Tag: Street Photography

Corpus Christi – Dia de los Muertos Festival…

For anyone keeping track back home…I am now in Corpus Christi, TX, and it is Sunday morning, Oct-29.  I’m heading to South Padre Island, the southernmost Gulf barrier island in Texas, just as soon as I finish this post.  I have zero plans for South Padre, other than just to see it…maybe walk a beach…sip a margarita…and relax for one night.  Monday, I’m heading to Houston for three nights, before slowly…reluctantly…working my way back to CT.

Yesterday, Saturday, I spent the day in Corpus, mainly because my trip-route coincided with a Dia de los Muertos festival here.  I had done some reading about these festivals, and thought that one might make a nice photo-op.  These are the lengths I’m more than happy to go to, in the mere hope of maybe…just maybe…capturing a few nice images.  Yes…of course I’m crazy.  You ought to know that by now.

As I’ve mentioned, I’m learning how to use this new portrait lens I got for this trip.  It’s very challenging to use…especially for “street photography”…which is what this festival is all about.  I got to the festival early and spent less than two hours strolling and photographing, before I felt I had really captured about all that I had hoped for, and was ready for a break.

As I’ve been stressing…and this is just what I am comfortable doing…with the exception of the Native American dancers, I approached every subject-person, and anyone else involved (including face-paint artists and parents (in the case of child-subjects), before I started taking photos.  Sometimes, the opportunities were so in-the-moment, that I hand-signed and gestured to a subject who was in the middle of a face-paint session, asking if it was okay to photograph them.  The answer was always yes.  I also gave out this travel-blog sort of business card to everyone, as well, as further reassurance that I was on-the-level.

There was also a display of about a half-dozen “tricked-out” Low-Rider cars on display, so I tried to capture them, as well, particularly for my friend, Marc, back home, as he is a car enthusiast.  It was pretty cool to see them up-close.

So, here goes…  Welcome to…

I don’t think I got anyone’s name during the entire stroll, but I do want to thank all of the photo-subjects for their generosity and trust in allowing me to photograph them.  I hope they are happy with the results.  Everyone was very kind and really fun to work with.

Note: If this is your first visit to this travel-blog, just click on any thumbnail photo, and a large-size photo-gallery will open up, that you can scroll through. 

These first two women…the face-painter and her subject…were super-nice.  I always feel like it is an honor and a gift to be allowed into a “moment”, and I try to capture that moment in images.  It’s just the way that I approach attempting to get the shot.

Then, I saw the Low-Rider cars, immediately thought of my friend, Marc, and just had to try to do them justice for him.  I don’t know that I did, but here you go…

This next woman and her face-paint artist were one of those where I think I had to gesture and hand-sign my request to photograph them, because they were also involved in their own moment.  They were very kind to allow me in…

Then, I bumped into the Native American dance performers…incredibly difficult to capture due to lens, bright sunlight contrasting with dark shade in the same image and pinpoint depth-of-field/focus on moving targets in foreground or background…

And the traditional Mexican dance performers, who I was able to capture a little, posing and standing still, as well as during their performance.  The environment was not nearly ideal.  Physical obstacles restricted me from getting as close as I really wanted to, or as clutter-free as would have been nice.  I just tried to work within the limitations I had…

This third girl was very cute.  It seemed like she really wanted me to photograph her, but at the same time, she also wanted me to capture her “game face”…

This next woman was another who just immediately caught my eye.  And she immediately focused on me, looking directly into my lens, after giving me the go-ahead to shoot, in response to my awkward hand-signs and gestures.  She was a very good sport and a very cool lady…

This next young woman literally stopped me in my tracks.  And she could see it, too.  I’m pretty sure my jaw just dropped on the pavement, right then and there.  She was very nice, and was with a couple of girlfriends, who stepped out of the frame without my even saying anything, when I asked permission to shoot.  Each of these “mini-shoots” happens very fast…and then… it’s over.  So, I feel like it’s practically a miracle to capture these moments that will never happen again…

This next young woman was just a “cool chick”, in my book.  She noticed my camera-model right away and said she used to have the same one, but regretfully had to sell it for college expenses.  I didn’t have the presence of mind to tell her in the moment, but just wanted to tell her, now, that she did the right thing.  Finish college, first.  Then, you can get a good job, so that you can buy yourself another nice camera…

I seemed to have a very easy time, quickly connecting and chatting with all of these subjects.  This young woman was no exception.  I don’t have “it” photographically-speaking.  I am not photogenic.  But, this young woman has it in spades…

I found myself continuing to return to the booth of the first face-painting artist I had bumped into.  All of the artists were very friendly, but she and I chatted the most.  So, this red-headed girl caught my eye, as she was sitting patiently for her face-painting.  A mother and another girl…the red-headed girl’s friend…were standing off to the side.  At first glance, the second girl did not look as if she was wearing any face-paint, because she was standing in profile to me, watching her friend get her face painted.

