Cream has a secret. A secret she did not reveal, but which I only realised for myself maybe a little later than I should have...

After my usual visit to the Ministry of Food this morning, I met up with blipper MrJohn and his friend, Mrs. P and mini P. In case you’re interested, the dish we made in class today was Baked White Fish with Olives and a Simple Tomato Sauce, with a side of Buttered Spinach and Best New Potatoes - delicious and healthy it was too.

We had a wander around the market as we normally do, with J getting a good set of street portraits. Although it seemed quieter than normal there were still a good mix of subjects around to photograph. For lunch we stopped off at a relatively new place in the indoor market - Fay’s Kitchen. It was advertised as authentic Thai/Chinese cuisine, and the portions were huge, but more importantly it was very tasty.

After lunch we had a walk though the indoor market again, stopping off at Freda’s stall (MrJohn got her portrait last week) where both J and I spotted a striking looking woman buying various goods at Freda’s place. I waited for her to complete her shopping and as she was leaving approached her for a portrait.

Cream was friendly and asked about the project, and I showed her some of my previous photos. I started taking some shots and noticed that she was moving after every click. A sign of someone who has some experience in modelling, and indeed it turned out that she had, in what capacity I don’t know. I disliked the light inside so asked her to accompany me outside where again she did her model thing ending with the pose you see before you.

In all honesty, I didn’t like many of the shots I took. The constant movement put me off, and I wasn’t prepared for it. Also, the ‘look' both J and I saw earlier, the candid way people look when they’re going about their everyday business was lost in the photos. It felt disappointing, but it also served a good study of how different people change in front of the lens.

When I got back to J, he was talking to another seller about photography and I waited for them to finish. Shortly after J asked me,

“You did realise she was a…?”
“Oh yes...I did eventually!” I replied.


Humans of Leeds