From a series of photos I had taken of several couples dancing to the street musicians performing off in the distance. This is almost as close as one may want to get with a 24mm lens before a dancing couple knocks you over.
Dancing on College Street
All images © Joe Longobardi. All Rights Reserved.
This blog is part of a series and accompanying introduction to a street photography event that will happen on June 19, 2015 in downtown Asheville, North Carolina. For more information visit Street Photography and the Summer Solstice on Facebook.
When people think of portraiture, what generally comes to mind are classically inspired–almost painterly–uncluttered images with a pleasant, soft or out of focus background. Needless to say, this is in stark contrast to the chaotic and tumbling beauty of street photography. Yet, even contemporary street portraiture has been reduced to headshots with a long lens, the results being more about headshots than something that illustrates the personality of the individual. Much of this can been found in the plethora of “Humans of…” street projects all over the web. And there’s nothing wrong with that approach, but I find it a useful challenge to take to the streets with a short lens like a 28mm or even 24mm and look for impromptu opportunities to strike up conversations and capture not just the person, but the surrounding environment as well–a narrative, if you will! Although such wide lenses force you to get that much closer to your subject to fill the frame, and therefore resulting in more barreling due to the inherent complex distortion, used carefully, you can create some compelling images–sometimes leaving the viewer to inquire more about what happened just after the shot was taken.
Below are several photographs taken with both the 28mm and 24mm lenses. Some more candid than others. Several photos include quotes stemming from my conversations with those I photographed. What lead to them, I leave that for you to decipher.
“I used to model for Esquire Magazine!” 24mm
“If you’re going to take my picture, at least let me do a sexy pose for you!” 24mm.
Father and Daughter. 28mm.
Drum Circle. 24mm.
Visiting from Wisconsin. 28mm.
All images © Joe Longobardi. All Rights Reserved.
Warm weather comes to the mountain city.
Spring arrives in Asheville
All images © Joe Longobardi. All Rights Reserved.
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Chicago Gangland comes to Asheville
I thought I’d go back in time and share a photo that had yet to see the light of day. This is an early photo of busker Dade Murphy when he first came to Asheville in 2014 to test the waters with his then new act. If you happen stroll by the flatiron building during warmer days, you may recall his personae as the man fighting against the wind. Since this photo, he had taken his street performance to a whole new level of sophistication incorporating various props, and even a GoPro video camera hidden in his hat to record his audience’s reactions. What I particularity like about this photo is the 1920’s gangster look. Since then, Dade’s costume has become more intricate—and more disheveled! This photo was taken just after he finished his street act earlier in the day. Sadly, I do not recall the name of the woman just beside him. A number of early photos of his street performance can be found in my book documenting street performances in downtown Asheville.
All images © Joe Longobardi. All Rights Reserved.
joelongobardiphotography.com/
joelongobardiphotography.com/books
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