Portrait of the week – Jay

Jay seemed a bit of a natural, striking some professional poses as I was making his portrait, and I asked him about it. Only turns out he worked as a model years ago in Bangladesh. Now an owner of a restaurant in Brick Lane, I met him plying his trade outside the Old Truman’s Brewery, Hanbury Street, on Saturday night. Actually he was nominated by his friend on the other side of the road, but was happy to be daily portrait #153.

I’d got stuck in Brick Lane, having emerged from the Free Range photography degree shows and talks to find it properly chucking it down. Jeans, sandals and a leather jacket are not ideal for wet-weather cycling.

On the other hand, if you can avoid the actual downpours, there’s a lot to be said for wet-weather photography. I like the muted tones it’s brought to this portrait, and the way the soft background smudges the details of the puddly grey street like an impressionist painting.