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Cindi Smith | all galleries >> CHALLENGES >> WEEKLY CHALLENGE >> 2010-2011 WEEKLY CHALLENGES > BLUE
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29-AUG-2010 Cindi Smith

BLUE

Fort Worth, TX

Meet Alvin Johnson. He's a homeless man we met today while on a photoshoot at the old rock house I like so much. Alvin lives there. We asked him if we could take some pictures and he said sure.

Spencer, the young man I was doing senior pictures for had brought his guitar. He was sitting in a window playing and then Alvin walked to the other window at the front of the house and sat down and listened.

Then, much to our surprise, he asked Spencer if he could play his guitar. He proceeded to play blues, some Ike and Tina, Beatles, George Straight...you name it. The man is good!!! We listened to him play and sing for about half an hour. We found out he hadn't played guitar or piano since 1983 when his wife left him. He became depressed and then homeless in the years after that. Watching him play and sing was amazing.

Spencer recorded the music on his phone and I took pictures. Spencer was going to head home and get one of his guitars and bring it back to Mr. Johnson. I know when Mr. Johnson started playing that he went into another place in time. He smiled, welcomed us back at any time and thanked us for letting him play. I think Spencer, his Mom and I were more thankful than he. A photo shoot I will never forget.

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi
1/80s f/8.0 at 135.0mm iso400 full exif

other sizes: small medium large auto
princess07-Mar-2011 15:28
Fascinating story....Powerful character. Excellent portrait. V.
Guest 25-Oct-2010 10:56
Striking portrait
Rick Bricker12-Sep-2010 23:16
At first glance,I thought this was likely some blues player at a festival.Your story touched my heart.
A follow up would be wonderful...difficult to get likely,but wonderful!
Mieke WA Minkjan01-Sep-2010 08:09
a great story and a great portrait Cindi
sue anne01-Sep-2010 01:40
Great portrait of a wonderful musician, blues in more than one way.
Mairéad31-Aug-2010 20:58
This really is the blues. Fab picture and story.
Guest 31-Aug-2010 20:28
Excellent shot!
Carl and Racine Erland31-Aug-2010 05:51
A wonderful candid portrait and an amazing story! - Racine V
Ray Rebortira31-Aug-2010 03:10
That hand has a history
pkocinski30-Aug-2010 23:38
Wow - what a story!
Guest 30-Aug-2010 21:56
Wonderful portrait, great expression!! Well done Cindi!
Pete Hemington30-Aug-2010 21:30
Good picture and great story
Colin Storey30-Aug-2010 21:23
Blues and Blue, perfect match.
reflectionsofnature30-Aug-2010 21:14
This posting made my day! A rich and memorable moment, with an excellent photo to go with it.
Timothy Guenther30-Aug-2010 16:25
The real blues!
J. Scott Coile30-Aug-2010 15:50
Very nice too but I LOVE the B&W!
LynnH30-Aug-2010 15:37
What a beautiful and touching story. Wonderful! V
borisalex30-Aug-2010 14:56
Really excellent in color too! V.
Ken Duckert30-Aug-2010 14:46
This is very cool Cindi. A perfect entry. Serendipity is so much fun. Love the story. Bravo!
Norbert Fortelny30-Aug-2010 14:20
Great story, great photo.
Carol Rollins30-Aug-2010 14:04
Fabulous shot Cindi and marvelous story. Homeless are people too, with past lives that one
can only guess at. Amazing stuff, Cindi. Thanks for sharing. ~
Jola Dziubinska30-Aug-2010 13:26
Wonderful moment, excellent portrait work, Cindi. V.
Stephanie30-Aug-2010 10:37
Terrific image and story Cindi! :)
Maaike Huizer30-Aug-2010 07:17
What a gorgeous portrait. He looks so intense. Impressive. V
larose forest photos30-Aug-2010 03:04
What a terrific story! Amazing. And as Ed says, you can almost hear the music. VOTE
Walter Otto Koenig30-Aug-2010 03:03
Great portrait Cindi and a wonderful story. So sorry to hear he is homeless. So many people with talent living in our streets.
Ed Preston30-Aug-2010 01:46
Hi Alvin, good to meet you. I can almost hear some blues coming from this gentleman Cindi, nice capture!
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