After I finished photographing the red-haired girl, I noticed that the second girl looked slightly sad, so I wondered had I done something.  Then, the second girl turned her head toward me, and instantly, I figured it out.  She had a very cool half-mask, face-painting, that I couldn’t see, because her head was turned, and was feeling just a little left out that I hadn’t asked if I could photograph her.

So, I instantly asked the second girl, and the mother, if I could photograph her.  The second girl instantly perked up and smiled.  That was a close one.  It just didn’t occur to me that someone might feel left out, if they didn’t get photographed…

So, this was my afternoon at the Dia del los Muertos Festival.  As you can see…I may not be posting every day…but, I’m having a great time!

Catch up with y’all again…further on down the road…

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and the French Quarter…

I wasn’t able to get on the hotel’s Wi-Fi last night, so this post is for yesterday, Tuesday.

It’s funny…  Even though I had only driven across the Pontchartrain Causeway once before, to do it again today, three years later, somehow felt like coming home and visiting an old friend.  It was very soothing.  I actually videoed a portion of the crossing with my “dash-cam” and three back-to-back Toni Price songs playing in the background on my car stereo…so about twelve minutes of the crossing.  It would have been very cool to put on the blog.  But, as I thought about it, I realized I’d have to post it on YouTube in order to upload it to this blog, which would be ten kinds of rude and inconsiderate to Ms. Price, plus the copyright infringements and potential lawsuits…so I deleted it.  So close, though!

It was really nice to not have to rush, today…to just be able to stroll the French Quarter with my camera and see a bit more of what there is to see.  For better or worse, this new camera lens I’ve been going on about is primarily a portrait lens.  It’s amazing for getting in close.  But, not so good for capturing big things, like the French Quarter’s unique architecture.  I tried capturing a couple of buildings, but I wasn’t happy with the results.

On the other hand, early in my strolling, I ran into a young woman singing and playing some original jazz tunes…maybe latin jazz…on the street.  It was a quiet street and no one else was really around.  I gave her a nice tip and asked if she’d mind me photographing her.  She said it was totally fine, and went on about her singing.

She was all dressed up, as if she was actually performing in a jazz club, which is a real contradiction to the streets…the sidewalks, themselves…of the French Quarter, which can be kind of “icky” along certain stretches.  Here are a few of the best images.  She told me her name, but unfortunately I can’t recall it.

Then, I wandered the streets some more and eventually ended up at the same restaurant on a corner of Jackson Square, where I had eaten on my last trip…Café Pontalba.  The Square was on the quiet side and the restaurant had only a few diners.  I had their Cajun Combo…crawfish pie, gumbo and jambalaya (I think)…and a Corona.  It’s hard to describe how relaxing it was to sit there, enjoying the street views of the Square through the open floor-to-ceiling doors.

And even though I was stuffed after this meal, I decided to stroll just around a corner of the Square to the riverside and the famous, Café du Monde, for my very first beignets (square fried dough pillows, drenched in confectionary sugar)…a French Quarter tourist rite of passage.

I sat outside under the Café du Monde’s very large covered patio, with probably a couple hundred other tourists.  The weather was perfect for “dithering” an afternoon away.  My waitress was hilarious, accidentally referring to me as “ma’am” as she seated me, and then cracking up at her mistake.  She was very petite, possibly Filipino judging by her accent, and apologetically explained that she sometimes makes that slip. We became instant buddies.

Here are pics of the patio from my seat, the beignets with my choice of hot chocolate over the more-traditional coffee, my waitress, and me (she was kind enough to take that one).

Now, completely stuffed, I had no choice, but to try to stroll some of it off…which is when I found myself following the sound of some really beautiful, soulful, contemporary jazzy singing, and eventually located the source around a corner…another very dressed-up young woman with a great voice singing unusual covers and originals.

This young woman already had a rapidly-growing sidewalk audience.  As before, I approached her, gave her a nice tip and asked if she’d mind me photographing her.  And as with the first young woman, she said that would be great.

The reason I’m explaining this, is that with this lens, you need to get in pretty close to your subject.  I was only a few feet away, usually crouching, to get interesting perspectives.  So, out of respect, I felt I really needed to ask both women’s permission, to get in that close.

Here are the some of the best images I was able to capture.  I was having a blast.

Yesterday morning, my dance-friend, Joni, commented on the blog, that I should go to Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar and order a Sazerac.  So, this pic’s for you, Joni.  I didn’t realize that Joni was suggesting that I try the official cocktail of New Orleans (I had to ask the bartender what it was…and what’s in it!).  But, another New Orleans/French Quarter rite of passage successfully completed.

Today, Wednesday, I’m hoping to stop for a Cajun lunch in Lake Charles, LA, on my way to Houston for my first night of country-western dancing on this trip.  As always…best laid plans…wish me luck!