Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Street Musician



Photo & Text Copyright 2008 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved, including reproduction or republishing.

This is Rabbi Eliakim B. David in action. Playing and improvising to some recorded tracks, this dapper street musician in his 80s was keeping it fresh, sending out his sweet tone into the night air, gathering listeners, smiling at the ladies, and switching between alto and tenor.

12 comments:

Diederick Wijmans said...

A great photo, Kim!! Bless this musician.

Olivier said...

beau mouvement dans la photo, il ne nous manque que le son.

beautiful movement in the picture, it does lack the sound.

Pat said...

You caught the swing!

angela said...

Gosh that movement is lovely and also the gleam on the metal. Very satisfying. Imagine still playing on the streets in his 80s!

Virginia said...

Just a great shot. Love the movement and the shimmer.

Jilly said...

Gosh, I love this shot. You are such a confident, brave photographer. This is fantastic. Did you use a tripod?

Kim said...

Blognote, yes!

Olivier, Ah, je n'y ai pas même pensé .. .you've donné moi une idée de recoder un petit clip vidéo avec mon appareil de photo de poche la fois suivante que j'essaie de capturer un musicien dans l'action. De cette voie d'autres peuvent aussi apprécier le son (comme vous a fait avec ce grand petit groupe de jazz il y a quelques mois).

Bibi, LOL, well he wasn't playing any swing that evening, but I'm sure he CAN!

Angela, Yes, and he's quite the dapper dresser, too. Impeccable grooming AND great chops.

Virginia, Thank you so much, my friend!

Jilly, Thank you, but my confidence was mostly bolstered by a few dollars contributed to his open case :-). Yes, I was using a tripod (essential for me at night), which makes me so obvious and puts most people off or gives them that air of self consciousness that ruins any shot I might have seen before they saw me. . .which this gentleman did have at first when I came up to the side of where he was playing. I just waited a long time until he engaged with some other people and got back into the way he had been playing before he saw me and sort of forgot I was there. I didn't want to use any fill light, so the horn had to be the focus (or in this case, the blur :-) ).

Thanks very much for your kind comments!
-Kim

Benjamin Madison said...

Yes, you said it, street musicians contribute a lot to making our streets more friendly, more humane and liveable, though many people still consider them pests and only a step up from panhandlers. I really like this shot and I know that shooting these performers at night without a flash is difficult - they move a lot with the music - but you have managed to integrate the movement beautifully here.

Anonymous said...

One of the finest photos I have seen this afternoon. Congratulations.

I published a post about squirrels and other animals and some of the problems they have. I hope you can take the time to read it. That animals suffer and we do not seem to notice seems so sad. Look at my Dances on Sunshine

NormanTheDoxie said...

beautiful photos.... nice work!

Chuck Pefley said...

Lovely dynamic to this image, Kim. Had to stop by for a home visit :) The NYC blogger group was terrific. What a great bunch of people. Ming is a splendid host and tour guide. Look him up if you get the chance.

Anonymous said...

I liked the way you've captured the movement of the musician's saxophone. Great photo.