A man named Tony Simpson I met on the 3rd Street Promenade at Santa Monica.

From far away, I could hear the squeaking of his violin. He had a pretty good rhythm, but it sounded nothing like the majestic sounds of a violin at a concert. Nobody paid him any attention, and I could see that his violin looked like it was made out of plastic. In his violin case, I saw about $1.50 in change and a flute inside as well. I approached him, threw in 50 cents to his case and listened to him play. He looked overjoyed to see that someone would actually stop by and listen to him play. Looking into his eyes, I could see that he was playing with all of his passion and heart, but it was depressing to see that his music didn't sound quite as beautiful. He asked me what my favorite Christmas song was, and I said "Joy To the World". Although the music wasn't technically the best-sounding, it was special in such a way how a stranger would play a song just for me.

Upon asking where he was from, he told me Texas. I then inquired how he got all the way to LA, and he looked at me while grinning and said Greyhound. He told me that he was trying to get his life back together, and that he was currently homeless and lived under a bridge. His dream was for him to meet a beautiful red-headed violin player and just run off with her and be happy forever. With a tear in the corner of my eye, I wished him the best of luck and that things were going to turn around.

After driving back home, I was cooking myself a meal in my kitchen and realized how grateful I should be for everything in my life. Just having a warm shelter, food and clothes is enough to survive, but I often think more about material processions in life.

It is amazing and beautiful to see how much a person can have an effect on another's life without not even knowing about it.

Excellent portrait, Eric. Very engaging. This one has a real "Draganesque" feel to it.

Wonderful capture, Eric. I like the tone, conversion and the movement. Thanks for the story too.

StevenZ wrote:
Excellent portrait, Eric. Very engaging. This one has a real "Draganesque" feel to it.


Thank you Steven. I had to google "Draganesque" haha. I guess dodging and burning has its rewards

eric

sjkk wrote:
Wonderful capture, Eric. I like the tone, conversion and the movement. Thanks for the story too.

Thank you Sonja. I feel that I enjoy writing the stories as much as taking the images.

eric

Great street scene Eric. It might have been instructive also for a wider crop if the surroundings warranted it.

My first thought was that I'd like a wider shot. But, upon further consideration, that might take away from the most interesting aspect of this shot which is his face and expression.

Well done!

Scott

Great story Eric...really brings the image to life...

-John

Very good capture Eric....
The story that goes with it really adds meaning to the picture

Tim ONeill wrote:
Great street scene Eric. It might have been instructive also for a wider crop if the surroundings warranted it.

Surroundings were pretty drab....so I chose for a tighter crop. Thanks for the advice though Tim.

Eric

T-bone1 wrote:
My first thought was that I'd like a wider shot. But, upon further consideration, that might take away from the most interesting aspect of this shot which is his face and expression.

This is exactly what I was going for

eric

sbeme wrote:
Well done!

Scott

Thanks Scott!

eric

vleetj wrote:
Great story Eric...really brings the image to life...

-John

Thanks John. I really enjoy storytelling for these certain images.

eric

lazlo369 wrote:
Very good capture Eric....
The story that goes with it really adds meaning to the picture

Thanks a ton lazlo. I think I'm going to document more of my photos from now on

very well done Eric in both the technical and aesthetic sense. Nothing more i can say beside nice job. Take care. Bob