Category Archives: Street portraits

People snapped on the street

Hard hat

Photographs, Street portraits

One nice man.

“Say, man, that is one nice camera you have there.”

“It’s a bit of a bear to carry around, I can tell you. Here, try it.”

He weighs it up in his hands.

“Yeah, I see what you mean. But it’s a beauty.”

“Thanks. The weight is the penalty for good results. You are laying down fresh tar?”

“Yeah, it’s just temporary. I’m surprised we didn’t find cobblestones here.”

“Cobblestones?”

“Last dig I was on we shipped out three truckloads. Those guys sold them for $3. Each!”

“$3 each? Those things will last forever. Mind if I take your picture?”

“Of course not.”

Snapped on the D3x, 35mm pre-Ai MF f/2 Nikkor at f/4.

Street men

Photographs, Street portraits

Down, but not out.

The ethics here are simple. I make a generous donation then ask if I can snap their picture. If they refuse, fine, we part on good terms. In practice they are almost always happy to pose. A lively chat invariably ensues, they fascinated by my English accent, I by their stories.

All on the Nikon D3x with the Nikkor 16-35G lens at the f/4 full aperture.

A snap over lunch

About the Snap, Street portraits

A picture of a fine man with his first born.

A happy, modern Pietà.

Date: May 11, 2012
Place: Rosamunde on Mission Street
Modus operandi: Looking forward to a cool beer
Weather: Parisian morning sun
Time: 12:39:44
Gear: Nikon D700, 50mm f/1.4 MF Nikkor-S
GPS: Click the image.
Medium: Digital
Me: A lovely man with a divine baby
My age: 60

I was traipsing around San Francisco’s Mission District, enjoying the locals and the murals, when hunger did its thing and directed me to the Rosamunde Sausage Grill on Mission at 24th for a pint and a sausage. After trying mightily to engage the very attractive barmaid in idle banter, and failing miserably, I opted instead for the Ninkasi ‘Spring Reign’ blonde ale, and got to chatting with a fellow diner in the welcoming beer cellar setting. The sausage of choice was a fiery Andouille, with the beer serving as fire extinguisher.

Bruce had a very small baby strapped to his chest and was a delightful companion. Handsome, open, with a straight gaze, a ready laugh and a natural curiosity, we got to chatting. He related that he was selling his restaurant down the road to concentrate fully on bringing up the baby. Spotting the Nikon dangling in that insouciant way from my shoulder, a style that only I can pull off, one thing led to another and he agreed to let me snap a picture of the two of them.

I took a small handful of snaps, composed very tightly, at close to full aperture. I lucked out in keeping both Bruce’s eyes (stolen, clearly, from Cary Grant) and the baby’s head and eyelashes sharp. Natural light from the adjacent window provides gentle modeling.

Bruce with his son, Oliver. D700, 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor-S at f/2. Click the picture.

For those readers who might understandably have questioned my sanity in fine tuning the focus indicator for this lens, the proof of the pudding is above. The eyes and child’s lashes are critically sharp, whereas the father’s chin is already blurred.

A friend with better eyes than mine, not to mention a knowledge of Hindu, relates that the father’s T Shirt is emblazoned with the word ‘Om‘. How apt.

The related large print is in the mail to Bruce as you read this.

Here’s the ‘contact strip’ from Lightroom: