“Close Encounters of Photographic Kind”

International Women's Day March
“Close Encounters of Photographic Kind”

On March 8, I went with my friend Alfredo to take photos at the march for International Women's Day, on Avenida 18 de Julio. We met in a bar near one of the points of the call, to have a coffee and chat about street photography, while the time for the march approached.

While waiting for my friend, I had my first close encounter.

I saw two identical old ladies drinking coffee at the table in the corner. I had an irresistible urge to photograph them, so I asked permission to sit with them, and I told them so.
One of them, quite reticent, said that the waiter had just taken a photo of them.
"But I didn't take any of them and I'd love to," I told them and added that I was a retired doctor, passionate about street photography, who had lived in the neighbourhood, and that my parents had lived near there and I mentioned the name of the building.
"That's where we live," one of them told me, with whom I continued the conversation cheerfully and she agreed to be photographed.
I asked them if they were related because I saw them as identical, and she told me that they are sisters, but I don't know if they are twins. I didn't want to insist on that and I took the photo of her taking advantage of the reflection in the mirror, where you can see that the sister had chosen to look to her side, but she wasn't upset.
I showed them the photos that they liked, we said goodbye kindly and then they quickly went home, because they didn't want the march to complicate crossing the avenue.
Then Alfredo arrived and while we were talking, a young woman came in with a "mate and thermos" under her arm, which contrasted with her foreign appearance, and even more so when she ordered a quince tart to accompany the mate.
She was my second close encounter.
Since I wanted to take a picture of her, I went up to her table to ask her permission and it turns out that it was Jana, a young German woman who works in tourism and who was on vacation in Uruguay. She told me that she liked the country a lot and when I asked him about the mate, which she had very well prepared and that she fed it very well, she told me that, since everyone carried the mate and thermos under their arms, she wanted to try it and do the same as the others. the rest.
She wasn't too convinced when she told me that she liked the beverage.
When I told her that she was an OB-GYN (currently retired) and that my last name is Storch, she was very amused, like all those who understand German and know that my last name means stork.
While I was talking to her, through the window, I saw a very interesting man passing by, with a wide-brimmed hat, who also seemed foreign from his appearance, and who was holding a cell phone mounted on a sophisticated cell phone stick.

He was my third close encounter
Having reached Liberty Square, which was one of the meeting places, I saw him again sitting next to one of the stairs that go down to Rondeau street.
I approached him and told him that I liked his phone holder, to which he responded in English telling me that he spoke very little Spanish.
Then he told me that he was from Toronto and that he spent about 5 months a year in Uruguay, during the harsh Canadian winter, especially in the northwest, where he currently lived.
His name is Benny and we talked animatedly about the cell phone support, the photos he took and also about Canada and Uruguay, where he said he felt very comfortable.
He had gone to the march and had a T-shirt claiming for those who disappeared during the dictatorship. We said goodbye, and I crossed to the small square where the Statue of Liberty stands.
There were many young women with banners, clothing and graffiti alluding to 8M.
When I went closer to take some photos, my attention was caught by a very cheerful young woman, with big sunglasses and bright lipstick.
She was my fourth close encounter

When she saw me with the camera in hand walking towards her, she smiled and also took a picture of me.
I asked her name, but I didn't understand it and given her accent I asked her where she was from.
She said that she was Iranian and that she had been in Uruguay for 5 months. She looked happy and enjoying a lot with her friends, who were calling for her from the sidewalk, so she said goodbye and she ran towards them.
I was left thinking that here she would be wonderful, given the difficulties and limitations of women in that country.
In reality, most of the meetings were close, because, although the number of people who went to the march was huge, and I took group and general photos, but I highlight those four meetings that were really different
I always try to be as close to people as possible when taking photos of them.
We even exchange a few words, smiles and many later follow me on the networks.
Close encounters with people is something I really enjoy about street photography.

Montevideo. Uruguay. March, 2023