The old man and the accordion

Las Vegas, 2008
Handheld at 1/15
Nokton 40mm/1.4 wide open
Ilford HP5 400 @ 1600

I am truly amazed that this shot came out. Sometimes a pleasant surprise like this just comes up in a roll of wasted shots. This man was an accordion player at an Italian restaurant off of the Strip in Vegas called Battista's Hole in the Wall. He was about five feet tall and very jovial.

This shot was a big challenge because the restaurant was extremely dim. I shot at 1/15 @ 1.4, and the film was pushed two stops to 1600.

Subsequent flickr searches lead me to believe this man's name is Gordy. Here's a video profile on the guy: www.letspolka.com/2006/02/gordy-at-battistas-hole-in-the-...