Posted by Andrew Gould (Sydney, Australia) on 5 August 2007 in People & Portraits and Portfolio.
Canon 50mm f1.8 lens (equal to 80mm in this format)
Taken in Sydney's Pitt St Mall, which is a pedestrian only thoroughfare in the city centre. There's almost always a musician or two, and often someone juggling or doing other tricks, etc.
All I know of this violinist is that her name is Lily, and she's from Taiwan. She didn't really speak any English at all. Her playing was absolutely beautiful, and I was particularly impressed by her interpretation of part of a Bach sonata for solo violin.
I later emailed her the photos, and she wrote back, saying that her parents really liked them. Very nice when something like that happens.
By the way, getting those words in the background, which were on window of a clothing shop, was just good luck. I have to admit that it wasn't planned at all.
Thanks for visiting my pages. I really do appreciate every comment made, and always return the favour.
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she looks pretty dedicated in playing her art :)
5 Aug 2007 2:34am
@ally (:: Interesting that you picked up on that from the photograph. I've now updated the description, above, giving a bit of background to the photo.
Lovely shot of the moment..... Very musical indeed,.
5 Aug 2007 2:38am
@badala: Thanks. She played with such poise. I wish you could hear her. I have now updated this photo's description, in response to your comment and the one above.
Lovely
5 Aug 2007 11:23am
She indeed looks very dedicated and her smile says she just loves what she is doing. Nice shot here bro. Technically the F1.8 here has thrown the edges of her face to slight blur. Probably the distance you took this from.
I guess, F2.8 would have been more sharper and would have blurred the background even better. The major issue with the 50mm lens is the distance Vs focal length, although technically F1.8 should give sharp features of the subject.
5 Aug 2007 2:57pm
@Rahul: Thanks for the critique and suggestions, which I always appreciate..You are right, that this could have had a greater zone of sharpness. I haven't actually used this lens for many portraits so far, and must experiment with different apertures. Looking back on this now, I guess I could have used at least 400 ISO -- or perhaps even 800. Then I could have used at least f2, while maintaining the same shutter speed of 1/80. Any lower and I would have had even more with body movement while she was playing.
A GREAT CAPTURE..........
5 Aug 2007 4:29pm
So how do you approach someone? Do you have a card printed up or something? A lovely shot, by the way...
5 Aug 2007 9:34pm
@Walt: In the case of people doing things in the street, such as playing music, I've never had a problem. I tend to walk up and give them a donation. After that, I've never found them to object to a photo. In my experience, it's been the same with people involved in their work, especially if it's some kind of craft. I guess this is because they can see a reason for you taking it, and can appreaciate that you have a genuine interest in what they're doing.
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