英国紳士と出逢ってみたら。

近所の公園で練習していると、見知らぬ外国人が、写真を撮っていいかと訊ねてきた。
公園で、ラッパ吹きと犬連れは、フォトジェニックならしい。これまでも何度か同じように訊ねられることがあったもの。

ひとつ気づいたけど、プロフェッショナルや、きちんとした人は、ちゃんとmay i take your picture?と訊いてくるが、素人は遠くからこっそりカメラを向けてくるのがわかるのよ。

公園でラッパを吹いていると「うるさいわ」とディスってくる人もいれば、好意的に話しかけてきたり、写真を撮りにきたり、人はいろいろですね。

もちろんOKと答えてコミュニケーションが始まった。彼はツーリストではなく、もう長らく大阪に住んでいる、子供たちも大阪にいるらしい。英国ケンブリッジからやってきて、写真事務所で働いていたというのだが、師匠は私も昔一緒に仕事をしてことのあるYさんの事務所だった。写真家の傍、英会話教室を開き、ピアノでブルースを楽しみ、猫が好き。うーむ。国は違えど、似たような趣味趣向の人がいるもんだね、と最後に年齢の話になって、ずいぶん年上だろうと思っていたら、同年生まれの2ヶ月お兄さんだった！

普段はコミュニケーション下手な私だけど、こういう出会いはいいものですね。写真をありがとう！

Google Translate for Ray

I met a British gentleman.

While I was practicing at a nearby park, a strange foreigner asked if he could take a photo with me.
It seems that the trumpeter and the dog in the park are very photogenic. I've been asked the same question many times before.

One thing I noticed is that professionals and decent people will ask you "may I take your picture?", but amateurs will secretly point the camera at you from a distance.

When I play a trumpet in the park, there are people who diss me and say, ``It's noisy,'' others who kindly talk to me, and others who come to take pictures with me.

Of course I said OK and communication began. He is not a tourist; he has lived in Osaka for a long time, and his children are also there. He came from Cambridge, England, and was working at a photography agency, and his mentor was Mr. Y, who I had worked with in the past. In addition to being a photographer, he runs an English conversation class, enjoys playing the blues on the piano, and loves cats. Hmm. Even though we're from different countries, there are people with similar hobbies and interests.At the end, we talked about age, and I thought he was much older than me, but it turned out he was two months older than me, having been born in the same year!
I'm usually bad at communicating, but encounters like this are great.

Thank you for the photos!