Sundown in the City

[ACArmstrong]

During the spring and summer, my home town hosts a free concert series in what's known as "Old Market Square" downtown every Thursday night. Last night I attended the concert and tried to shoot it from a journalistic point of view. I wanted to see if I could capture the feeling of "being" at Sundown in the City in my photos.

Here are four. Do you think I captured that feeling? Do the pictures tell the story well or are they off base?

All opinions are welcome, both positive and negative. I'm wanting this to be a learning process and could really use the help and guidance of the folks here. Thanks in advance.

[darkrainfall]

These are some really great general people shots and if you were just gathering color for a newspaper, I'd say these are great, however, I have no idea what is going on here.
You said you were at a concert? Where is the stage and the people in the concert?
I would say that you come closest to acheiving what you wanted in pic number two.
You're photo skills appear to be pretty good and you also have a good eye for what makes an interesting shot, but when you go to try photojournalism, may I suggest a few ideas...
Keep in mind that you are telling the story of what happened at the event.
When you arrive at the event, or even before, ask yourself what is going on, who is involved and how you can tell the story of what this event is about.
For example, in the second pic, say you had changed angles a bit and included part of the concert stage in the picture...that would have shown the crowd and the stage and I would have looked at that pic and thought... hey, there are people watching a concert of some kind... and then your caption at the bottom of the pic would have informed me that they are indeed watching a concert and what that concert is.
Hmm... I think that is the longest reply I've ever given *smile*... I hope it all makes sense to you and that you aren't offended in any way by my suggestions... you do have good pics here...

[ACArmstrong]

Hey thanks for the response I appreciate it.

Three things I failed to mention - (1) all of these were taken before the main concert began, so folks were milling around eating and basically waiting. The opening act played and I do have some pictures and crowd shots of them, I just didn't include them here. (2) A gigantic freakin rainstorm happened right before the main act was to hit the stage - I didn't want my F717 to get killed in the malay. And (3) while "Sundown in the City" is technically a concert series and musicians do play, it's more like an excuse for people to go downtown, mill around Old Market Square, drink beer, eat food, and have fun with friends. The music is historically secondary, not primary.

I should have said that in the post - my fault. It would've made the pictures make more sense, huh?

Thanks for the advice on how to think through the process. Last night I found myself arrive, look around and go, "okay, what the hell do I shoot?" - your advice makes sense, and next time I go to cover an event I'll work on it.

[darkrainfall]

*smile* that does make more sense and I can understand about not wanting your equipment to get wet.
Oh... and the third shot is my absolute favorite, the police officer talking to the dog...

[natatbeach]

I am a people watcher and these shots were really representative for me of the feel of a festival or concert from the opposite side of the stage

the guy with the string work (weaving?) and the hazy laziness of being absorbed in something you enjoy doing despite how well it fits into a scene...

The little girl watching you while you look at her and the dad just absorbed totally unaware of what's going. I love shots like this in particular because it captures how sharp as a tack children are in taking in their environment and their awareness of their surroundings...

Love the policeman and the dog (although a smidgen blurred ) Again...Police are always present at concerts and gatherings but those brief moments when they aren't being so touhg are the moments that stand out in mind...

And finally the dad with the kid with chalk...again these shots are rich with the casualness and the variety of relationships that create a whole experience when you go to an event like this...even without the concert shots the bit of intro that you gave helped to tie them together. Without the intro they still have a feel to them that would allow them to stand on their own as a series --- of simple overlooked moments. Nice keep pursuing it I love to see everyone try new stuff.

[kamboura]

my favourite is the second one, I love how the girl is looking at you. I can see the 2nd ad third being related to the theme, but first and 4th are not as linked to what you described.

hmm... newbie question... do you just take pictures of the people, or do you have to ask them ?

[ACArmstrong]

Thanks for the comments, Dark, Nat, and kam - I really appreciate it.

Kamboura - Let me first say that if I had a DSLR and some nice telephoto lenses, I'd sit back off somehwere and shoot like crazy. I like to capture people just being people, doing what they do. It's important to me that I don't change what people are doing because they know they're getting their picture taken. I like capturing the moment.

Now, having said that - I have a F717, that has a 5x optical Carl Zeiss lens, so I can't really hang back and watch - I kind've have to be pretty close to the action. So, some people I ask and some people I just shoot. In the four pictures I've included here, I asked the man doing the weaving, because I didn't want to disturb him. I also asked the Dad and little girl because the light was freakin awesome and I knew, knew, knew she was totally absorbed in her drawing and wasn't going to bother looking at me. The cop and dog - I shot them from across the street and he only noticed after I snapped the third picture. The family watching the concert where the little girl is looking at me - I was about 20 feet away and completely zoomed in. And, like Nat said - around the second picture - the little girl heard the shutter noise and looked right at me.

The one thing I noticed about asking folks is that if I take pictures around them first - meaning I shoot other things and other people, MOST of them say - "Sure" because they think I'm press. If I were to just walk up and ask, I don't think they'd be as receptive.

[Young Shooter]

there all good pictures, the cop one dosent realy do anything for me because is centered to much, but best one is the picture of the bum

[kamboura]

Thanks Andy.. that's a good tip about taking pictures around people first. I'll try that.

[Old Timer]

Very nice images. This is one type of photography that I really like. I love mingling with people and finding the interesting person or situation. You do it very well. Your images remind me a lot of what Steve Lutz post form his home city of Louisville. You are very quickly becoming a very valued poster here at PR. Thanks for the images and keep them coming.

[ACArmstrong]

Thanks for the compliment, Old Timer - I'm not sure I'm deserving of it, but thanks a lot.