Boulder Street Performers: Balancing Act, a photo from Colorado, West

Photographer's Note

The second in a short series on the street performers of Boulder, Colorado.

Boulder is a city of just under 100,000. A college town (The University of Colorado's main campus is located there), Boulder has a reputation as a liberal haven and a more artsy, hippie town; the reputation is well deserved.

We visited on a Saturday night so that we could see the famous Pearl Street Mall pedestrian zone at full capacity. In the heart of Boulder's downtown, Pearl Street is closed to vehicle traffic for four or five city blocks, and has been turned into a space for sculpture and art, shops and stores, and plenty of street performers of many different types.

In the end I'm not all that happy about this shot came out. I spent a while trying to balance the light in this scene and focus on the relationship between the magician and the girl in pink, who stood watching him for over ten minutes. I took several shots from several angles, but nothing quite came out with the effect I wanted; this came the closest. It was also, interestingly, the last shot I took of him.

His act seemed to be balancing and sleight of hand with a glass orb, making it appear to float as he moved it from hand to hand. In this particular moment, he has rolled it onto his elbow and balanced it there; a moment later he will roll it back to his hand and continue the act.

gildasjan ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

rbellemare (2109) 2012-09-10 14:28

Hi Andrew,

This is another good presentation of a street artist. These children seem to appreciate a lot. Nice use of the light available. Great composition.

Bravo

Réjean

gildasjan (43826) 2012-09-11 1:52

Bonjour Andrew
Un joli spectacle sous cette lumière chaude et les enfants semblent bien apprécier.
Bonne journée
Cordialement
gildas

clic (76) 2012-09-11 5:46

Hello Andrew
I'm as amazed by the perfect depiction of this night shot as those kids are by the artist's performance.
Cheers.
Robert

mjw364 (1466) 2012-09-11 7:35

Hi Andrew

Good exposure in low light once again. In your note you talk about the effect you wanted and the relationship between the girl and the magician. In the shot whilst the guy is looking intently at the ball, he also appears to be looking at the girl and she looking back at him. This comes across in the image but I'm guessing you wanted to emphasise that connection when you talk about the effect you wanted to achieve?

I don't know but I guess some kind of tighter crop capturing any eye contact between the two may have achieved that effect more emphatically. This is the difficulty of street photography - capturing those special moments... a lot of work goes into that as your note suggests.

Well done.

P.S. I did a workshop on your light my fire shot - it was the result of an "happy accident" I had on my phone. Hope you don't mind.

Mike

saxo042 (38078) 2012-09-11 8:54

Hi Andrew,
Though we can´t see the childrens faces, it is quite obvious that they are very fascinated and that the performer has their complete attention. A very good street life capture with a good composition and pleasant colours.
Kind regards
Gunnar

holmertz (102066) 2012-09-11 10:48

Hello Andrew,
So what if this isn't entirely up to your expecations. It captures the evening atmosphere and the fascination felt by the kids and it's well composed. I also like the light falling on the tree and the performer's arm.
Kind regards,
Gert

marabu61 (11587) 2012-09-11 13:00

Hello Andrew
Another great capture. The concentration of the artist on his tool is really felt strong here. Well seen, nicely framed and well executed.
have a good time
Daniel