He Snips, I Snaps! Rolf's barber shop.

One  of  the lovely things  about photography can  be  the  unexpected  but  delightful  unplanned  experiences, and  people you  meet.

 Last  December  I was outside a barbers shop on View Street in Victoria BC taking images  of  this nicely  colored  windmill.

I was greeted by a lovely fellow who said how   pleased he was I  was  taking photographs , and  invited  me in  any  time to photograph  indoors.

A few weeks  or so later I was walking past and on the  spur  of the  moment  decided  to  go  in-  I  am  so pleased  I  did!

I can only say this is the most unique barbers shop I have ever  been in,  and  is  easily  the  most fascinating  in  Victoria.

The owner introduced himself as Rolf, and told me  I  could  photograph  anything  I  wanted  to. I had my vintage lens, a 35 mm Takmuar  on  my  camera  and I began  to snap  away.

Here is one image I took. In my excitement I   did not really think enough about the  white  balance,  or composition, and   afterwards felt  I could  do  better.

 I went   back for a haircut (which was really good by the way). Rolf told me he had collected all these items on his travels  around  the  world,  which made  the  space  so  eclectic.  He also showed me the photographs he had taken,  and  I have  to say he  has a  really  good  eye  for a  composition.   I suggested I come back with a different lens, and Rolf was   more than  happy.  

 I went   back with my Sony   10-18mm LINK wide angle lens which is better for smaller indoor  spaces.

Again Rolf was   so accommodating and carried on with his craft while I carried  on  with  mine! So was his customer   who gave me permission to include them in my  images.

This was one of those experiences that the more I  looked ,  the  more  I  realised   what  I  had  missed!

This was a great photographic  learning experience as I have had very  limited  experience of    indoor  shooting I  learnt   :

To explore   through different White Balance setting   at the beginning of a shoot when indoors, not necessarily to get  the  image  exactly  as  my  eye  saw   the  scene  but  what works  best in  that  setting

The wide angle gave me more flexibility within a small space.

Not to have too much happening in   the frame- and to mix up  wide  angle  shots  and  close  ups

Be more adventurous with ISO- I needed  to boot exposure in post  editing  for  some images because I had  not exposed the  indoor images  correctly . 

Take time focusing and be clear about the subject.

Take my time (the perennial lesson I constantly forget!

I am very grateful to Rolf   for his kindness in offering me this photographic experience.

If you are curious to visit this amazing establishment it is the Cook Street Barbershop at 110-1029  View  Street Victoria V8V 6035.  Here is a link  to the Instagram  page