Michael Connell's photostream  

I came across this guy playing his guitar on the sidewalk on a photowalk with my friends Andy and Tony. It's a common sight in downtown Austin. I stopped and listened to him for a bit and took a couple of pictures. I hoped to make eye contact but he kept his head down, covering his face. As I composed a shot, a pedestrian started to walk in front of me and stopped when he saw my camera. "Sorry, didn't mean to mess up your shot," he said. The guitarist raised his head all of a sudden and said, "That's OK, the photographers don't tip anyway." He glanced at me and put his head back down. Now, I had every intention of tipping him before I moved on, as I always try to make it a point to tip musicians if I like their playing. I told him that this photographer does tip. "Yeah, right," he mumbled as he continued to play. Not sure what to say, I moved closer and took a look at photos he was selling. "Did you take these?", I asked. "Yes." I listened to his music a bit longer and placed a tip in his guitar case. "Thanks for sharing your art, have a great evening," I said. "Thanks, you too" he said with a brief glance. I took this one last shot before I moved on.

I imagine it is frustrating to play on the street like that where few people take notice. It occurred to me how rude it might seem to someone performing like this to have a photographer do a "drive by." It's like taking something without giving something in return. As a musician myself, I can understand his sentiment.

Post Processing:
- Raw conversion, slight cropping, WB & exposure tweaks in Lightroom.
- B&W conversion in Nik Silver Efex.
- Slight B&W tone adjustment via a blended layer with Topaz Labs B&W Effects.

Please hit 'L' for large on black!

Latest blog entry: X100 Sticking Aperture Disease

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I welcome comments and I will be happy to reciprocate by checking out and commenting on your photostream. Group invites are welcome, but I do not participate in Post / Award groups. I reserve the right to delete gaudy, glittery, flashing group invite icons!

I snapped this image of this musician on a photowalk with my friends Andy and Tony. There was a certain attitude about this guy's singing and playing that I liked. I saw a child playing next to him most of the time and I wondered if it was his kid. Got to be a tough way to make a living, playing on the street. He was performing in an area on S. Congress in Austin where a bunch of food trailers are setup. The Airstream next to him belongs to "Hey Cupcake!"

Post Processing:
- Raw conversion, slight cropping, WB & exposure tweaks in Lightroom.

Please hit 'L' for large on black!

Creepy...post #666!

Latest blog entry: X100 Sticking Aperture Disease

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I welcome comments and I will be happy to reciprocate by checking out and commenting on your photostream. Group invites are welcome, but I do not participate in Post / Award groups. I reserve the right to delete gaudy, glittery, flashing group invite icons!

This is the other side of yesterday's image. I was on a photowalk in Austin's SoCo area with my buddies Andy and Tony a while back. We were standing around debating where to grab a bite when I noticed this girl seated at a bus stop, enjoying her coffee while a couple of musicians were performing behind her. It's an excellent portrayal of what Austin is. Austin likes to call itself the "Live Music Capital of the World" and there is no shortage of live music in the clubs and on the street. You never have to go far to find music in this city. Even a bus stop provides a place to relax and enjoy some coffee and live music.

The sun was low in the sky and quite harsh in this shot, washing out a lot of the color and detail. Black and white was the way to go. I resisted at first because it seems like so many photogs process street scenes in B&W that it seems almost cliche to me. But, it works here and I have to admit that I do like the timeless look of a lot of street photography. Maybe that's why photographers choose to do it that way.

Post Processing:
- Raw conversion, cropping, and slight WB & exposure tweaks in Lightroom.
- Converted to B&W with a Lightroom preset that just worked - probably the first time that's happened for me.

Please hit 'L' for large on black!

Latest blog entry: X100 Sticking Aperture Disease

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Google Plus

I welcome comments and I will be happy to reciprocate by checking out and commenting on your photostream. Group invites are welcome, but I do not participate in Post / Award groups. I reserve the right to delete gaudy, glittery, flashing group invite icons!

I came across these young musicians while on a photowalk with my buddies Andy and Tony a while back. Austin likes to call itself the "Live Music Capital of the World" and there is no shortage of live music in the clubs and on the street. These two were playing their hearts out by a bus stop. The sun was low and bright on this clear evening, rather harsh lighting for street photography. Through my lens, I saw the sun flaring in like a natural spotlight and I composed it in. It was a difficult scene to capture but I liked the result.

Post Processing:
- Raw conversion, cropping, and slight exposure tweaks in Lightroom.
- Some contrast adjustment in Photoshop with Curves.

Please hit 'L' for large on black!

Latest blog entry: X100 Sticking Aperture Disease

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Google Plus

I welcome comments and I will be happy to reciprocate by checking out and commenting on your photostream. Group invites are welcome, but I do not participate in Post / Award groups. I reserve the right to delete gaudy, glittery, flashing group invite icons!

I was on a photowalk with my buddies Andy and Tony last weekend and we stopped into Home Slice for some pizza. Of course, I couldn't resist getting a shot of one of their pizza chefs tossing the dough around. It took a few tries to capture his toss just right. I called upon the X100's fill flash to help freeze the action and keep my ISO down to 1600.

Post Processing:
- Raw conversion, cropping, noise reduction, contrast adjustment, and slight exposure tweaks in Lightroom.

Please hit 'L' for large on black!

Latest blog entry: X100 Sticking Aperture Disease

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Google Plus

I welcome comments and I will be happy to reciprocate by checking out and commenting on your photostream. Group invites are welcome, but I do not participate in Post / Award groups. I reserve the right to delete gaudy, glittery, flashing group invite icons!