Street Musician - C&C

redleash

I don't shoot street (or people) very often. I am primarily a landscape and nature photographer. But I often visit this forum and am very intrigued by the whole concept and history of street photography. (I'm a fan of Walker Evans.) The discussions on how to shoot (up close or long lens, in the open or on the sly) are fascinating. On my few recent street outings, I have tried both approaches. Only one person challenged me and I met some interesting folks. One homeless man was quite talkative and I enjoyed visiting with him--he gladly consented to me taking his photograph but asked that I not put it on the Internet . . . so I won't. I'll have to find another way to get some C&C of that one because I rather like it.

This shot is from downtown San Antonio in early afternoon. I stopped and visited with this gentleman yesterday as he was setting up to play. I dropped a few bucks in his case and asked to take his photo, which he readily agreed to. He played some nice tunes and I was glad to see a few other people stop to listen and tip him.

C&C is much appreciated, on the shot and the conversion. I am not sure exactly why, but I like the van in the background. I just wish it said something else, like "Pest Control." :wink

I have a lot to learn about this genre so all comments are welcomed.

Thanks!
Lauren

lizzard_nyc

Hi Lauren,
Great to see you here!

On to the C&C. First, I love the conversion.
Second--i like the van there as well and I do wish you had somehow gotten a bit more of the surroundings.
Something that I learned here was basically not to interact with my subjects at all, not to let them know I'm there really because many times they will pose for you and then it's not a street shot really so much as a portrait. However, though he knew you were there I like that he doesn't seem to be posing, but just doing his thing.

I like this Lauren.

Juano

Liz' comment is very good. I am a beginner too and I'm often torn between closing up the shot or showing more of the background. I believe that street photography is about telling a story, therefore the surrounding matters a lot. Just my opinion.

I like the shot.

bdcolen

redleash wrote: »

I don't shoot street (or people) very often. I am primarily a landscape and nature photographer. But I often visit this forum and am very intrigued by the whole concept and history of street photography. (I'm a fan of Walker Evans.) The discussions on how to shoot (up close or long lens, in the open or on the sly) are fascinating. On my few recent street outings, I have tried both approaches. Only one person challenged me and I met some interesting folks. One homeless man was quite talkative and I enjoyed visiting with him--he gladly consented to me taking his photograph but asked that I not put it on the Internet . . . so I won't. I'll have to find another way to get some C&C of that one because I rather like it.

This shot is from downtown San Antonio in early afternoon. I stopped and visited with this gentleman yesterday as he was setting up to play. I dropped a few bucks in his case and asked to take his photo, which he readily agreed to. He played some nice tunes and I was glad to see a few other people stop to listen and tip him.

C&C is much appreciated, on the shot and the conversion. I am not sure exactly why, but I like the van in the background. I just wish it said something else, like "Pest Control."

I have a lot to learn about this genre so all comments are welcomed.

Thanks!
Lauren

Very nice, Lauren. I do, however, agree with Liz; this would be more interesting if we had a real sense of where he was playing. This is where getting close with a moderately wide lens is often the way to go - maybe a 28mm, or what ever the equivalent to that would be on your camera. Likewise her comment about not interacting with subjects. Street portraiture can be wonderful, but if you're really trying to capture 'life on the street,' or real life anywhere, it's far better to just shoot. As soon as the subject is aware of you, and particularly if they engage with you, the dynamic has totally changed, and you're not capturing 'reality.' That doesn't mean that there's something wrong with what you are getting, but it's not reality.

M38A1

Lauren - good to see you sticking your head in here. We need another 'Austin' or 'San Antonio' walkabout. It's been too long.

As for the shot, I like it. To me, it simply shows a guy and his horn. That said, IMO, if you go this tight, then all that matters is the subject and his story and the van is a minor distraction. But if you move back a bit and show surroundings, there's a larger context that works with the van and possibly other surroundings. This one seems to be in the middle.

Richard

In general, I agree with those who have suggested getting more context, but given the circumstances you also could have tried to get a little lower to make it a better portrait shot or wait till he raised his head a bit. If I can't see the surroundings, I'd like to see his eyes. Ideally, I would like to see both.

redleash

Scott - Yes, we do need another Austin or SA shoot. Let's try to get one together soon--please send me a PM when you get a chance.

Everyone - Thanks for the encouragement and for all the helpful comments. I learned a lot just from this thread already. FYI, I shot all of these with a 17-50 zoom, which is my standard walk-around lens. Here are two others that seem to fit more with what ya'll wrote about context and spontaneity. Although the people knew I was there, they didn't know that I was taking these specific shots. Thanks for looking.

1. "Mutual Appreciation"


2. "The Tuneup"

M38A1

Wow.... #1 of the second series has so much more going on that I love over the original post. The interaction of people (money drop), two folks in the background glancing over, back left walkers, and the wider angle showing the motorized scooter just provide so much more in my opinion. Shows the disparity of humans in those struggling and those who contribute to help the less fortunate.

redleash

Thank you, Scott. Some of that wasn't even apparent to me when I made the shot--like the people across the street looking over. As I looked through all my shots from this outing, I found several extras in some of them. Next time, I think I need to be sure I have max DOF to get some of those tidbits in focus.

rainbow

#1 ("M Apprec") is an intriguing shot. Nice set of subtle interactions.

BUT what I am really wondering is whether the tshirt the guy is wearing is duplicating the pattern of his tattoos on his body...huh Seems to be a perfect match at the right sleeve.

redleash

Rainbow, what a great eye you have for the details. I had no idea the patterns matched--truly a coincidence. Thanks for looking.

Lauren

lizzard_nyc

yes!!! That's what I'm talking about Lauren:)

#1 in your second set is just such an improvement if you are going for street as opposed to street portrait.

I like the story here, so much more to see. As has been said, you caught a human interaction. I love the dad with his little child draped over his shoulder bending down to put money in the hat as the player glances over to see the drop. I like that you get a bit of his chair/transportation.

I do wish you had the same angle on that shot as you did on the second so his leg wouldn't be cut off, but you learn as you go:) and this is a serious improvement.

redleash

Thank you, Liz. There is obviously a lot more to think about for street compositions. As you said, "learn as you go." With most of my street shots to date, I was thinking more about how to shoot and whether to "hide" than I was about composition and storytelling. San Antonio is a great place for this so I will keep trying.