Validation (#191) 16-01-13

It’s Wednesday, time for something-other-than-one-of-my images. So here is a video that is peripherally germane to street portraiture.

When I ask permission to photograph someone, the ensuing interaction may take one of these three forms:

1. The person refuses (surprisingly seldom).

2. The person allows the photograph, but is not really engaged with the spirit of the project.

3. The person not only allows the photograph, but clearly gets some enjoyment from the interaction.

These are the fun ones. Those who align themselves with the concept of Karma can envision enjoyment then being passed on to others, and the world being a better place. OK, that’s pretty heady, but it is a nice thought.

Here is a Youtube video that explores this concept. It is a fun, lighthearted feel-good story that lasts for about 15 minutes – you might want to grab a cup of coffee.

Enjoy.

Bob

Ryan (#190) 01-15-13

I have a favorite area to meet strangers, on Main St. in Sarasota. I met Ryan on Main St., but a few blocks away.

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The two minute podcast below has a brief description of that encounter. Thanks for listening.

Bob

Click to Listen

Dorothy (#189) 01-14-13

Dorothy was waking toward me on a busy sidewalk. She did not look up, as she seemed to be having difficulty using her walker. A few minutes later, she was sitting on a bench, so I approached her, asked a favor, and described the 100 Strangers project. She laughed and said, "Me?" I said sure, and struck up a conversation for the next 10 minutes.

Dorothy's family had five members who owned a total of 10 retail stores, on a river in Punta Gorda, FL. When Hurricane Charlie hit the area in 2004, miraculously none of the stores had water damage. But the owners got scared, and all moved from the area within two years. Now one daughter owns a dress shop within 100 feet of where we were speaking.

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When I finally brought up the camera, she said that she was lucky that her late husband's eyesight was so poor, he couldn't see all of her wrinkles.

Such a delightful lady.

Bob

Three Young Ladies (#188) 01-12-13

I walked by three young women having coffee and pastries at an outdoor table. In this location, 270 degrees of the table is in good light, and that’s where they sat. So after I asked them for portraits, I got to work. First up was Kerissa. I only asked her to not Say Cheese for the camera. She assumed this expression on her own. And it wasn’t for a click or two – she held it for a few seconds. Great!

          (Kerissa)

Cleo and Laura were a bit more conventional in gesture.

             (Cleo)

           (Laura)

Actually, Laura was a very reluctant participant. I doubt that she would have allowed a photograph had she been alone. But, she wasn’t alone.

Bob

Peter and Simone (#187) 01-11-13

Peter and Simone were walking toward me in Savannah. The light was good and there was no reason not to approach them. I didn’t think.

But when I stopped them and asked for my usual favor, it was obvious that they were German and spoke little English. Oops! One thing, and one thing only, saved the day: the Android phone (the iPhone would work just as well). It is set to my flickr Photostream.

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When people see these thumbnails, it is a pretty strong indication that the images are not weird, nude, or otherwise potentially objectionable. Plus the subjects are photographed in a humanistic, complementary way. I hope. So, despite the language barrier, Peter and Simone agreed.

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Now, is Peter a Daniel Craig (007) look-alike or what?

Bob

Amanda and Matt (#186) 01-10-13

I saw Matt and Amanda walking my way, just two blocks from my house. I stopped them and asked my usual favor. Amanda shrugged rather noncommittally.  Matt’s brow became furrowed, and he asked what this was for. I further explained the project, and I showed my flickr thumbnails on the Android phone. He agreed, but warily.

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I can see their level of “buy in” by the facial gestures. Matt was kind to allow the photograph, but I could not get an authentic looking expression. He had “camera face”. Amanda, on the other hand, had her guard down, and let me see a bit of her personality. I think.

They were visiting the area from “up north”, and were glad for the 70s temperatures. As we parted, I asked if they would like me to send them the images by e-mail. Answer: no. I suspect that Matt thought that I would somehow charge for them. Oh well…,

Bob

Kirk Tuck – The Visual Science Lab (#185) 01-09-13

In keeping with recent tradition, Wednesdays are reserved for viewing another photographer’s work.

A visitor to this site sent me a link that I found very interesting and helpful. The Visual Science Lab is a blog by photographer Kirk Tuck. See it HERE.  

