Hopedale Harry

I can't say I knew Harry well or even knew him at all. We only had one meeting back in January 2015 when I came across him downtown. I had been out doing my street portraits and as he approached I knew I had to ask him if I could take his portrait; such character in that face and such an amazing smile. I took several portraits of him and our meeting lasted only a few minutes. I offered to give him a small print as I usually do but he declined. I think he refused because he thought he might be putting me out. Such a kind and gentle fellow he was!

Like I said I hardly knew him so I will let others use their voice...

"We were looking for him Christmas this year, but didn't see him. We would bring him soup and Coffee (large with 4 cream and 6 sugar!!) He looked for the bread in the bag so he could feed the pigeons. He told us the names of those birds and he had a favourite one too. We always called him Hopedale Harry. Sweet gentle man. RIP Hopedale Harry xo" - Kim Kelly

"Many many moons ago my grandparents found this young boy outside their shop. They took this boy in and raised him as one of their own. His name was Harry. Harry was my grandfathers sidekick, my other cousin, and a very familiar face downtown. His smile will be greatly missed but I’m sure Pop is happy to see it again". - Miranda Squires

"I always spoke to him at Tim Hortons on Harvey Rd. He was always smiling and always stopped in there for his coffee, even the staff there knew him well. He will be sadly missed". - Jennifer Gail Peddle

"I knew Harry as a patient for many years. Never was there a less demanding, more pleasant man. He was always working at something. His life with the Squires was so happy and he truly belonged. He never looked any different over the years so it’s a shock to learn he’s gone from us. I hope his last years were happy and knowing the Squires family, I suspect they were. RIP.....a true gent" - Dr Steve Walker .

"my oh my...i remember many years ago Harry and another fellow made the news. There was a purse snatching from an old lady. Harry and the other fellow chased the guy down and got the ladies purse back...i could be mistaken but i think they held the bad guy until police got there". - Mary Taylor

"What Mike and Bel did for this man is indescribable. He was their son.Certainly treated as such.To all the SQUIRES family especially Ms.Isabel .I send thoughts ,prayers and much love.Your family has shown that it isn't always blood,but certainly is kindness, patience and love that is family. Rest peacefully Harry.God Bless.Deb XOXO" - Deborah Tapper

"Harry was always considered to be all of the Squires’s oldest cousin.  As I said, I knew Harry over 35 years. It is unbelievable how many hearts Harry touched.  You shared the picture you took of Harry a few weeks ago. Since then I’ve been following your photos on Facebook. You are doing an awesome job.  Take Care"! - Alison MacKenzie

"It was the first business day after New Year's and I was at the bottle depot. Bad idea because it was so busy on account of the holidays and Harry was in line ahead of me. His demeanor and sense of humor about everything was so pleasant that I found myself just watching him the whole time and not even worrying about getting out of the noisy smelly place. Here I am calling myself an "entertainer" and this guy does it without even trying! May he rest in peace". - Gary Mills

RIP Harry.

You can see more of my street portraits on my Chasing the Light Fantastic website.

Sister Golden Hair Surprise

When I started doing my street photography downtown St John's 11 years ago not surprisingly I had some idea of what I was and wasn't going to do. One of the things I wasn't going to do was take portraits of young women. The point was that every photographer in the world takes photos of young women, I have too. That's where the beauty is after all, isn't it? Also there was the creep factor. As an older man I didn't want to ask a strange young women for fear they might take it wrong and feel frightened or threatened. But it was mostly that I wanted my focus to be different. And besides I'm bored and tired of the same old stuff over and over again! To put it rather politely I was going for character.

But one day that all changed...

I was downtown casually strolling around and every now and again I would stop, perhaps leaning up against a building resting and along came a young woman. She looked removed, you might say troubled and unhappy. As she came my way I fumbled with my camera a bit (I do this so people will see the camera and maybe get an idea what I'm up to) and as she approached I asked her: "excuse me I'm doing some street photography would you mind if I take your portrait"? By the time we finished our little session which lasted just 2 or 3 minutes she was lit up like a christmas tree.

Showing a little interest in someone; giving them a minute of your time can mean a lot to some people. Seeing this transformation meant a lot to me too. This little meeting made us both feel better and it made us both smile.  I've photographed many dozens of young women downtown since then. I'm always cautious about it but as you can see from the photos here they enjoyed it very much. And I did too!

Thanks for stopping by and please let me know what you think.


You can see the portraits of these young women and many more people on my Chasing the Light Fantastic website.