Finally, the state of emergency is slowly being lifted in Japan and we are able to get out and interact with people more. It's been a long time since I have added any photos to this challenge.
I was waiting for the sunset at a viewpoint above eastern Kyoto when an animated group of friends arrived. They asked if I could take their group photo which of course I agreed.
They were an lively bunch made up of what the Japanese refer to as "harufu" (half). They also referred to themselves this way and it means they are of mixed blood. This term is not used in a derogatory way, rather just to refer to people who are not ethnically Japanese. Reeves is half Philippine and half Japanese, her friends were similar mixes of Thai/Japanese and Philippine/Japanese, and European/Japanese.
They were all residents of Kyoto although it wasn't clear exactly what they did so I didn't push the question. They were very talkative, friendly, and in high spirits.
After I had finished taking their photos I asked if perhaps I could photograph one of them for a project (they were all good looking) Reeves was volunteered and they jokingly said 'she's the model'
The sun was setting so I turned her to face the light. I quickly adjusted my camera to a shallowish f2.5 but I knew the background would disappear due to the bright sunlight on her face. I took just 5 shots. I showed her the photos and she asked if I could send one to her Instagram account, which I did. It turns out she actually was an amateur model!
Thanks for taking part in the project, it was fun!
This picture is my 24th submission in the 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
www.flickr.com/groups/100strangers/
This is also my 24th submission to the Human Family Group, which can be found here:
www.flickr.com/groups/thehumanfamily/ 