But the reason that he sent it was a specific post from May, 2011 entitled "Aproval, Tacit Approval, Implied approval and 'Street Photography'". From the title, you can see that it is very germane to street portraiture. See it HERE.

It is very much worth the time to read.

This was posted on the Fred Miranda site; a lot of viewers of this site come from there. Fred Miranda.com is a very large site covering both photographic hardware and artistic issues. See it HERE. Of special interest to me is the People Photography forum, which I visit every day. See it HERE.

Enjoy.

Bob

Bryce, Dale, and Friends (#184) 08-01-13

This is another example of luck trumping skill. I forget what street I was on in Savannah, but across the street I saw an interesting looking couple. He appeared rugged looking, with a beard, and on his back was a guitar in a canvas case. She had long flowing blond hair and was holding a leash for a large dog. They were speaking to someone, and were on the other side of the street, half a block away. So I waited for the conversation to end before I made my move.

But while I was not paying attention, the conversation ended and they were walking quickly in the opposite direction. I walked parallel to them on the other side of the street when suddenly they turned left, getting further away. Well, I accepted the fact that the opportunity was lost, turned around, and headed back.

The next morning I was on River Street, the main touristy drag with tee shirt shops, eateries, etc. And there they were – a second chance. Again they were talking to a lady, but this time I walked up behind them and waited my turn. I felt sort of like in elementary school, waiting on line for the restroom. Finally, they looked up, smiled, and I asked my question (more on the wording, below). They were happy to comply.

           (Bryce)

            (Dale)

Dale is a traveling musician and was proud of a recently created youtube video. You can see it HERE.    They have been WALKING through the southern U.S., and couldn’t be happier about the experience. Along the way, they picked up their rescue dog, Mr. Biggs. You might think that with this kind of lifestyle, that Mr. Biggs would look a bit bedraggled. But he is beautiful, with a soft shiny coat. Clearly, he gets good care.

       (Mr. Biggs)

As a former welder, Dale’s goal is to fabricate deep sea fishing type fighting chairs for disabled veterans – amputees. He wants to meet individual amputees, judge their needs and create a customized fighting chair so that they can go deep sea fishing. What a great goal!

While we were talking and photographing, Melony, the waitress to whom they were speaking, looked on in a bemused way. So, of course, I photographed her too. :-)

          (Melony)

Now, here is something new for me. Several photographers have inquired about how I approach strangers. So this is my first attempt at a brief podcast (~2 minutes) describing my style. Listen to it by clicking CLICK HERE at the bottom. This podcast plays fine on my two PCs. Hopefully it will play for you too.

Bob

Click Here

Two Homeless Fellows (#183) 01-07-13

I met two homeless men in Savannah, within an hour of each other. The adjective “homeless” implies a similarity, a commonality, as if they were brothers. But in brief encounters, the men could not have been more different. OK, I’ll get this out of the way first: one was Caucasian and the other was African American. So one is black and the other is white, but that is not the difference that I am talking about.

Al was walking on a city street when I stopped him and asked a favor. I explained my project and he gave a chuckle. He said, “Me?” I said. “Sure, why not you?” He smiled and said to go ahead and shoot.

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Ryan was sitting on a low wall. When I approached him and asked my usual favor. He shrugged his shoulders, just stared ahead for a few seconds and said “OK, I guess.” Then he asked if I could “help him” a bit, and held out his hand. Prepared for this eventuality, I put a little something in it. Ryan had just come to Savannah from Philadelphia, winters are harsh there. As I clicked away, Ryan never quite looked at me.

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After five minute encounters, the differences were pretty obvious. Al considers himself a participant in life, such as it is and mental lives in the present. Ryan considers himself a victim of life, and mentally lives either in the past or the future. Homelessness means different things to different people.

Bob

Randy (#182) 01-05-13

When I saw Randy, I just had to try. Immediately after I asked for a photograph, he was standoffish, and skeptical. Randy asked what the photo was for. When I explained my project, and showed images on my cell phone, he thought that the whole thing was humorous and agreed. I think that he does have a bemused look. Being able to show my flickr photostream to people has been very helpful. The Android phone works, but I may get a 7” tablet sometime, for this purpose.

