The third in my "Old Friends" series. See 1 and 2. I met Lyubov (on the right in the first photo) through her daughter Olga on Instagram; she is a doctor from Tuva in Siberia and came to San Francisco to be with Olga. She then introduced me to her friend Roza, who is from Kazakhstan, and they agreed to do this shoot with me.
The two ladies met in ESL class in San Francisco, where they discovered that their common language was Russian (and English!). They each speak 4-5 different languages and are overall very impressive women.
I loved watching the transformation from slightly wary to highly enthusiastic as the photoshoot progressed. About 20 minutes in, Roza turned to me and said, "Any time you need a model, 24/7 I am available for you." They would ask me to take a few photos on their phones, posing like the newfound high-fashion models they were, and then giggle at the shots when I handed the phones back. It was so fun to see them strolling around in their matching outfits throughout San Francisco!
As always, I'm constantly looking for new additions to this series. If you have a set of grandparents, older friends, or anyone who is 60 and older and would be comfortable being in a photoshoot like this (the older the better), please send me an email!
Watch the behind-the-scenes video by Elmira Saalabi!