Strangers When We Meet
Words / Tony Dunn, Tim Allen Images / Tim Allen
What started out as personal project, quickly turned into a life changing experience...
Strangers When We Meet is no ordinary portrait photography project. The brainchild of photographer Tim Allen (no, not that one!) the project was inspired by his Dad, Ron, and his fearless, ‘talk to anyone and everyone’ attitude.
Firstly, full disclosure, Tim and I are not strangers...we’ve known each other for over 20 years! In 2007 Tim bought his first ‘proper’ camera and spent a few years working out what he liked (mostly candid street photos) and he’s since had a few of those photos published in several magazines.
In 2011/12 he joined creative forces with his friend Pip on a project Wish You Were Here based around the Kent coast, culminating in a book and exhibition. In 2013 he went on to create 3 balls for £2.50, a black and white photo book shot at fireworks night funfairs and sold to raise money for the The National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society (NASS) charity, having been a sufferer himself.
Following on from that in 2014 he created his Artisans project. This turned out to be a much bigger project that ultimately led to a second black and white photo book, raising £2,000 for NASS. During this time Tim and his wife separated and divorced, and the project acted as a much needed distraction.
“For the next few years it felt like life got in the way of being creative. Work was mad and Mum became ill in 2016 leading to her death in 2019. Then Covid, then I ended a four year relationship at the end of 2020.”
And that brings us to Tim’s most significant work to date. It all started over lunch back in September 2022, when Tim met with fellow photographer and friend, Nigel Rumsey. Having mainly shot candid street photos, Tim mentioned he’d really like to have a go at shooting street portraits to which Nigel replied ‘What’s the worst that can happen...they say no?’. That stuck in Tim’s head.
By December 2022 he’d bought his old Canon 5D camera back...“I liked the look of the photos it made”. On Boxing Day he set off to Hastings determined to start a new street portrait project – Strangers When We Meet – named after the David Bowie song.
At the same time, his Dad’s health was deteriorating and Tim says “As Dad was less mobile I wanted to create something that I could spend time talking with him about. I’d enjoy taking the photos and he would enjoy me relaying the chats I had to him. That was the theory.”
He took two portraits that day, the first after a half hour chat with a lovely lady called Sylvia from Eastbourne who was visiting relatives over the holiday. Then a nice guy called Mark who had lived in Tim’s home town of Dartford. Two people, two interesting stories. It proved there was something in the project worth pursuing.
“This felt like progress beyond my dreams and I couldn’t wait to return. Although I hadn’t planned to base the project in one place, this felt like the right location and the people seemed nice.”
Four days later his Dad had a stroke and by the end of January he had died. “I was dealing with the executor etc and also with the pressure of work this meant I never had the time or felt up to returning to the project. After a while I realised I badly needed a distraction from the gloom of everyday life.”
Still reeling, he headed back to Hastings on the 25 February 2023. “I shot five portraits that day, more than I ever thought possible in one day. Three of the five people I still see regularly.”
18 months, 134 portraits and 134 amazing life stories later, Tim has just moved into his new house ten minutes from the Hastings sea front and, most important of all, I’ve never seen him happier! You see, the unexpected side effect of taking the risk and getting out of his comfort zone with this project is that it’s changed his perspective, given him the confidence to leave a job he was unhappy in and strike out on his own. What started out as a project in honour of his Dad has ultimately helped him through losing him, led to new friends and a new start in life.
Getting out of our comfort zone and disrupting our day-to-day lives is a seriously scary prospect. On the other hand, so is looking back at a life half-lived. Be more Tim.
Tony x