Portraits don’t just have to be of faces, do they? This is John. He works a shoe shine stand on Market, near the Men’s Wearhouse. I had asked to take a photo of him, and he obliged. It was an impossibly hot day and no one was getting their shoes shined. I took two photos, one of him in entirety, and the one you see here.
To me, this image seemed to capture him best. Months later, I made an 8×10 print of this photo, matted and signed it, and gave it to John. He loved it. To this day, I still remember his happy face.
This is one of my favorite photos of all time.
WOW. And thanks! It’s one of the first “real” photos (that’s how I think of it) that I ever took, and I still like it as much as I did that day.
You nailed it. The pile of cans alludes to a story better than a full shot would.
Thanks Alex. I agree, it’s the jumble of cans and the loose arm and hand. I remember not even cropping this, it’s just where I pointed the camera.
Great shot, Julie. Like good literature, it’s open to so much interpretation and hidden meaning. And kudos to you for seeing and taking this shot in addition to the the more typical face portrait shot.
-Randy
This photo made me realize how much I like taking photos of hands, and people doing things with their hands. This image inspired me to be conscious of that and now it’s something I deliberately try to include in a photo, if it works. Thanks for your comment here.
I’ve seen that shoeshine stand many times, and I probably would never have thought to take this picture. You really captured it well.
Well, next time maybe you’ll give it your interpretation. He’s a very enjoyable person. Or just get your shoes shined.
I feel like I’m still quite new to photography, but I’m learning that not only do you need to have a good eye, you also need good insight–and you’ve got great examples here. This inspires me to shoot more.
Now I kinda wish I worked downtown where I’d be walking around a lot more instead of commuting to Hayward in my car and sitting in a cube all day.
Jen, that’s a huge compliment, and thank you. I think one of the goals of CALIBER as a group is to help excite and inspire others by what we see around us. I hope you’ll be able to share some of your successes with us and keep the cycle going.
I can imagine that a cubicle might on the surface not feel inspiring, but I think that there’s opportunity everywhere for a good photo. Try it and see what happens.
another great shot … do you ever take crummy ones !? ……..
Oh gosh. I take loads of crappy shots. I’ll just never post them here!
Fresh!
Excellent, Julie! For sure, no face is needed – his environment speaks perfectly. And nice to leave a bit of mystery for the viewer to complete.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by marycray: “Shoe shine on Market Street.” http://bit.ly/3Y3ZOt [via @calibersf]…
Insanely great image. I can totally smell the shoe shine! Gorgeous lighting.
How can it be that it looks like a painting and not a photo! I mean that in a good way. This is an amazing photo. I love it.
…on a side note, your “URL” thing here on submitting a comment doesn’t seem to be working, fyi. Can’t see any text.
fixed the URL text problem -theCodeGuy