Instant Photo Assignments

June 1st, 2009, at 6:31 pm |

Inspired by a post from Orange Photography, I asked for “Instant Photo Assignments” for my trip to Union Square today. I got several great assignments, all of them easy at first glance, although some proved deceptively challenging in practice.

Chanel Storefront

Kara asked for “the outside of the Chanel store on Maiden Lane.” I’d been to this storefront before, so I walked straight to it only to discover it had moved. Thankfully, it moved only a few doors down.

Gold Dust Lounge

Melanie requested I shoot “the clientele at Gold Dust Lounge.” It’s always awkward shooting a group of strangers, especially when you prefer candid shots like I do. I also decided to put a slight creative spin on it, trying to capture not just the clientele but also the environment within Gold Dust. The result is interesting, no doubt assisted by the compulsory beer I had while I was there.

Lost Tourists

Andrei gave me a surprisingly simple one: “lost tourists.” While a lost tourist is pretty easy to find, a lost tourist in a conveniently photographable location is a little more challenging. Whenever I did find one, I found myself helping them reorient themselves and then forgetting to get a photograph in return! Finally, I spied these two carefully studying their map.

Funny Homeless Sign

Russ wanted “funny homeless signs,” another seemingly simple request that proved difficult. Ironically (for San Francisco, anyway) all of the homeless on Powell and Market just had cups but no signs. On about my fourth loop of the area, this guy was setting up shop and had an honest, funny sign.

Musicians

Finally, Tinna wanted to see “musicians!” A street musician in San Francisco is about as easy to find as a homeless person wanting change… on any day except today, of course. There were tap dancers, statue people, and preachers, but no musicians. On a hunch, I headed toward the Old Navy on Market and found these two folk singers crooning unintelligible words.