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Over the past several weeks, I have been struggling about my usual black and white vs. color. I think that the Randy image works as well as a portrait can in color. There are basically two colors, red and cyan. They are complementary (180 degrees apart on the color wheel), and, the colors define simple shapes. I didn’t monkey with the colors in Photoshop, It is just luck that the hat harmonizes so well with the background.

As usual, it’s better to be lucky than good.

Bob

The A Team (#181) 01-04-13

While on Broughton St. In Savannah, I walked by a car with five young women getting out and retrieving packages. One had flaming red hair (totally unnatural) and I really wanted to photograph all of them. But they were preoccupied by exiting the car. And, I never want to surprise someone when I approach them. I want the potential subject to see me approach before I speak. Asking to be photographed is potentially creepy enough, without introducing a surprise element! :-)

So I continued walking for a block, then stopped, and casually looked behind. Lo and behold, four of them were walking my way. This felt like karma, as I mentioned in yesterday’s post. The fifth one had somehow made an escape. So when they were close, I headed for them and made my usual approach. A couple of them giggled, and all were agreeable. Their names (in order of photographing) were, Ashley, Ashley, Ava, and Alesia. Hence, The A Team.

         Ashley #1

        Ashley #2

               Ava

            Alesia

I liked the dark background of an adjacent store, and they lined up, as if for mug shots.  Thanks, ladies!

Bob

Crow (#180) 01-03-13

The concept of Karma does not seem real to me. But sometimes, it sure seems AS IF there is karma. I walked along a city sidewalk on my usual round trip tour, and saw several people eating at outdoor tables. One guy caught my eye. He wore a beret that gave him an artsy-fartsy air and I vowed to speak with him if he was still there on my return trip.

About a block away, I stopped to check the LCD on the camera. I had just photographed two young men, and I wanted to be sure that their eyes were in focus (they were). I looked up and the artist was headed my way, walking his thin wheeled bike. To me, it is a VERY good sign when luck (Karma?) has a desired subject walking to me! I stopped him, asked for a favor, and I had half of my spiel out when he broke into a huge smile. Yeesss! Clearly, he bought into the concept of stranger photography.

His name is Crow, like the bird. And he IS an artist, a musician who plays several instruments. Crow has attempted to get gigs in downtown Sarasota, but there is a huge obstacle, for all musicians. There is a no-noise ordinance that goes into effect at 11PM. Foe me, 11PM is late, but not so for the younger entertainment crowd. And this ordinance puts a damper on young musicians trying to get established.

Well, I asked Crow to remove his sunglasses so that I could see his eyes. Having a theatrical bent, he assumed this gesture. I could hardly have asked for more. I couldn’t decide between the square crop and horizontal, so here are both.

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I gave him my MOO card (business-like card), so I assume that he will see this.

Bob

The Other Strangers – Us! (179) 01-02-13

Another Wednesday, and time to view someone’s work (other than mine).

The Holidays are over, and many of us took lots of family photos. But someone was probably missing from most, if not all, of the images. The stranger, you and I. The photographer is usually missing from family photos, for obvious reasons.

Photographer, Steven Addis thinks that is a mistake. A big mistake. He made a TED (Ideas Worth Spreading) presentation explaining why. The video is light hearted, and lasts for less than four minutes. Have a look:

Enjoy!

Bob

Refection (#178) 01-01-13

Let’s begin with an image of Melissa. I sort of like the Christmas tree background. The black and white abstracts it into a pattern – not all bad, methinks.

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The beginning of a new year is a time for me to reflect on where this site has come, and what evolutionary changes are appropriate in 2013. My thoughts so far are these:

1. I am humbled that about 25 new viewers visit this site daily. To me, this seems pretty good for Street Portraiture (strangers), a niche genre at best. Let’s face it, this stuff isn’t for everyone.

2. Although there is some traffic, there is virtually no feedback in the form of comments, or e-mail messages. I had hoped to create a small “community” in which ideas are exchanged. This has not happened.

Bearing these in mind, these are avenues that I hope to pursue in the upcoming year.

1. Line up an occasional guest blogger for the Wednesday “change of pace” post.

2. I will try to produce an occasional (monthly?) podcast, so that the visitor can hear my voice instead of viewing my misspellings.

