this way, if you know an (insert politically correct name for Eskimo here), and you want to sell him some ice, Matt will be the bloke for you!

002

Ray

001

Rob and Dane



My first "strangers" are a cheat I'm afraid. Dane is the baker who supplies my Saturday morning pastry, and just before Christmas I asked if I could photograph some of his Gingerbread Houses for my Sunshine Coast Daily Photo Blog. As it turns out, his father Rob had been giving him a hand overnight and Rob proceeded to tell me with no small amount of pride, of the family's baking traditions stemming generations ago from his roots in Holland.

He asked ME to take some photos so he could send them "home", and one of this series will end up framed in the shop along with the family baking history.

I didn't ask them, but at least it got me started!