Taste of St. Louis
I go to events because I want to photograph people, and in St. Louis this is best done by way of its events. At these events people are often curious and friendly towards photographers. I like this aspect of going out. Someone came up Friday evening and bumped my elbow with his, offered me a piece of chicken out of a full basket and walked away after a brief exchange. Saturday a young woman approached and asked about my camera, and said that she would be a photographer one day. A half dozen interactions or so when I go out to an event is normal.
It’s unfortunate that this particular event moved to Clayton and the decision pretty well gutted turnout compared to last year—not that it felt empty, but it was underpopulated for sure. And understandably. For my purposes though it made it easier to frame things up.
50mm | f/9 | 1/200 | ISO 100
50mm | f/9 | 1/125 | ISO 100
This is my favorite photo from the set. The man on the left with a coke and an hors d'oeuvres of some kind, the woman in the middle curious about what treats the pair on the right have alighted upon, and the pair on the right reviewing their finds. I took many snaps of this particular scene and there’s an amusing frame a split second later with the woman in the middle sporting a face that seems to say “Oh okay!” in approval of the pair’s snacking choices. It’s not a stellar photo, I know, but mostly what I like is the light. I really like pairing an ND filter with the 50mm. This is direct, full sun with no hood… I just think the light is beautiful.
50mm | f/11 | 1/60 | ISO 250
The lighting in this parking lot was also quite nice. It just nicks dad here, but if you look off to his left you can see a clutch of folks lit not by the sun directly, but coming off an office building’s west facing reflective windows and dappling the lot below. I wish that I had gotten super low for this and was angled up at them.
50mm | f/11 | 1/60 | ISO 200
I’m including this one despite it not making grade, because my one regret from this shoot was this standing table area. Shooting off to the side like this I was drawing a lot of wandering eyes from the tables whenever I took aim, but I really should have squeezed the scene, trusted my instincts and been patient. That and I should have moved to the other side of this trash can. I love setups like this (which, again, I failed to convey here) where the setting encourages layers form.
50mm | f/11 | 1/60 | ISO 320
85mm | f/3.2 | 1/60 | ISO 125
85mm | f/4.5 | 1/200 | ISO 400
50mm | f/11 | 1/60 | ISO 400
Simba Sambosa, a Ugandan restaurant in STL, with George cooking.
85mm | f/1.2 | 1/250 | ISO 1600
85mm | f/4.5 | 1/250 | ISO 6400
50mm | f/4.5 | 1/250 | ISO 3200
85mm | f/1.2 | 1/250 | ISO 1000
This couple filled the space between the crowd and the band and stole the show. They also gave me (and the crowd) a lot of great moments, and I found it hard to edit it down to just a couple to share! Given the shutter speed and that the sun had set, I was battling rolling shutter a bit but I think it worked out alright.
85mm | f/1.2 | 1/250 | ISO 1600
50mm | f/1.2 | 1/30 | ISO 500
This is from Foodies Eat First Fest, which was held in the old Trust Bank downtown. I think the event meant to capitalize on the Yankees being in town, as what you are looking at is a pastrami sandwich from Katz Deli out of the lower east side, NYC. There was a $50 entrance fee, and this half sandwich then cost $35. I was aesthetically obligated to purchase one as I love Katz. Did I feel foolish? Definitely. But it was also excellent, and I figured hey, when is the next time this NYC establishment is going to visit the Lou.
In contrast, Taste of St. Louis was free and more relaxed, the crowd was friendlier and more fun both to speak with and to shoot, and the food was just as good. A weekend pass to Foodies Eat First would have run you a minimum of $300, or much more for a VIP weekend pass. Good luck to them!
50mm | f/5.6 | 1/60 | ISO 3200
