I went walkabout into town at around midday a couple of weeks ago and came across this guy, Olly, who is from Germany and of no fixed abode.

He was sitting in the street with his faithful dog and despite his predicament he was bright, cheerful and easy to get along with.

I asked him if it would be ok to take a couple of pictures and he was fine with that so I set to work.   

As I said, it was midday and rather grey and cloudy so, consequently, very flat lighting. I took a couple of test shots to get the exposure but the look wasn’t quite right – boring might be the best way to describe it!

I wanted a more dramatic effect than the overcast sky was giving me, so I set the camera to manual, underexposed a bit and lit him with an off-camera flash on a VAL – ie. my girlfriend! The result was a much more ‘punchy’ image, which was just right for him, I think.

It’s amazing who you meet when you’re out and about with your camera, it certainly adds another dimension to your point of view. I thanked him, wished him luck and left some money in his dog’s bowl.