3. The deinfaces site is now hosted by Squarespace, on their Squarespace 5 platform. As this is outdated, the site needs to be migrated to Squarespace 6. I dread this but it needs to be done, sooner or later. The site appearance will change a bit – a good thing.

Most importantly, thank you for visiting this site in 2012. Please feel free to suggest changes that would make the experience more meaningful for you. I may, or may not, be able to accomplish the changes, but I cannot try without hearing from you.

Have a happy and fulfilling 2013.

Bob

Steve and Maria (#177) 12-31-12

Actually, it should be Maria and Steve.

While walking on Broughton St. in Savannah, I saw Steve and Maria on a side street, headed my way. Maria caught my eye. She was nearly my height, and the spiky hair gave her a “presence”. So, I approached them the usual way and got the usual response. Yeesss!!

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Sorry Steve, Maria stole the show.

Bob

Amanda (#176) 29-12-12

I was sitting in City Market, Savannah, listening to an outdoor concert. The place was packed. A young couple walked by, laughing and interacting in a way that clearly, they were enjoying each other’s company. Immediately they disappeared into the crowd.

A few minutes later, I began walking to the opposite end of the Market, with the young couple in mind. Sure enough, Amanda and Drew were headed my way, but suddenly turned into a shop. No problem, I can be very patient when I want to be. So when they emerged, I approached them with my usual line, and they thought that being photographed would be a hoot. Good!

Amanda tried not to smile for the camera, but it wasn’t easy. Fortunately, I got off about 15 shots, and just one had this gesture that I liked.

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Drew just laughed, and just couldn’t keep his eyes open. I am not inspired by my images of him. But that’s OK, Amanda was worth it!

Bob

Jabrea (#175) 12-28-12

While visiting Savannah, Jabrea was the last stranger I photographed. I was walking through one of the Squares (parks) with Craig Tanner. When I saw Jabrea, I excused myself and “did my thing”.

Several of the photographers who post to the 100 strangers flickr group photograph strangers at f1.4, or even f1.2 (if they shoot Canon). The backgrounds just seem to melt away. When I photograph at less than f2.8, I always seem to get one eye out of focus. So I tried Jabrea at f2.4.

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I am satisfied with the result.

Bob

Caroline and Gary (#174) 12-27-12

I walked down Bay St., Savannah, about noon. A couple headed my way with a purposeful cadence, I was doubtful that they would stop. But they did. Caroline was a bit shy and reticent, but Gary had no reservation and led the way. They had finished a 10k race a few hours earlier and were feeling pretty good about themselves.

As usual, I asked Caroline to NOT smile for the camera. But as is often the way with attractive women, she gave me the look that she wanted – I could take it or leave it.

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Gary was a bit more relaxed.

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I thanked them and we began to part. I called back, “I heard that there were 5,000 runners, is that true”? Gary turned to me and deadpanned, “How would I know? I was in front the entire race – I have no idea how many were behind me (grin)”.

Bob

Street Photographer Danny Santos (#173) 12-26-12

So the day after Christmas is a Wednesday. OK, here is a look at another photographer’s work.

One of the first members of the 100 Strangers flickr group was Danny Santos, from Singapore. He quickly attained cult status among other members. His 100 Strangers flickr group can be seen HERE. 

If you like his work (and you should!), his personal website is HERE.

In May 2011, street photographer Eric Kim interviewed Danny. This can be seen HERE.  

His work is inspiring. Enjoy.

Bob

Jan (#172) 12-24-12

I used to subscribe to Kelby Training, which provides educational videos on all topics photography. One series by wedding photographer Cliff Mautner has stuck with me. It is about recognizing qualities of light, and photographic techniques to take advantage of them. One location in his videos was an outdoor hallway with a high arched ceiling, which provided reflected light in almost all directions. I have been on the lookout for such a spot, and found a candidate in Savannah. River Street runs through a “tunnel”, partly bordered by a Hyatt hotel. Using the philosophy of “build the stage and the players will come”, I waited.

And along came Laurel and Jan, visiting from Minnesota. They agreed. We were near the “mouth” of the tunnel and the background was darker than in the Mautner video.

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Still, I like this light on Jan.

Well, tomorrow is a day off. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Bob