This is Natalie Pearson.
Natalie is an employee of Uncle Eli’s art store in downtown State College and she was very excited when I asked if I could take her photograph, though it would seem that she’s been the subject for this class before. One of her coworkers remarked, “Any time we have photo students asking to take our picture we send them to Natalie”.
However, it took a little while for me to build up the courage to ask to take someone's photograph. I don't know why yesterday felt like such a struggle for me, but I was getting really in my head about how to ask, and who to approach. I went on a (very cold) stroll downtown before remembering that I did want to pick up some art supplies, and thought "maybe someone in Uncle Eli's will be sympathetic to the cause".
After perusing the aisles for awhile, and listening to conversations between the workers about soup recipes, I was drawn to the girl that seemed to be laughing the most, and the individual manning the register, in a grey top with a black and white striped shirt underneath. I was drawn to her energy, in both her body language and also in the ways she presents herself with her clothing and jewelry.
I'm not going to lie, the way I approached Natalie felt really awkward, and she was definitely more relaxed than I was. I approached Natalie and led with, “I have a strange request for you; I’m a photo student working on a project where I need to photograph a stranger, and I was wondering if I could take your picture?”. Natalie said, “Of course! What do you want me to do?” and I said, “I don’t need you to do anything, I’m just going to take pictures as you work and I’ll ask you a few questions.” It was at this point that I discovered that she's had her photograph taken before, but that she is intrigued by the different ways that people approach her and speak with her.
As we talked, I learned that is a "townie" that attended Penn State for a little bit as a journalism major before she dropped out. She has worked at Uncle Eli’s for several years, and she has a goal to work on one personal art project a week this year. She typically works in mixed media, with an affinity for acrylic markers, and she writes her own poetry. She does not share her artwork publicly, and prefers making art for just herself.
She tries to live sustainably, and through our conversation we found out that we have both worked for summer camps as counselors. “I never sleep better than those weeks of camp,” Natalie said, and I agreed. We also found ourselves relating over customer service jobs and interesting customer stories. She shared strange interactions she has had in person and over the phone over the years. My favorite story she recounted yesterday was someone who called her on the phone to ask if she could help them cut a pdf in half, and she asked, “Is it printed out?” And the customer responded that it was not, and they wanted the pdf cut in half in store for them.
I also learned that a year ago yesterday she got broken up with and got a septum piercing. “The septum piercing came first that day… that was a bad day.” She shared about her mom's response to the situation being more negative about the piercing, but that her mom has gotten used to it. Though initially her mom said that she "looked like a cow!" I didn't learn if she has any siblings, but it would seem that she has a good relationship with her parents, and she shared with me that her parent's wedding photographer ran off with their wedding photos in the 90's. As a wedding photographer myself, I cannot imagine ever doing that to anyone.
The most striking moment that I shared with Natalie was when she told me that she prefers having people that she doesn’t know taking her photo. “I feel more like me.” She described past experiences (such as senior or family photos) where she feels like she has to fake who she is or create a false reality about herself, but when strangers approach, she feels more like herself and that it is a truer representation of who she is as a person. It’s my hope that I have represented Natalie well, and I look forward to hopefully seeing her again when I inevitably run out of watercolor paper again.
