Persistence

Zanzibari Woman

She was sitting there with some of her younger familiy members. She was the oldest person I'd seen all day. Her blue eyes jumped out at me but I passed by smiling but assuming she'd never want to be photographed. I walked about twenty five yards and then turned around. I couldn't let her go without trying. I slowly returned and sat across from her. I made my best attempt to ask if she'd be willing to pose. Her grandson translated and she responded with an emphatic no.

Just then her son emerged from another alley wearing a G-Unit shirt and a baseball hat. He told me that the woman was his mother and I asked again if she wouldn't mind if I made her portrait. He ended up being more persuasive as she soon agreed to let me do my thing. When I was done, she enjoyed looking at the shots on the camera and her son ended up making a shot of the us both sitting there.

It was a nice moment of photographic diplomacy.

Make pictures.