Soup

Spent the early part of the day with Elizabeth at the Soup Kitchen. It's run by volunteers at the American Church on Tottenham Court Rd. They Provide meals for about eighty people daily and were looking to update the images on their website. They had some difficulty getting their guests to agree to photographed in the past but we thought we might try our luck. Elizabeth has such tremendous charm, a certain maternal presence that always puts people at ease. Plus she brought her famous Zucchini bread. Which would melt even the most hardened soul. It was literally gone within seconds. We found most people extremely receptive to being photographed. In fact only two people I asked declined, although a few needed a minute to warm up to the idea. We spent most of the morning chatting while the guests had their soup. There was a donation of red peppers and tomatoes this morning so Maria was able to whip up something especially tasty.There were so many poignant stories but a great deal of humour too. We ended up staying to serve lunch.


We met some real characters and there were some amazing faces but this gentleman was much my best model. This was the first photo of the day and I felt immediately connected to him. We talked about New York and the film Taxi Driver and he said he was really glad he stopped in this morning. Elizabeth and I felt much the same way.