SIESTA

On a hot afternoon in Merida, Mexico, carriage drivers take a nap while waiting for the evening’s business to pick up.

Andalusian Shepherd

On the road to Ronda, Spain, 2002.

Continuing the series of candid portraits, this one a road, rather than a street photo, was shot using a Sony Cybershot camera, processed on an iPad Air 2, with the Snapseed app.

French Wine Merchant

Another candid Street Portrait, this time of a young man selling wine at an open air market in Eymet, France. Shot with a bridge camera, the Panasonic Lumix FZ28 while teaching a workshop there.

ARIZONA COWGIRL

I love shooting candid portraits, using available light, with my iPhone. This shot, however was taken with my Panasonic Lumix TZ-5, before I had an iPhone.

Meanwhile, over on Instagram, three days ago, I was honored to be chosen as “BnWButNot of the Week”, or Black and White But Not, for my candid sepia portrait of a Taos Pow Wow participant on Instagram’s @bnwbutnot gallery, out of some 265 thousand plus images. I invite you to follow my Instagram feed, @johnfarnsworthphotographer on Instagram, or, if you prefer, on my website, johnfarnsworthphotographer.com/instagram

Unless otherwise noted, all my Instagram images are shot on an iPhone.

Walking With Grandmother

Laguna Beach, California . iPhone 4s / Snapseed

Street Portrait

?

Snapshot to Photograph

I took this quick snapshot from the hip and without thinking much about it. I noticed the scene as I was walking past, and just shot reflexively.

I shot again as I got closer, and then a third time. All the images were way off level, badly cropped and not especially interesting. I was tempted to delete them, but decided to let them be while I went on looking for something better.

On another day, as I was looking through my shots while in less of a hurry, I was first attracted to the bright colors of the flag, but when I looked more closely, I began to zero in on the relationships of the figures, and the color in the sunglasses on the figure on the left. Those great boots, also interested me.

I zoomed in for a closer look, and when I saw the center figure’s eyelashes, and all three expressions, I was hooked. I wasn’t entirely sure it would work, but decided to try rotating the image to level it up. It worked, and I liked what I was seeing.

I then cropped it, and began playing with it in Snapseed, using the TuneImage/Ambiance, and other sliders to open up the shadows and sharpened it a bit using the Details/Structure slider. I framed it with Frames, changed it to black and white, added a blue filter to lighten the sky, then, back in the Tune Image menu, I added some warmth, and there it was, the photo of the day for my Instagram gallery, @johnfarnsworthphotographer.

I’m glad I didn’t delete the original. I do wish I could give a more blow by blow account of the way I proceeded with it, but I don’t keep a record of the steps I take, and seldom repeat myself exactly, preferring to just play with the sliders, dodging, burning, adjusting, caressing and manipulating until I find the photograph lurking in the snapshot.

As Ansel Adams said: “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”

Look Into My Eyes

A lively conversation on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France.

In Your Face

Vieille Ville (Old Town), Nice, France

Street dogs, like this handsome fellow, are an important part of my street photography.

TWENTYNINE PALMS

I spotted this old stake-bed Dodge workhorse in Twentynine Palms, California while walking around with my trusty iPhone 4s, five years ago. I came across it again, on my computer, last evening, and decided to have a go at it with Snapseed. A little caressing, massaging, and fine tuning with the sliders and this is what I came up with. I hope you like it. Prints available.